Investigating sugar planting and settler prospects on the South Coast in April 1861, the young Natal Mercury editor, John Robinson, published the following about ‘Scottburg,’ as he spelt it, on May 9, 1861:

“As a place of residence, Scottburg, so named after the Lieutenant Governor, would be a favourable resort. Imaginatively, one already realises the day when marts, warehouses, shops and private dwelling-houses shall make this spot a conspicuous feature on the coast and when the wealthy sheep-farmers of the uplands with the enervated sugar planters of the coast shall fly to Scottburg in pursuit of pleasure and health…”

Significantly, Scottburgh was the first settlement on the South Coast to be properly surveyed in terms of a grid of streets, mostly named after prominent colonists like pioneer sugar planter James Arbuthnot and Durban port Captain Alex Airth.

So it is fascinating that 164 years later, John Robinson’s prescience is again being realised in terms of immigration-led growth and new developments.

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