Southbroom


Southbroom is a coastal village in Ugu District Municipality in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa. It is located 25 km south-west of Port Shepstone, 143 km south-west of Durban, and 213 km south of Pietermaritzburg.
The village was officially founded in 1933, and in the 2011 census had a population of 1,615 in 847 households.

History

In 1884, a pioneer named Alfred Eyles established a mission on the site of the present day Outlook Farm. This is the earliest recorded settlement of Southbroom. In 1895, The Fascadale was wrecked on rocks off Southbroom beach while en route to Lisbon, but the timely arrival of another vessel meant that only two lives were lost.
The name "Southbroom" was first associated with the area in 1908, when the Swedish Zulu Mission took over the mission from the Eyles family, who subsequently renamed their home "Southbroom"; a reference to a family home in their native England. Frank and Gilbert Eyles, the youngest sons of Alfred, proclaimed the township in 1933.
In 1935, the Southbroom Hotel opened, with its tidal pool opening two years later. The golf course was first opened in 1939, before being extended to a full 18 holes in 1948.