Guest: Brighton Beach, The Bluff, Durban

Brighton Beach, the third of this column’s guest beaches, is a scenic coastal area located on The Bluff, south of Durban’s city centre in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Supposedly renowned for its unspoiled beaches and tidal pool, as well as being nearby the world-famous surf spot Cave Rock, it has an interesting history but, currently, seems a little down on its heels - local news headlines are far from positive, but investment is forthcoming.

The Bluff promontory, where Brighton Beach is situated, is a remnant of an extensive coastal dune system that formed between two and five million years ago. This natural formation plays a crucial role in shielding the Port of Durban from the Indian Ocean, forming the port’s southern quayside. 

The Facts about Durban website reveals the area’s interesting history as given by Peter Whitaker: ‘When my father first came to the Bluff in the 1940s Bluff Rd was a sand track and lined with trees. Mr. Grey who owned Greys Inn, a hotel, roughly opposite Splash pools (and not the Harcourt hotel which came much later) used to take a team of oxen down what is now a footpath from Airley Rd to Brighton Beach to help pull the old 1920/30 cars up, so that people could have lunch at his Inn before the long drive back to Durban. Mr. Grey owned a large part of the Brighton Beach area, which is why Greys Inn Rd was named after his Inn, and he also left a large area of the valley in trust to the people of the Bluff, as a recreational area [. . .].

The Bluff had many separate areas as it developed, each with its own problems and characteristics. The North had the Whaling Station smell, the South the Oil refinery smell (not pollution, just a smell), the centre had a swamp with mosquitoes and sometimes you got the benefit of all three in varying proportion. We were a mixed community then, we had Indian fisher folk in houses on stilts built out over the waters of the bay at Fynnlands (as well as some other areas), the Zanzibar’s at Kings Rest, and over at St Francis Xavier in Sormany Rd and down to where Moss Rd is today, a large Zulu community. A number of Bluff roads owe their names to the first farmers who subdivided to make the stands that we live on today. Some of the original farm houses still remain, you just have to know where to look. Then for many years we had Clover dairy (complete with cows) opposite the reservoir in Dunville road it eventually became a depot and then was sold off.’

In 1938, the Durban City Council commissioned and officially opened a floodlit tidal pool at Brighton Beach, enhancing its appeal as a popular picnic and leisure destination. As the photo (accompanying Whitaker’s history) shows, the beach was still very popular in the 1960s. However, for years now, it seems to have been somewhat run down. Last year, finally, the eThekwini Municipality allocated R1 million to refurbish the promenade, the pools, the walkways, and the lifesavers club. The project is part of a larger effort to enhance the coastal experience for residents and tourists in the area. 

Unfortunately, of late, there has been a series of distressing news events. In February, rescue teams recovered, at Brighton and other nearby beaches, the bodies of two women and two children who had been swept into a canal during recent floods. The Southlands Sun reported, also in February, that a 15 year old girl, Slindile Duze, went missing, last seen in Brighton Beach. Meanwhile, the Brighton Beach police are looking for Sindisiwe Nkila and her seven-month old baby, as well as for information about a disoriented man brought into the station who thinks he might be called Sevahn Solomon. Last November, the paper reported on the likely drowning of a teenager ‘in an area without lifeguard supervision at Brighton Beach’. In January, the eThekwini Municipality and the Sharks Board temporarily closed several beaches, including Brighton Beach, to reinstall shark safety gear. 

Nevertheless, I read, Brighton Beach continues to be a cherished destination for both locals and tourists, offering a blend of natural beauty and recreational activities. There is a shipwreck about 3 km offshore, believed by some to be a whaler due to its sunken bollards; and the area is advertised as home to a variety of wildlife, including monkeys, mongooses, and marine life like dolphins and whales. Average temperatures range from 20°C (June to August) to 28°C (December to February). Sea water temperatures are not much different through the year (20°-26°C)!

Guest: Brighton Beach, Menasha, Wisconsin

Brighton Beach in Menasha, Wisconsin, first gained any notice in the late 19th century when Curtis Reed opened a resort hotel there in 1887. The Brighton Beach Hotel, built in 1899, became a focal point for social activities, hosting picnics, band concerts, and other outdoor events. The hotel underwent two renovations but ultimately closed and was demolished in 1927 due to competition from other local attractions like Waverly Beach. David Galassie’s blog Menasha has some excellent local history posts, one of which includes an advertisement from the time of the hotel; and The Wisconsin Historical Society has several relevant old photographs. This post also includes two screenshots from Google Maps.

“The summer resort deluxe”
BRIGHTON BEACH
On Beautiful Winnebago Lake
The Best Beach. The Best Fishing.
The most accessible Resort in the State of Wisconsin
Fine Steamboat Landing
3 cent fare from Menasha, Neerah and Appleton.
Half hourly electric service in each direction making
connections [with other] railroads
Furnished cottage to rent with electric light, water works, telephone.
Cabaret, dancing and a score of other entertainments
Write for reservations, etc.
P.O. ADDRESS - MENASHA, WIS
JOSEPHY STEIDL., Prop.

Following the hotel’s closure, the area transitioned into a residential neighbourhood. Over time, several elegant residences were constructed by wealthy and influential residents: the Dr. Harold O. Hansen Residence, built in 1937 at 1045 Brighton Drive, being the most noted. This Colonial Revival-style house, constructed for $12,000, replaced a more modest structure and initially served as a fishing and hunting retreat. 

Today, Brighton Beach continues to be a desirable residential area, with homes available for sale and rent along Brighton Beach Road, many with frontages on to Lake Winnebago. While the original resort is long gone, the area still offers recreational opportunities close by at the Municipal Beach: Located at 1515 Brighton Beach Road, this 1.4-acre parcel provides public access to Lake Winnebago. The beach features an unsupervised swimming area, with a water depth ranging from 2 to 9 feet (Lake Winnebago only has a maximum depth of 21 feet).

Guest: Brighton Beach, Perth

Fed up of the English winter, the rain, the wind, the cold? Well, welcome to the first of this columns’s guest Brighton Beaches - where the temperature is over 30 degrees, and the sun is shining all day long. 

Brighton Beach is considered ‘a little local secret’ just to the south of Perth’s famous surf spot, Scarborough Beach, but less crowded and with clean white sand. If the sea breeze is up, according to Tourism Western Australia, you can watch the windsurfers and kitesurfers, or get in the water and ‘grab some of the wave and wind action yourself’. 

Scarboro Info says: ‘Brighton Beach is the ideal Indian Ocean vacation destination to relax and meet the beautiful people of Perth who know Brighton beach, a locality of the Perth suburb of Scarborough [which] has the best white sand surf beach in Australia.’ 

Or can you? Is it safe to go in the water? 

Only three weeks ago, hundreds of beachgoers had to flee the beach after a tiger shark was spotted meters from the shore. A rescue helicopter spotted the 3m shark just off Brighton Beach, and a witness said a lifeguard confirmed the shark sighting before closing the beach. The scare came one day after a teenager was bitten by a shark of an unknown species at a Mandurah beach, 50 miles south. And only a few days ago, a ‘monster shark’ came dangerously close to swimmers at Whitfords Beach, 8 miles north of Brighton Beach. The West Australian and MSN.