Durban 1973 archive footage 

My beautiful Durban... So clean and well maintained.... Now it's so filthy and really a far cry from this footage. My beloved South Africa is becoming a dump

It’s amazing how clean the streets of Durban were back then

The roads, pavements and beaches were so clean...

Wow thanks so much for the footage how clean everything was/ my son was born in Durban My mother went to school at Durban Girls College .How sad to think of the total and utter degradation of South Africa in such a short space of time. Who ever is responsible may they pay the price.! Mitchell Park and the Botanical Garden!

Born in 1976....I remember when things looked like this...what a nice old memory.

I took my family for a walk down North Beach three weeks ago not knowing how bad things have gotten. We were persistently harassed by beggars for money. They were so aggressive and persistent that we felt threatened. NEVER AGAIN!

I feel like crying when I noticed the difference between then and now

Absolutely spotless and clean that's how it's should be

Nostalgic footage from the days when Durban was still an advanced, civilised and prosperous city. Newly married, we spent many happy, wonderful holidays there and further south in the late 70s and throughout the 80s. Today, nothing is left of that civilisation.

This video brought back such wonderful memories. I was a sport & commercial diver in Durban from 1961-1980. From the first second the show began. When I saw the ships at the anchorage, my first thought was 'I've dived out there. A team of Durban Undersea Club divers first dived on No 1 fishing ground in about 1968. I was a member of that team, & we got in the Tribune. 1:58 The red brick building - Customs & Excise, 2:14 Port Control. Port Captain on the 13th floor, Harbour Engineer on the 4th. I used to run up these stairs to get my Diving Permits. 2:28 is special to me, because as kids we always looked for the Coke sign. the best sign in town as it rotated. 2:41 is where I started diving. In 1960.The white foam patches are the top of Vetchs Pier, the first stone harbour structure built in Port Natal. I shot my first crayfish there. When I joined DUC they told me I shouldnt shoot crayfish. & that I needed a license. I also shot my first ( & only) octopus here. It was a monster, the biggest I have ever seen. It weighed 11 lbs, & was 11'3'' tentacle spread I'm not proud of it now, as I have learnt to love & play with occies, but as a 14 yr old I certainly was. My mom cooked it in a pressure cooker for half a day, & it turned to rubber. Immediately above Vetch's Pier is the North Pier which is where my diving explorations went next. I swam the pier from the base to the tip where it is the harbour entrance. Here I discovered troves of old fishing tackle stuck in the rocks. Divers were a novelty in those days, & whenever I got out of the water with my booty the fishermen were quick to offer to buy my stuff.. I kept my `self, my dad & my friends well stocked with hooks swivels & traces, & kept the sinkers to melt down for lead weights for my diving belt. I found 2 entire rods & reels which had been lost. These I took home for my family. Thanks for the memories.

I grew up in Durban/South Coast in those days and always remember it as a fantastic place as a child. Water world playground the beach and sea and just happy memories.

It was so beautiful and clean. No decay like now.

Wow it’s so good to see how South Africa was. Sadly, it’s never going to be like this again.

Thank you for sharing. Music is a bit ominous though. Makes me feel as though I’m touring Russia! Seeing as this is Durban, where the fun never sets ✨some upbeat 60s/70s/early 80s music would’ve been nicer😃

The exciting days of NFL soccer at the Kingsmead stadium....who remembers Durban City, Durban United and Durban Celtic Football Clubs??

I just spotted John Ross House, must be one of the oldest buildings in the city. Victoria Embankment still looks the same even today, infact the whole city is so familiar you can tell not much has gone on in the way of development or new structures.

Beautiful video... Amazing to see, this is exactly how my mother described Durban to be back in the day

Those were the good old days when you could go to the beach and go for a swim and leave your belonging on the sand and when you returned everything was still there.

Look how beautiful, clean and well maintained a city looks when it is not governed by you know who.

Wow Durban so clean and beautiful back in the day

I live in Durban and I recognise plenty of the places in the footage. Some parts of Durban are OK - the beachfront walkway for example. I don't go near the beaches themselves. The suburbs can be tidy and orderly depending on which suburbs. Crime is high but that's true of everywhere in S.A. You have to be streetwise - no more just ambling around the place, secure and relaxed. The houses are little fortresses - security fencing, electric wire, burglar alarms, etc. - and children don't play outside of them. That's the saddest part. When I was a kid in Salisbury, Rhodesia, we played on the road and nearby parks as a matter of course. We used to come to Durban on holiday and it was paradise for us - Rhodesia being locked in a war and under international sanctions. It was great to be able to buy breakfast cereals other than pronutro and cornflakes, and try out modern stuff like arcade video games (!). Another world. Ah, so what? What matters is how you live your life, not how pleasant it is.

When there were functional service providers, trained artisans within our municipalities for service delivery...no 3rd party with corrupt tenders

I was born in Argentina but Grew up in Durban , miss bilton , niknaks , tilt house music a good curry and warm weather ,had a great time ,My family moved there in 1992 ,first to the city then New Germany and then pinetown and I moved to Uruguay in 2009

The days when everything worked, everything clean, little crime....great footage

Everything so immaculate.

Memories . How clean everything was!!!

Born in 1971. Can Never forget these old days. Love Durban. So much has changed. 😢😢😢

Paradise........I tell you that was the life.

01:45 tall building on the left is 'Coastlands' which is where a lot of the footage is filmed from. It has stunning views from the apartments northwards, and then, in the corridor it has amazing views south. 24 stories tall and I have twice stayed on the top floor. The views I will never forget.

Durban City center was soooo clean compared to now!

This video brings a tear into your eye, I don't know why.

Valley of a Thousand Hills is beautiful still!

Can’t believe such a beautiful country has been ruined and destroyed

It's sad that black people do not have the ability to govern in a civilized and constructive manner. The entire African continent is proof of how we lack a progressive nature as a people. We need to do better in that regard. However, it's sad to see white people come on this comment section and glorify what was part of an injustice time for us. Things worked in their favour and not us! Imagine if a black person would share memories from the 70's? Torture, murder, racism, segregation ... Let's learn to express opinions in a civil sense. We all know how far this country has come.

Remember always visiting as a kid in the 80s - man I loved Durbs .. I remember the horror ride in particular used to be on the beach front.. went back in 2000s and couldn’t believe the state of the place ..

Everything was clean in the 70 now everything is filthy dirty wish it could go back like then

Thanks for sharing, I'm so happy to have been around to enjoy those days. It certainly was a great place to be. Then the ANC came along and the place has been a mess ever since!

I stayed in the Malibu in 1973. Remember the Cloud 9 restaurant, like eating inside an airliner, and the lovely pool deck overlooking the bowling greens. Happy memories of the beach, the drive in cinemas, plenty of them. The Fathers Moustache bar in the Four Seasons hotel too. Later lived at La Lucia, lovely area near Umhslanga, sorry if spelt wrong. Drove to Matatiele , And to Pietermaritzburg, and stayed in the Drakensbergs. Some lovely memories.

When S A was still a great country to live in no majority killing the country.

So clean back in the day now town is full of filth

Why can't we get our city to look like this again? Must it be so filthy and dangerous???

Durban Harbour and surrounding area still look the same but not central Durban West Street. It's a mess!

Yep!! Dad took us to visit relatives and friends. "Those were the days my friend " as the song says. Pietermartizburg KZN South Africa 🌍

Lived in Durban from 1988 to.2003 .Spent so much time at the lovely.beaches . Really good memories.

The music made me tense

When Umhlanga was just sugar cane fields.

Have fond memories of the Fair Haven Hotel when I was a small boy in late 50’s through to the early 60’s. Used to holiday there with my grand parents. My uncle met his wife there. Was at radar school on the Bluff in 73 and Durban was our playground. Loved the place.

This made me both sad and a bit happy. Sad because it is now gone and this Durban will never be again. Happy because I got to experience all this. When you tell people what a beautiful, clean and safe place Durban used to be. They can't belief it.

Really enjoyed durban in the 70s l was just 17yrs old brings back my youth clean streets durban city my fav soccer team then

Your music is better suited to a thriller or murder scene. Soft background music is needed for this documentary. Great video of the city. Nostalgic memories of Marine Parade and the 70's cars.

This music doesn’t go with the video 🥴 too dramatic. Would work for military or something more serious. I was hoping for nostalgia by watching this 😄 instead I’m waiting for something bad to happen

I was born in Addington hospital South beach in 1982.

It was so clean and beautiful...but now...different story

now it looks like its 500 years old

Picken chicken was running in the 70s! I was an 80s kid, fond memories, eating a burger and chips there, most sundays!!

My grandpa always speaks about this.. and l cant understand really how my city becomes such a shithole now

Was so beautiful...😓😓

Wow everything was so clean. Back in the good old days when everything worked.

South Africa will never be this great again. It's sad to see that no development has changed since then.

Four Seasons hotel, was a lovely place yot stay!!! Those were the days😢

Not the same Durban now 😥

It's so beautiful. Deeply pained by what it is now 😢

Oh my gosh... no litter at all... streets are clean. It is like having a wonderful dream and then waking up and realizing that we are currently living in a real nightmare.

Everyone seems to be impressed with how clean the city was . yet in those days even Mtata was a clean , safe place

Very safe & clean road ❤️

Those were the days my friend. All down the tubes 😢😢

I heard 👂🏽 from my elders that in that decade Durban Station was in the centre of the CBD opposite The Workshop Mall which is The Tourist Junction now.There are plans to rebuild the station there but underground this time then make a railway 🚆 from there to King Shaka International Airport ✈️.I think 🤔 it's a brilliant idea but it will take years.

Simply a wonderful city was our Durban . God I wish we could have it all back.

Now due to the influx of foreigners, our CBDs look like slums.

Pleasant memories, look how clean everything was

I miss my hometown 😭😥

Before ANC destroy it...

The good old days.

Wow, so clean...

That the sad thing about building a paradise and excluding those who don't share your skin colour... When you're forced to share, it won't seem as precious to them, or as well kept afterwards.

The visuals are beautiful and nostalgic, but the music made me feel the whole city was going to explode. The music should be background music, not detract from the purpose of the video.

Clean and Modern

Awesome footage! What's the name of the song that starts around 3:39 ?

Vauxhalls, Zephyrs, Ford Corona, Ford Capri, brings back memories...

Wow who would think this was in Africa ? So clean and beautiful

Nice one. Some buildings are still around.

Watch this today June 2022, and today my family friends were broken in, by thugs, they stole most of things in household, but most of all they planted the the horrible feeling of been psychologically abused and traumatized, and this will never go away, so sinfully sad 😢

Not bad footage considering it was 50 years ago.. having a camera back then was probably an extreme luxury.

Thanks for the footage, where can get the music ? Thanks in advance.

In a weird way it's the same. M4 looks the same. The city built up and became more dense. The beachfront realitively the same. Also, lol at the light house

Look at how clean our town was.

Just saw the Killarney Hotel,stayed there 1979,happy days,

So clean and decent. It's sad and hurtful now. It's becoming a slum

No litter on the streets. No boarded up windows. Truly a time when the Law was genuine. The Good Old Days.

Was magnificent

when the country was clean, safe and worth something.

Sadly, the current government ensured we shall never see the country this way ever again. Clean, tidy and respectful. It's tragic what B.E.E can be shown to have been a catalyst for the corrupt to blame shift into chaos. 1 nation, 11 official languages and we still don't understand who the enemy is...

Sooo clean wooow

Brings back memories

Was the best place,province ever💯🔥👌,now like a war zone,ABSOLUTELY FILTHY,IM FROM DURBAN KZN😢😢😢

Good memories.

Look how clean the environment was 🙏 😊

I was born here 5 years before this footage.

Looks pretty well developed, I wonder how it's holding up today

Clean