DHS opened its doors in 1866 in two rooms and with seven pupils in Smith Street. From there it moved to a disused granary in Cato Square in 1880, just after the Zulu War, and then to the Old Hospital on the foreshore. In 1895, it moved up onto the healthier Berea to its present site, where it flourished. The ten acres plot was granted to the School by the Durban Town Council. The first enrolled student was a boy called Eben Coates and he was also the first Head-boy. There is also a related primary school: Durban Preparatory High School. The school has approximately 1000 enrolled students, all boys, and includes a small boarding establishment and over 75 teachers. The headmaster is Mr. Tony Pinheiro. It is the oldest standing school in Durban and one of the oldest in South Africa.
Houses
There are six houses:
Swales – old gold
Grice – turquoise
Langley – red
Campbell – green
Payn – Oxford blue
Blackmore (the boarders' house) – white
Blackmore House has capacity for over 130 boys. The boys' needs are catered for by boarder masters, food provision and dormitories with a maximum of six boys per dorm. The boys can go home most weekends and return on Monday mornings.
Headmasters
1866 – 1875: R Russell
1875 – 1880:
1880 – 1886: R P Sandford
1886 – 1909: W H Nicholas
1910 – 1930: A S Langley
1931 – 1945: J Black
1945 – 1952: Col. A C Martin
1952 – 1959: G J Armstrong
1959 – 1970: A W McIver
1971 – 1983: D C Thompson
1984 – 1993: K L Tomlinson
1994 – 1996: R D Forde
1997 – 2003: I T Bennison
2004 – 2014: D A Magner
2014 – 2016: L Erasmus
2017–present: A D Pinheiro
Sports
A wide range of sports and activities are offered including climbing, golf, fishing, surfing, chess, football, basketball, and hardball as well as the more traditional athletics, cricket, hockey, and rugby which have been played at the school for over 100 years. The school has produced over 140 international sportsmen in sports ranging from rugby and cricket to golf, badminton, baseball, surfing and powerlifting. Countries represented include France, New Zealand, England, Scotland, Germany and the United States. More than 30 old boys have played international cricket, six of whom were Wisden Cricketers of the Year. Five old boys played in the 1960 Lords test against England and four in the first two tests against Australia in 1969/70.
Notable people
Staff
'Skonk' Nicholson, renowned schools rugby coach. Coached seven Springboks including Joel Stransky and Butch James, both world cup winning fly-halves when he coached the first XV at Maritzburg College. Coach of 14 unbeaten College teams. In his 35 seasons in charge of the College First XV his teams established a playing record of, Played 504, Won 403, Drew 49 and Lost 52. DHS First XV rugby, First XI cricket and Head Prefect. Natal School's Rugby.[1]
Cecil (Bill) Payn, Springbok rugby. Taught at the school from 1915 to 1953. Bill fought in both World Wars and was awarded the Military Medal in 1941, aged 47, while in action in the Western Desert. Prisoner of war in Germany with fellow DHS teacher Izak Van Heerden. Ran the 90 km Comrades Marathon in rugby boots. Provincial cricket, baseball, athletics and boxing.
Izak Van Heerden. School, Natal, Springbok and Argentina rugby coach. POW in Germany with another DHS teacher, Bill Payn. Taught at DHS for 39 years. Izak died at the school in 1973.
Alumni
This article's list of alumni may not follow Wikipedia's verifiability policy. Please improve this article by removing names that do not have independent reliable sources showing they merit inclusion in this article AND are alumni, or by incorporating the relevant publications into the body of the article through appropriate citations. (May 2018)
David W. Brokensha (1923–2017) was a South African anthropologist and university professor, known for his work on Indigenous development and cultures in Africa.
Tim Couzens (1944–2016) was a South African literary and social historian, and travel writer, employed in the Graduate School for Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of the Witwatersrand.
Graham Atkinson: Chief Executive Officer Umgeni Water (1987–1996), a state-owned entity. It is one of Africa's most successful organisations involved in water management, and is the largest supplier of bulk potable water in KwaZulu-Natal.
Stephen Mulholland,[3] CEO Times Media Limited (Formerly SAAN) 1986–1992. CEO Fairfax Group (Australia) 1992–1996. Two time All American Swimming Champion and South African national champion.
Howard Carpendale. 'Schlager' singer, sold over 50 million records in German speaking countries. Won Goldene Europa Award in 1978 and 1987, Goldene Stimmgabel prize in 1981, '84, '86 and 1987. First XV rugby, First XI cricket and Natal School's athletics.
Paddy Roberts, RAF pilot. Commercial BOAC pilot after the war. Turned to songwriting and singing, writing numerous UK hits and film scores. Won five Ivor Novello Awards.
All international representatives unless indicated otherwise.
Cricket
All represented South Africa except where noted:[a]
Hashim Amla. SA test captain. World Cup 2007, 2011, 2015 and 2019. His 311 not out in the first test at The Oval in 2012 is the highest by a SA batsman in test cricket. Wisden Cricketer of the Year 2013. Quickest SA batsman to score 20 test centuries and the fastest batsman from all countries to score 7000 runs in ODIs.
Nick Compton (represented England). Toured England with the DHS first XI captained by Hashim Amla. Averaged 99.60 for Somerset in county cricket in 2012. Tests for England beginning 2012. Wisden Cricketer of the Year 2013. Hilton College and Harrow School (England) also.
Geoff Griffin. First South African to take a hat-trick in a test match (Lords 1960). First XV rugby, Natal School's Athletics, Natal U19 rugby, Rhodesia hockey.[b]
Tyron Henderson, First XV rugby. Kent and Middlesex and Rajasthan Royals (IPL).
Lee Irvine Highest First XI batting average at DHS in a season. Scored 1310 runs at an average of 68.95 in 21 innings (Wade Wingfield scored 1510 runs in 1995). School First XV rugby and School Athletics.
Imraan Khan. Opened the innings in the third test against Australia in Cape Town in the absence of SA captain Graeme Smith (2009). Not the Pakistan captain.
Lance Klusener, "Zulu", ICC 1999 World Cup Man of the Tournament despite SA not playing in the final, Wisden Cricketer of the Year 2000. Took 8/64 in India's second innings on debut in Kolkata in 1996. Klusener's World Cup batting average of 124 is the highest for any batsman and 16 higher than the second best.
JFW Nicolson, Rhodes Scholar. Holds the record, set with another old boy, I J 'Jack' Siedle, of 424 runs for the first wicket in provincial cricket in SA. Nicolson made 252 not out. Head Boy, captain of cricket and rugby.
Jack Siedle. Holds the record, set with another old boy JFW Nicolson, of the highest opening stand in provincial cricket in South Africa of 424 runs. Shared in a 260 run opening partnership with Bruce Mitchell against England at Newlands (1930/1).
Richard Snell. World Cup 1992. First old boy to represent South Africa after the country's re-admission to international competition in 1992.
Rupert Ellis-Brown, represented SA in sailing in 1924 and 1928 Olympic Games.
Dave Hudson,[13] yachtsman. Represented SA in the Admiral's Cup (1975), the Olympic Games (1992), the ISAF Games (1994) and in 14 World Championships between 1968 and 2009.
Warren Lewis – Footballer, SA (2 caps in 2000), Durban City, WIts University, Amazulu, Orlando Pirates, Moroka Swallows. Scored the first goal in the PSL.
Ian McLeod, World Cup football referee (France 1998).
Notes and references
^Over 200 old boys have played provincial cricket in South Africa or county cricket in England.
^ abcdAll five played in the Lords test match in 1960. Richards, Goddard, Irvine and Gamsy all played in the first two tests against Australia in 1969/70.
