Hillcrest was formerly a sleepy village, governed by its own Town Board[5] on the outskirts of Durban that has now become a booming suburb incorporated into the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality. Hill Crest (as the town's name was variously spelt until 1969) was founded on a rise in the main road from Durban to Pietermaritzburg in 1895 as a farming or "weekend" village, then a good distance from what was the emerging port of Port Natal. The village was laid out as leasehold sites on a portion of the farm Albinia owned by William Gillitt, one of the main pioneer families of the area and after which the nearby suburb of Gillitts is named.
One of the other early families to set up in the area was the Acutts who had already established the well known in Durban estate agents firm of that name. In 1903 the first school in the village was established in a wood and iron cottage in Hospital Road leased to a Mrs McMillian, the principal of the first Highbury School, by Horace Acutt.
When the first Hillcrest Health Committee was established in 1943, the total all-race population was 1135 persons and only the Main Road was hardened. Nkutu Road was hardened with klinker in 1947 and this was followed in 1951 with the hardening of the first portion of Inanda Road. In 1962 blacktopping of selected roads in the central area began, followed by further roads in 1965. By 1971, when Town Board status was obtained, the total population had grown to 2799 persons.
The Hillcrest Waste Water Treatment Plant was established in the 1990s, then serving only the central commercial area of the village with phased extensions planned in time, with other areas continuing on septic tanks.
Hillcrest today
Hillcrest lost its independent Town Board status in 1996 and was made subject to administration by the Outer West Local Council - a substructure council of the then Durban Unicity. In 2000, the Outer West Local Council, along with other local councils, was disestablished and were replaced by the single eThekwini Municipality encompassing the entire Durban metropolitan area.
With rural origins, Hillcrest has been swept up in Durban's urban sprawl and experienced a building boom in the late 1990s and 2000s with the construction of many gated communities and shopping centres.[6] Today, Hillcrest has developed into a residential suburb on the outer western outskirts of the Durban metropolitan area and largely serves as a commuter town with much of its working population travelling to Durban and Pinetown to work or study.
The town has expanded significantly following the establishment of a number of upmarket luxury lifestyle estates such as Cotswold Downs, Camelot and Plantations. These developments have further boosted the property values in this upmarket area and as a result, Hillcrest is now regarded as one of the most sought-after addresses in the Greater Durban metropolitan area.
Contrary to its reputation for urban sprawl, Hillcrest has consistently remained a largely residential area and still manages to retain its distinctly "semi-rural" atmosphere, appealing to those who sought to have the convenience of living a peri-urban lifestyle close enough to the city of Durban and its amenities.
View of Inanda Road in Hillcrest
Geography
Hillcrest is situated in the Upper Highway Area of Durban, approximately 32 kilometres (20 mi) north-west of the city and is bordered by Gillitts and Everton to the east, Waterfall to the north-east and Botha's Hill and Assagay to the north-west. It lies at an altitude of approximately 680 m (2231 ft) above sea level in the Valley of a Thousand Hills, just above Durban.
Suburban areas
Albany (Residential)
Albina (Residential)
Belvedere (Residential)
Belvedere Ext 1 (Residential)
Cotswold Downs Golf and Country Estate (Residential)
Hilldene (Residential)
Plantations (Residential)
West Riding (Residential)
Retail
Old Main Road is the main street of the Hillcrest CBD, retaining its status as the traditional centre of commerce in the town, and is lined with local shops, cafés, restaurants, petrol stations and shopping centres such as Hillcrest Corner (the largest shopping centre in Hillcrest), Christians Village, The Colony, Hillgate, Hillcrest Centre, Lillies Quarter Lifestyle Centre and Oxford Village Centre.[8][9]
Hillcrest is served by two hospitals, namely the Hillcrest Hospital, a specialised public hospital for chronically ill patients and the Busamed Hillcrest Private Hospital, owned by major South African private health group, Busamed, located just outside Hillcrest.[12][13]
Transport
Roads
Skirting Hillcrest to the south, the M13, also known as the King Cetshwayo Highway, is the main freeway into Hillcrest, linking the town with Durban to the south-east via Gillitts, Kloof, Pinetown and Westville. Further south of Hillcrest, the N3, also known as the Mariannhill Toll Route links the town directly with Durban to the south-east and Pietermaritzburg to the north-west.
Apart from the freeways, Hillcrest is served by three main routes, namely; the R103 (Old Main Road) which was previously the N3 before the current freeway and runs as the main road of Hillcrest towards Botha’s Hill and Inchanga in the north-west, the M33 (Inanda Road) to Waterfall and the M46 (Kassier Road) to Assagay and Shongweni.
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