Racing along the Golden Mile

Frank Chemaly|Published 1 week ago

Motor racing in the rain on Durban’s Snell Parade, probably during the second Fairfield Handicap in January 1948.

The old picture this week takes in Durban’s Snell Parade which was the city’s original Golden Mile.

It got the nickname in the 1950s with the proliferation of high rise and fashionable apartment blocks, from Somtseu Road up to Argyle Road. The “Golden Mile” tag was later usurped to include the entire Durban beach front.

On the far left you can see the Natal Command building and the picture must have been taken after World War 2, as the tower on Natal Command was removed during the war to prevent it being identified by German U-Boats.

The gathered crowds are standing on a plot which today features Durban's famed Blue Waters Hotel and a block of flats called Las Palmas. The Hotel was built in 1969.

Motoracing was a popular sport in the growing city and the crowds would gather at the Durban Circuit which included the Golden Mile. In fact the original hairpin bend at Snake Park Beach is still there and was used as part of the circuit for the recent A1 Grand Prix in 2006.

After the war the Natal Motorcycle and Car Club pushed the city authorities to hold a proper race on Durban's beachfront. This may well have been the second Fairfield Handicap, named in honour of the great pre-war driver, Pat Fairfield, who was killed at the Le Mans 24 Hour race in 1937. It was held on January 24, 1948. The first race was held in 1939.

The Snell parade on an equally grey and rainy January day. The Blue Waters Hotel is where the cars are parked in the old pictures and the palm trees all but obscure the old Natal Command building. In the background you can see the Suncoast Hotel built in the early 2000s. Picture: Frank Chemaly

The race was described on the website Facts About Durban.

More than 20 000 attend taking up vantage points along the Snell Parade and Walter Gilbert Road. One lap of this circuit was 2.8 miles in an anti-clockwise direction. The race was held over 40 laps and a total distance of 112 miles. Organisers received 28 entries from all over South Africa of which 26 eventually showed up.

It was a miserable day with almost incessant rain and wind but great crowds still gathered. Shortly after 1pm the 25 cars (one competitor had blown his engine) lined up at the start-finish line, situated between Argyle Road and the Snake Park Hairpin, as Mayor Leo Boyd started the race. It was won by Basil Beall in an Era R3A in a time of 1 hour 39 minutes and 50 seconds. He was presented with the Roy Hesketh trophy and a cash prize of £100.

The Snell Parade circuit was used annually as a racing venue until 1955 when racing in the province eventually found a permanent home at the purpose-built Roy Hesketh circuit in Pietermaritzburg.