Kloof

History

Details of the history of Kloof has been written by This part of KwaZulu-Natal was originally a farm 'Richmond', whose survey was ordained by the first Lieutenant-Governor of Colony Sir Martin West, following his 1845 appointment to the post; he also named it, after Charles Lennox, 4th Duke of Richmond (Yorkshire, England). The land Kloof occupies formed the Richmond Farm No. 999: this was purchased by William Swan FIELD, the first Collector of Customs (position he held until 1852) for Natal Colony, in 1845 for an amount of £245. He was also one of the first Magistrates of Durban. In 1845 his brother John Coote FIELD and his family settled on the farm, having arrived from the Cape Colony on the Pilot. The farm was eventually transferred into J C Field's name by Deed of Transfer in 1867, at a declared value of £1,401 pounds & 10 shillings. The original farmhouse, called Richmond House, was built by J C Field in 1854 to replace an earlier wattle & daub house. The 'Richmond' section of the farm passed to his son John Coote FIELD the Second in 1880 on the occasion of his marriage, who partially demolished the original Richmond House and rebuilt another homestead nearby. J C Field the First died in 1896, and upon the death of his widow in 1901 the Farm was divided amongst the surviving heirs: for each son, for each daughter, and the homestead plus to his youngest son Benjamin Cromwell Colenso FIELD. Current surviving relatives of J C Field still reside in the highway area: John Padley Field (adopted) and his daughter Kathleen Merle Field. The further subdivisions and sale of portions of Richmond Farm No. 999 by the Field heirs after 1901 resulted in the birth of Kloof as a residential area: numerous plots were sold to wealthy Durban residents and businessmen,…

Geography

Kloof is situated in the Upper Highway Area of Durban, approximately 26 kilometres (16 mi) north-west of the city and is bordered by Gillitts and Everton to the west, Waterfall to the north-west, Wyebank to the north-east, Molweni to the north and Pinetown to the east. It lies at an altitude of approximately 550 m (1804 ft) above sea level, on the Kloof Plateau, just above Pinetown, extending from the top of Field's Hill.

Most-observed species

• Hadada Ibis

  Bostrychia hagedash (Latham, 1790) · Aves
  5,703
• Red-eyed Dove

  Streptopelia semitorquata (Rüppell, 1837) · Aves
  5,230
• Red-winged Starling

  Onychognathus morio (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  4,060
• Cape White-eye

  Zosterops virens Sundevall, 1850 · Aves
  3,937
• Black-collared Barbet

  Lybius torquatus (Dumont, 1805) · Aves
  3,912
• Bronze mannikin

  Lonchura cucullata (Swainson, 1837) · Aves
  3,809
• Village Weaver

  Ploceus cucullatus (Statius Muller, 1776) · Aves
  3,372
• Egyptian Goose

  Alopochen aegyptiaca (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  3,249

Most recent

• M 3.7 — 2016-02-06
  South Africa