History
The Nguni tribes first inhabited the Eastern shores on their migration southwards. The first documented history of St Lucia was by the Portuguese on their voyages of discovery in the 1500's (it has since come to light that they actually had maps given to them by the Chinese, but that is a story in itself). The survivors of the Portuguese ship Saint Benedict named it "Rio de la Medaos do Oura"' (River of the dhows of Gold) in the 1550's. This name was changed to Santa Lucia in honour of the Feast of St Lucy in 1575. This name was later changed to St Lucia. The Boer Republic of Vryheid had thoughts of using it as a port, but this was scuttled by the British who annexed the area with gunboats in 1884. The St. Lucia township was proclaimed in 1885. The first hotel was built in the 1920's due to it's popularity as a fishing resort. During World War Two the southern part of the lake was used as a base for a squadron of Catalina flying boats that patrolled the Indian Ocean to Madagascar to control the U-boat threat. The remains of two Catalinas still lie in the lake. The bridge connecting St Lucia to the mainland was only built in the 1950's. The bridge was destroyed by cyclone Demoina in 1984 - the current bridge was built shortly after that. Santa Lucia guesthouse was started in 1995.
Wildlife, ecology and environment
Man, the environment and ecology have been closely linked during it's history. The area around the lake was a paradise for hunters in the 1800's (ivory, rhino horn and hippo hides were profitable commodities). The significance of the lake was recognised and the area was proclaimed a Nature Reserve in 1897. As a result of sugar cane being planted on the Umfolozi river flats and the draining of the swamps and wetlands, river sediment blocked the Umfolozi River/Lake St Lucia mouth in the early 1950's. In an attempt to solve this problem a new mouth for the Umfolozi River was excavated in 1953, south of the lake St Lucia Estuary. In the early 1950s the Government Forestry Department started forestry around the lake area, which had a detrimental effect on the wetland areas. In 1971, the coastal areas and the lake were listed in the Convention of Wetlands of International Importance and in 1999 The Greater St. Lucia Wetland Park was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site - South Africa's first.
Shipwrecks
1. On 31 January 1898, the ship Dorothea was wrecked on the reef off Cape Vidal. It is rumoured that the ship was carrying a cargo of stolen gold from the Witwatersrand. Numerous salvage attempts have been made to recover the gold, but none have been successful. The anchor chain of the Dorothea is still visible on the rocks at Cape Vidal.
2. The SS Timavo, an Italian cargo vessel, beached just north of Leven point in June 1940. It had slipped out of Durban after Italy declared war on the Allies and was forced ashore by the Air Force. The wreck can be clearly seen from the beach at low tide.
3. The Jolly Rubino ran aground just south of St Lucia in 2002 after catching fire. The mouth was closed with dredgers and bulldozers when oil spillage threatened the coastline. It remained closed for five years before it was opened by nature again.
John Ross
John Ross (his real name was Charles Rawdon MacLean) was a 12 year old boy in 1827 when he came through this area on his epic walk from Durban to Lourenco Marques. He did the 960km trip in 6 months to fetch much needed medicines for the settlers in Durban. The young boy so impressed Shaka Zulu that he was given a guard of impi warriors for his trip. He was later made a Zulu chief and given land in Mtunzini, a small village south of Richards Bay.
It is 275 kilometers north of Durban, or alternatively one hour from Richards Bay Airport. South African Airways have 4 flights per day into Richards Bay, from where car rental can be arranged.
