“Alamein Avenue Woodlands” A whisper from the past echoes through the trees. That’s where it all began for Derek Austin. Born in 1958 his family moved into a house on this very street. Woodlands in Durban South Africa is more than just a suburb. It’s a place where memories are etched into the landscape.
Woodlands is nestled in the south of Durban. It sits just south of Montclair bordering Mobeni East. In 1958 it was a middle-class haven. Children played freely. Neighbours knew each other. The atmosphere was different. It was a much simpler time.
Imagine young Derek and his brother. They spent countless hours playing in a gully. A stream flowed there. Before Woodhaven was built. Before the railway line to Chatsworth. Before the outer ring road. This gully is long gone now. The sugar cane fields are history too. The stream is just a memory.
Nagle Square shops supplied groceries. A grocer and a butcher delivered on bicycles. The boys built model Spitfires and Typhoons. They bought them from the local grocer. They had adventures in the sugar cane. They witnessed an ANC attack on an Eskom pylon. This was their everyday reality.
Woodlands held many secrets. The Umlaas canal had sand dunes. One held a gun battery bunker. Derek’s dad loved fishing there. He repaired radios at night. The old sand dune is gone now replaced by factories.
The Woodlands of Derek’s youth is gone. The landscape has changed. But the spirit of Woodlands remains. It’s a place of memories. Of family and friendships. Of childhood adventures. Of a simpler way of life. It’s a place that continues to shape the lives of those who call it home. It remains a quiet little piece of Durban’s history.