How Higginson Highway got its name
The organisation recently delved into the history of the Higginson Highway as part of their mission to discover the origins of the names of the various areas in Chatsworth. SHELF is a voluntary organisation, in its embryo of people, who are interested in literature, history and the preservation of the environment and books.
Newly-created historical association- the Shallcross Historical, Environmental and Library Friends (SHELF), is headed by community leader, Jerald Danasekera Vedan.
The organisation recently delved into the history of the Higginson Highway as part of their mission to discover the origins of the names of the various areas in Chatsworth. SHELF is a voluntary organisation, in its embryo of people, who are interested in literature, history and the preservation of the environment and books.
Vedan, the interim chairperson of SHELF, stated that when Chatsworth was conceived as a township for displaced members of the Indian community from settled areas, such as Cato Manor, Seaview and Bellair, etc, it was Cllr JJ Higginson, who headed the then Durban City Co-Operation Housing Committee.
“At the time, Higginson stated that Chatsworth would become a model, modern township with amenities and facilities from established (Indian) areas. The city council rejected the suggestion from well-meaning members of the Indian community that Chatsworth would become a ghetto. Snaking through Chatsworth, moving through all the units is Chatsworth’s equivalent of River Thames in London or the Yangtze River in China- the Higginson Highway. People drive through or obtain transport though this highway and can reach every unit as there are off-ramps to the units,” he said.
Jimmy Higginson, after whom the highway is named, died in 1995.
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“He was a religious man and was also something of an actor, producer and member of the Catholic Players Guild. His wife, Betty, was one of the first yoga teachers in Manor Gardens. She passed away in 2014, and at that stage, speaker, Logi Naidoo of the eThekwini Council recognised Betty and Jimmy’s efforts and individual contributions to the city in expressing his condolences,” Vedan explained.
He pointed out that during the renaming of the roads process in eThekwini in 2008, there was pressure to rename the Higginson Highway.
“At that stage, Jimmy Higginson’s daughter, Fiona, stated that the family were stressed and had written to newspapers about it. She stated that they were pleased that it did not happen. However, she further commented that the family was proud of what their late father had achieved and that they were not sentimental about it. There had been talk of a second access road to Chatsworth for many years as Higginson Highway was and is heavily used, however, this hasn’t come to fruition. The highway is also notorious for the mythical ghost, Highway Sheila, who is reputed to have guided many latecomers, sometimes traversing the highway after a night of revelry to a ghastly fate. Highway Sheila is apparently an intoxicatingly breath-taking feminine apparition. There has even been a film made about this ghost, and among Chatsworth’s socialising and braaing fraternity, many a story is told around the braai fire,” Vedan continued.
In the early days, there were many accidents and deaths on the highway at the train crossing at the Mobeni Industrial turn-off. Cars crashed into trains there- shocking stories emanating therein.
“As the years go by, consideration should be given to improving this highway, which is such a vital link in the economy and transportation of KwaZulu-Natal,” concluded Vedan.
