URBAN liARBOUR

FRO/n ROADSTEAD TO Qu AY

CHAPTER

1RST impressions may, under certain circumstances and with certain places, prove false or unfavourable, but the voyager who rounds the picturesque Durban Bluff, and, crossing the bar, makes for the quayside must at once be impressed and captivated by the beautiful panorama which meets his gaze : the vivid and satisfying effect is as delightful as it is permanent. As the ocean steamer glides along the entrance to the Channel the imposing lighthouse, with the adjacent signal Station, are seen from their vantage point on the bush-clad Bluff : con- tinuing our course along the waterway between the North and South piers—which have alike been the source of anxiety and profit to the Government Department—it is observed that the bay speedily widens out, being encircled by the Berea and town. Undoubtedly the best position from which to view the natural beauty of the bay and the surrounding hüls would be from an aeroplane, but possibly a more stable Substitute will be obtained from the heights of the Bluff. From this point the picturesqueness of the far-famed Berea, the excellent appointments of the town, and the ship-thronged wharves, extending right away to Congella, may be appreciated at a glance ; while in a northerly direction, backed by low undulating hüls, is the eastern coast line leading away to Zululand and the rival port of Delagoa Bay.

The Qne-Time Bar

The bar exists only in name. After half a Century of patient and vigorous toil this one-time impediment to navigation has succumbed to the many engineering expedients employed to encompass its lasting destruction. Owing to the presence of the piers, and the continual deepening Operations of powerful

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