The intersection of Crompton Street and Hill Street in Pinetown showing the newly-constructed Nichols Building in the early 1950s.
Image: Facebook
The old picture today looks at Pinetown’s main commercial thoroughfare Crompton Street with Hill street going off on the right. The picture is from Durban History and Surrounds and was probably taken in the late 1970s.
Growing up in Hillcrest I remember Hill Street being the main retail centre of Pinetown. It was also where the area’s only cinemas were. And if you wanted anything other than everyday groceries you had to drive to Pinetown. As teens we would watch matinees of Star Wars movies and Grease and James Bond movies while mom did the shopping. Often we’d watch the same movie again.
Crompton Street in Pinetown was named after Canon John Crompton (1815–1889), a prominent Anglican clergyman and early settler in the area. He purchased the Wayside Inn in 1857 and was a notable landowner, often associated with the early development of Pinetown. In fact the early town basically developed around the Wayside Inn which was founded on the farm Stunting's Drift. He was married to Harriet Crompton. The family held significant land, with records mentioning the Pinetown Estate managed by his son, Godfrey Crompton.
The same intersection today.
Image: Tumi Pakkies / Independent Newspapers
Canon Crompton is also remembered as the clergyman who led the campaign against Bishop John William Colenso.
It is not clear who Hill Street was named after.
The eight-storey block of flats behind the intersection is the Nichols Building which was constructed in 1949 and was one of the few high-rise buildings in the city centre at the time. The building originally housed Miladys, the iconic and popular ladies’ clothing store that has been a stalwart in South Africa for decades. Now a member of the Mr Price group, Miladys started off as a privately owned dress shop in Pinetown in 1947. The first store was opened by Hannah Ellison and Valerie Bailey in Crompton Street.
Next door to Miladys, which fronted on Crompton Street, was Dinkleman's Toys and Cycles, which was owned by Derek Dinkleman.
Today the Nichols Building is still intact although a spectacularly ugly addition has been made to the single story corner of the building.