About Dannhauser

Dannhauser is named after an old farming family that lived in the area. Dannhauser is one of three local municipalities within the Amajuba District Municipality and covers an area of approximately 1516 square kilometres. It is the smallest municipality within the District Municipality. Main towns are Dannhauser, Hattingspruit, Inverness, Kilegethe, Klipbank, Milford, Normandien, Nyanyadu, Rutland, Tendeka, Witteklip.

The town of Dannhauser is located midway between Durban and Johannesburg on the main railway line, about eight kilometres off the national road between the two cities. Some of the largest coal-producing mines in KwaZulu-Natal surround it. Numerous rivers flow through the municipal area, the most important being the Ngagane and uMzinyathi Rivers and there are scenic landscapes in the western portion of the municipality.

The population of the municipality is currently at 102 161 people (Census 2011). Population densities are highest in the Traditional Authority Areas in the north-eastern portion of the municipal area and in the town of Dannhauser itself.

Dannhauser functions as a small rural service centre (providing commercial and service facilities and agricultural industries and services), and is not a large employment generator. Residents of the municipal area rely on the larger urban centres of Dundee and Newcastle for employment opportunities and higher order goods and services, and mining sector also provides employment, which is another contributing factor in terms of the economic and to the district growth as well.

 

Dannhauser History

Dannhauser is a former coal mining town in KwaZulu-NatalSouth AfricaCattle and sheep farming take place in the district. The town of Dannhauser was named after Renier Dannhauser, a German settler, who purchased the farm Palmietfontein from the Natal Government in 1872. It was proclaimed a village in 1937.

Contemporary Dannhauser covers five farms, namely Tweediedale, Gleneagles, Rocky Branch, Cornwall and Klipkuil. Durnacol housing is relatively cheap now as the coal mines there are redundant.

The town consists of one main street, and the main shops are the post office, bank, pharmacy and some grocery and hardware stores.