Newcastle is the third-largest city in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa and is the province's industrial centre. The city has four industrial areas. The majority of its citizens reside in Newcastle East in the main townships of Madadeni and Osizweni, with the balance residing in Newcastle West (the two sides of Newcastle are separated by the N11 road). Set at the foothills of the northern KwaZulu-Natal Drakensberg Mountains, Newcastle is located in the northwest corner of the province along the Ncandu River.
Newcastle is the seat of the local municipality, and the Amajuba District Municipality. Newcastle's municipal area is , ranking Newcastle as South Africa's 15th-largest city and consists of 34 wards.
The N11 and R34 are the principal roads linking the city to the rest of South Africa.
History
Toponymy Newcastle has changed names on numerous occasions during the country's historic rule. It was initially named Post Halt Number 2 on military maps during the 1840s, as postal coaches stopped here to obtain fresh horses on the journey between Durban (then Port Natal in Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek) and Johannesburg. It was later known as the Waterfall River Township because of the Ncandu River. Newcastle was named after the British Colonial Secretary, the fifth Duke of Newcastle, a British aristocrat, and not the city in England as some believe. On 14 October 1899, during the Anglo-Boer War, Newcastle was invaded by Boer forces, and the entire district was incorporated into the Transvaal Republic. After seven months it was renamed Viljoensdorp, after the commander of the Johannesburg Commando, General Ben Viljoen. However, after relief of Ladysmith under the command of General Redver Buller, the British forces reclaimed the name Newcastle.
Establishment Newcastle (then Post Halt Number 2) was strategically situated in 1854 by the Surveyor-General of the Natal Colony, Dr. P.C. Sutherland on the banks of the flooded Ncandu River. In 1864, Newcastle was founded on the site, becoming the fourth settlement to be established in Natal after Durban, Weenen and Pietermaritzburg.
War and British rule In 1876, Fort Amiel was constructed to ward off the Zulus during the war, and in 1873 Newcastle became a separate electoral division. To commemorate Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee (60th anniversary), the construction of a sandstone town hall commenced in 1897, and was completed two years later. The town was used as a depot by the British during both the First and Second Boer War, and also functioned as a major transport junction and stopover for wagons and post chaises during the late 19th century.
British preparation work for the Pretoria Convention of 1881 was done at Newcastle.
The Industrial Era In 1890, the first train arrived in Newcastle, and the town was declared a borough in 1891. The discovery of coal brought a new era of prosperity, and several ambitious building projects were planned. In 1920, the Union Steel Corporation built the province's first steel plant, which later became the ISCOR South Works and subsequently decommissioned the plant after the ISCOR North Works was built, now called Arcelor Mittal Newcastle Works.
Newcastle today
Today, Newcastle is the main commercial and industrial centre in northern KwaZulu-Natal, and is the province's third-largest city. The municipality is making efforts for the city to become sustainable by 2030. Newcastle is the gateway to the Zulu Kingdom from the Free State and Mpumalanga.
Geography and climate
Located at approximately above sea level, Newcastle is located in the northwest corner of the province of KwaZulu-Natal at the foothills of the northern Drakensberg mountains. The city has a temperate climate and is classified under the country's 'Cold Interior'. Temperatures in Newcastle often drop below freezing during the winter months, with snowfall often experienced at least twice a decade. Newcastle's summer temperatures have exceeded 40 degrees Celsius in the recent past due to the 2015 El Niño weather phenomenon, with the region experiencing drought conditions after 28 years.
Demographics Zulus form the largest single ethnic group. Due to its past, Newcastle has a large number of British, Afrikaner, and Indian people, with several places of worship and spiritual organizations based in the city's suburbs.
Since the mid-1980s, the city has seen an influx of Chinese citizens. The approximately 200 Chinese-owned businesses have contributed to Newcastle's textile and plastic manufacturing industries.
Following the end of Apartheid, the cultural footprint of the Chinese community expanded greatly. As of 2021, there are an estimate 3000 people of Chinese descent living in Newcastle. The Nan Hua Temple, which is the African headquarters of the Fo Guang Shan order, maintains a branch in Newcastle. The Buddha's Light International Association (BLIA) established both a mediation centre and Chinese School in Newcastle which serves both the local Chinese community and the broader public.
Economy
Newcastle has the largest concentration of commerce and industry in northern KwaZulu-Natal. The city serves the surrounding towns of Utrecht, Vryheid, Dannhauser, Glencoe and Dundee, as well as the farmers, South Africa at large, and the export market with a range of products and goods.
Industry The city has four industrial areas, namely Riverside Industrial, Airport Industrial, Madadeni Industrial Estate, and Arcelor Mittal Newcastle Works. Newcastle's economy is dominated by heavy industry, clothing and textile, services, and engineering industries, as well as extensive local coal mining.
Arcelor Mittal steelworks, the Natal Portland Cement (NPC) slagment cement plant, the LANXESS Chrome Chemical Plant and the Karbochem synthetic rubber plant, which covers manufacturing space dominate the Newcastle industrial area. Heavy engineering works firms such as DCD Venco and Boschpick Engineering supply ancillary services to the aforementioned large concerns and the rest of South Africa.
Chinese and Taiwanese businesspeople established more than a hundred textile factories in the Riverside Industrial Estate and the Madadeni Industrial Estate.
In 2011 Independent Power South Africa (IPSA) converted the old Ngagane Power Station into the Newcastle Cogeneration Plant, an 18 MW gas fired powerstation that provides a dedicated power supply to the Karbochem chrome chemical plant which was completed during 2002.
This joint venture project between Karbochem and German speciality chemical manufacturing giant LANXESS has made Newcastle the largest producer of chrome chemicals in Africa. The company announced an investment of €40 million in 2012 towards the construction of an innovative CO2 plant (Cansolv chemical process) at its site.
Arcelor Mittal Newcastle produces over 1.5 million tons of long steel products annually and in 2015 undertook a major reline on the N5 Blast Furnace valued at R1.8 billion. The closure of the Newcastle steel-making operations was announced in January 2025.
In mid-2014, a portion of Airport Industrial was renamed the Newcastle Chemical Park, and houses African Amines (Pty) Ltd, Karbochem (Pty) Ltd, KC Energy (Pty) Ltd, LANXESS (CISA) (Pty) Ltd, Newcastle Co-generation (IPSA), and South African Calcium Carbide (Pty) Ltd.
Other large operations include firms such as Formosa Plastics and Nova Clothing, both of which manufacture goods for the country's leading retailers, diamond-cutting works, various engineering concerns, and building industry-related services such as brick manufacturing, roofing systems, and steel reinforcement.
Buildings and roads
Recent development in Newcastle includes the new multi-storey Civic Centre, Victorian Mall expansion, the Meadowlands Estate in Madadeni, the Vulintaba Country Estate in the Drakensberg outside Newcastle, Newcastle Corner, and the Equarand mixed-use precinct.
Recent roadworks include the D96 rebuild, the Allen Street bridge and widening of Allen Street along Trim Park, the Link Road extension Phase 1, and the Albert Wessels Drive extension Phase 1.
Proposed future projects include the Newcastle Technology Hub, expansion of the Newcastle Airport, and the re-alignment of the N11 bypass south of Newcastle by SANRAL.
Tallest structures
Industrial
Arcelor Mittal Arcelor Mittal has a number of tall structures exceeding in height. The most notable on Newcastle's skyline include: The 2 stacks are tall. The N5 blast furnace is tall. The coke ovens are tall.
Newcastle Co-generation Plant The 2 stacks are tall. The 4 cooling towers are tall.
Natal Portland Cement The lift structure for the main 4 silos is tall.
Newcastle Chemical Park This facility has several tall industrial structures and stacks above in height.
Telecommunications The Signal Hill Tower is tall.
Buildings Arcelor Mittal Head Office Building: 10 storeys - structural height is & top of antenna is . DBM Building: 9 storeys - structural height is and the top of antenna is . Newcastle Civic Centre: 9 storeys with a structural height of .
Tourism
As Newcastle is on the alternative route to travellers from Gauteng to Durban, attempts have been made to capture potential tourist revenue by enticing travellers to visit the scenic and historic Battlefields Route where war once raged (Battlefields Route Website). Apart from a few hotels, there are many guesthouses and bed & breakfasts providing luxurious accommodation. Historic places of interest in Newcastle on this route include: Newcastle City Hall The Carnegie Art Gallery Haggards Hilldrop House The Armoury Newcastle Cemetery Hindu Shiva Temple Chief Albert Luthuli and the Blaauwbosch Methodist School and Church King Dinuzulu & the Old Prison Maharaj House Fort Amiel Museum O'Neills Cottage Majuba Mountain
Transport
Road The N11 is the principal road running through the city, connecting south to Ladysmith and north to Ermelo in the Mpumalanga Province.
The R34 connects north-west to Vrede in the Free State and east to Vryheid and Empangeni.
Rail Newcastle lies on the main passenger and goods railway line between Johannesburg and Durban. The city has a large rail siding and cargo facility.
Airport Newcastle has one airport which is located approximately south-east of the city centre, south of the city's railway station. Chartered flights provide daily service.
Society and culture
Galleries
The Carnegie Art Gallery represents South African artists as well as local artists; this historic building falls within the city's civic precinct.
Museums, monuments and memorials Fort Amiel Museum, a typical Victorian frontier fort, is a National Heritage Site.
Music Newcastle is home to the Northern KwaZulu-Natal Youth Choir – a provincial choir of international repute.
The annual Vodacom Winter Festival aka 'Newcastle Show' provides a platform for South African bands and singers, and attracts visitors from the entire region. Notable performers who performed for the event include Matthew Mole, Cassper Nyovest, Majozi, Snotkop, and Jo Black.
Places of worship Newcastle has all of the major religious organizations represented; churches, temples, and mosques can be found throughout the city. Landmarks include the NG Kerk on York Street, and the Hindu Shiva Temple on Kirkland Street. The Darul Uloom on St Thomas Street, an institute of higher Islamic studies, is a landmark in Newcastle's diverse community with a modern mosque on the premises.
Sport Newcastle remains a venue for major sports competitions and conferences because of the facilities the city has to offer. A variety of rugby, cricket, soccer, squash, tennis, swimming, and other sport facilities has contributed to its ability to host both national and international events.
Stadia