KZN North Coast’s Iconic ‘Ghost House’ is No More
For those of us who grew up on the KwaZulu-Natal North Coast the empty ‘Ghost House’ of Seatides was a beautiful landmark, impossible to not gaze at each time we drove past Westbrook on the way to Durban and back. The trees around it, the ocean beyond, and the dreams it held of what it […]
For those of us who grew up on the KwaZulu-Natal North Coast the empty ‘Ghost House’ of Seatides was a beautiful landmark, impossible to not gaze at each time we drove past Westbrook on the way to Durban and back. The trees around it, the ocean beyond, and the dreams it held of what it could be… if only we could own it one day.
But those dreams came tumbling down Thursday afternoon… along with the graffiti artwork and the ghosts that allegedly lived there.
Durban photographer PETER DE GROOT said the house has been demolished and is now no more than pile of rubble.
“The house was located on the seaside of the M4, on the Dolphin Coast, near Beach Bum’s restaurant and beach bar. It is unknown why the house was demolished and what may happen to the land going forward,” he said.
Just a month ago, Peter took this photo of the house during a light painting session hosted by Pierre Retief.
According to Umdloti local JON LOUW (who took some of the other photos on this page last year) the Naidu family built the house in 1926 – after moving from India to set up a business in South Africa – and were apparently given notice last year to tear it down as it was unsafe.
In recent years the house has become a location for photographers and graffiti artists, and was even featured recently at the Cannes Film Festival in booklets promoting KwaZulu-Natal as a desirable location for overseas film-makers.
In an interview last year with local paper, The North Coast Courier, owner and property tycoon Saantha Naidu said: “It is a priceless family treasure and it is not for sale.”