Durban did not simply grow; it was built, argued over, paid for, and recorded. In this municipal history book, W. P. M. Henderson gathers the first half-century of the borough into a vivid civic portrait. Fifty years told in minutes. Compiled for the Durban Corporation as a jubilee commemorative volume, this local history chronicle follows Durban city development through the practical machinery of government: borough council proceedings, committees, bylaws, and the decisions that shaped streets, water, sanitation, lighting, harbour connections, and the everyday pressures of a fast-changing port. Read it for the texture of public works history and the human scale of administration - who proposed, who resisted, what won, and what cost. It is also a grounded south african history reference for readers tracing colonial natal history and the rhythms of Durban south africa within wider british empire municipal studies. For historians, archivists, and family researchers, the book opens doors into port city urban archives: names, offices, civic projects, and timelines that support a genealogy local research guide approach without reducing the narrative to mere data. Republished by Alpha Editions in a careful modern edition, this volume preserves the spirit of the original while making it effortless to enjoy today - a heritage title prepared for readers and collectors alike, and a handsome addition beside classic regional histories. Written at the jubilee itself, it preserves how the borough understood its own progress. Casual readers can browse for milestones; collectors will prize its standing in Durban's documentary tradition at once.