Durban Point (House of Assembly of South Africa constituency)

When the Union of South Africa was formed in 1910, the electoral qualifications in use in each pre-existing colony were kept in place. The franchise used in the Natal Colony, while theoretically not restricted by race, was significantly less liberal than that of the Cape, and no more than a few hundred non-white electors ever qualified. In 1908, an estimated 200 of the 22,786 electors in the colony were of non-European descent, and by 1935, only one remained.^[1] By 1958, when the last non-white voters in the Cape were taken off the rolls, Natal too had an all-white electorate. The franchise was also restricted by property and education qualifications until the 1933 general election, following the passage of the Women's Enfranchisement Act, 1930 and the Franchise Laws Amendment Act, 1931. From then on, the franchise was given to all white citizens aged 21 or over, which remained the case until the end of apartheid and the introduction of universal suffrage in 1994.^[2]

Like the rest of Durban, Durban Point was a largely English-speaking seat. In its first years, it was a marginal seat, electing a Labour member in 1920 but otherwise returning members from the South African Party and its predecessors. After the abolition of Stamford Hill constituency in 1943, the Point constituency expanded to take in much of Durban’s affluent northern suburbs, and became a far more conservative seat as a result. Its member between 1958 and 1987, Vause Raw, was a key figure of the United Party’s conservative faction, and later became the leader of the New Republic Party.^[3] When Raw retired in 1987, the seat was captured by the National Party under J. C. Mathee,^[4] who would hold it until its abolition in 1994.

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