Our Hilton is 160 years old this year!'Hilton owes its name to Jane Henderson, wife of farming pioneer and financier Joseph Henderson, who no doubt was nostalgically thinking of Hilton Park in her native Staffordshire when they first named their farm Hilton in 1860 which adjoined Philip Zietsman’s Voortrekker farm, named ‘Groenekloof’ and was used as access to the early wagon routes.
The Zulu name for Hilton is Nyazake, which means ‘His Feet’ and is derived from old Zulu war trails connecting the uKhahlamba-Drakensberg region with Kranskop, approximately where Hilton farm is today. The earliest record of Europeans in the Hilton area goes back to the early 19th century when transport riders travelled into the hinterland over World's View, making overnight stops at Ketelfontein, Sedgley and The Knoll at Winterskloof. Voortrekker farmers were the first to settle in the 1840's when they were granted land by the British Government, two early large farms Groenekloof and Ongegund.
The ‘village’ of Hilton began when prominent residents of Pietermaritzburg purchased property to build cottages as a retreat from the summer heat and dust of the town.' an extract from The Story of Hilton, an account of Hilton life compiled by By C & M Lake and J Hoëpfl.
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