Margate is a coastal resort town in the Kwa-Zulu Natal province, about 20 kilometres southwest of Port Shepstone. The river which flows into the sea at Margate is called "Nkhongweni" (place of entreaty) as the original inhabitants of the area were reputed to be so mean resulting in travellers begging for hospitality. It is one of the major hubs for tourists who are looking to visit the eastern coastline of South Africa. History In 1908, Henry Richardson, an English surveyor laid out the town and named it Margate after another seaside resort on the northern coast of the county of Kent, in the United Kingdom. Margate hit the world headlines in 1922 (although this date is often disputed and stated as 1924) when an enormous, white, furry creature (dubbed "Trunko" due to it having an elephantine trunk) was washed up on the beach. The "Margate monster" was too decomposed to be identified. Geography Margate is located on a series of hills overlooking the Indian Ocean with the altitude rising from Margate Beach and the CBD on the coastline to Margate Airport, the highest point of Margate. Margate is located about 15 km south-west of Port Shepstone and 127 km southwest of Durban. It is situated between Uvongo and Ramsgate in which Uvongo lies north and Ramsgate lies south. Margate's Central Business District (CBD) similarly to the nearby towns of Shelly Beach and Uvongo is stringed along 'Marine Drive' with several business and hotels stringing from Margate Hotel to Desroches Hotel. Communities The greater area of Margate includes 13 suburbs with some being formally independent communities (eg. Shelly Beach), extending from Shelly Beach in the north to Ramsgate South in the south. It includes the following suburbs: Beacon Rocks Lawrence Rocks Manaba Beach Margate Beach Margate North Beach Ramsgate Ramsgate Beach Ramsgate South Shelly Beach St Michael's-on-sea Uvongo Uvongo Beach Windsor-on-Sea Apart from these listed suburbs, Margate Extension 3 and 7 located west of the R61/N2 form part of Margate proper but are not official suburbs of the town. Economy Retail Margate is one of the largest retail nodes on the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast with a large concentration of shopping centres and other retail facilities. The town has four shopping centres (excluding those of Greater Margate- eg. Shelly Centre) and include: Emoyeni Centre which has Checkout as its anchor tenant is located in the precinct of the Margate Taxi Rank, just