| St Lucia | |
| Pushpin Map: | South Africa KwaZulu-Natal#South Africa |
| Coordinates: | -28.383°N 32.417°W |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | South Africa |
| Subdivision Type1: | Province |
| Subdivision Name1: | KwaZulu-Natal |
| Subdivision Type2: | District |
| Subdivision Name2: | Umkhanyakude |
| Subdivision Type3: | Municipality |
| Subdivision Name3: | Mtubatuba |
| Subdivision Type4: | Main Place |
| Established Title: | Established |
| Leader Title: | Councillor |
| Area Footnotes: | [1] |
| Area Total Km2: | 2.68 |
| Population Total: | 1104 |
| Population As Of: | 2022 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Demographics Type1: | Racial makeup (2022) |
| Demographics1 Title1: | Black African |
| Demographics1 Info1: | 21.0% |
| Demographics1 Title2: | Coloured |
| Demographics1 Info2: | 3.8% |
| Demographics1 Title3: | Indian/Asian |
| Demographics1 Info3: | 2.1% |
| Demographics1 Title4: | White |
| Demographics1 Info4: | 72.3% |
| Demographics1 Title5: | Other |
| Demographics1 Info5: | 0.8% |
| Demographics Type2: | First languages (2022) |
| Demographics2 Title1: | Afrikaans |
| Demographics2 Info1: | 47.2% |
| Demographics2 Title2: | English |
| Demographics2 Info2: | 41.9% |
| Demographics2 Title3: | Zulu |
| Demographics2 Info3: | 11.4% |
| Demographics2 Title5: | Other |
| Demographics2 Info5: | 1.5% |
| Timezone1: | SAST |
| Utc Offset1: | +2 |
| Postal Code Type: | Postal code (street) |
| Postal2 Code Type: | PO box |
| Postal2 Code: | 3936 |
| Area Code Type: | Area code |
| Area Code: | 035 |
St Lucia is a settlement in Umkhanyakude District Municipality in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa. The small town is mainly a hub for the iSimangaliso Wetland Park.[2]
St Lucia was first named in 1554 as Rio dos Medos do Ouro (alternatively Rio dos Médãos do Ouro — River of the Gold Dunes)[3] [4] by the survivors of the Portuguese ship São Bento.[5] At this stage, only the Tugela River mouth was known as St. Lucia. Later, in 1575, the Tugela River was named Tugela. On 13 December 1575, the day of the feast of Saint Lucy, Manuel Peresterello renamed the mouth area to Santa Lucia.
In 1822, St Lucia was proclaimed by the British as a township. In 1895, St Lucia Game Reserve, 30 km north of the town, was proclaimed. Since 1971, St Lucia Lake and the turtle beaches and coral reefs of Maputaland have been listed by the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar Convention). In December 1999, the park was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Synthpop band St. Lucia is named after the town.[6]
The largest ethnic group in St Lucia are White South Africans of English descent who make up 30.9% of St Lucia residents. The second largest ethnic group in St. Lucia are Zulu people, who make up 26.4% of St Lucia residents.[7]
The park is also home to about 1,200 Nile Crocodiles and almost 800 hippopotamuses. Hippos often roam the streets at night.[8]
Other animals include leopards, Greater Kudu, Black Rhinos, rich avifauna and numerous invertebrates.[9] [10]
Under Köppen-Geiger climate classification system, it has a humid subtropical climate (Cfa).[11]