Giving shape to a beach paradise
Hotel magnate’s journey spans half a century
‘SELL everything and come over. Stop. This is Paradise. Stop.”
That was the telegram sent by legendary Durban hotelier Alan Gooderson’s father, Robert, to his mother in England in 1954 and the first step towards a future in Durban for the family who were pioneers in bringing entertainment to the city’s beachfront.
In April, Alan Gooderson turns 80 and can still be found in his office in the Tropicana Hotel, which has sweeping views of the beachfront he still calls his “paradise”.
This week, The Independent on Saturday sat down with him to look back on his journey spanning well over half a century.
“It started in Colchester in England when I was 15 years old and joined the Merchant Navy, where I stayed for two years before joining the Royal Air Force,” he said.
In post-war Europe, his earnings of 10 shillings and sixpence a day went a long way.
He was posted to Germany, and because the local bars and streets were hostile to UK servicemen, they would drive over the nearby Dutch border where they were more warmly received and where he met his first wife, Maria, at a dance hall.
Taking his discharge in 1957 at the age of 20, the couple headed to Durban to join his family on his father’s promise of the paradise that awaited them.
Robert Gooderson had relocated to Durban to work for Clover Dairies, but being first and foremost a businessman and having run a number of businesses in the UK, including an ice-cream business, Robert quickly spotted an opportunity in the hotel industry and bought the Lonsdale Hotel.
“When I got there, my older brother Bob was running the Lonsdale and I was put in to run the kitchen,” he said.
Following the family tradition, he was expected to work long, hard hours. He also had to ensure that the cost of food per guest per day, which was three meals in those days, never exceeded four shillings. When the family brought their first hotel right on the beachfront, The Cumberland, Gooderson moved there as assistant manager.
The rowdy bar fights were legendary in The Cumberland and, to cope with some of the patrons, Gooderson took up karate and earned his black belt. In 1966, he and three others represented South Africa at the ninth World Karate Championship in Tokyo.
There were also fewer troublemakers at The Cumberland bar by then.
The family continued to acquire hotels, such as Claridges (Tropicana), The Beach Hotel and The Killarney.
In 1968 Gooderson Hotels was listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.
“When I arrived in Durban, there was hardly any entertainment along Durban beachfront. There was one place with a piano. Apart from that, there was only the bioscope (movies), as it was known in those days.
“The guests back then were all white, Afrikaans and Rhodesians. Everyone came to Durban on holiday, and Cape Town was barely heard about. But there was a need for entertainment in the evening,” said Gooderson.
Hotspots
And so he introduced live entertainment, creating the Golden Mile, which was a hive of pubs and clubs, including hotspots such as The Crazy Horse Saloon, London Town Pub and Cockney Pride pub.
“Women were not allowed in bars, so we created cocktail bars. There are many parents and grandparents in Durban who met in those night spots,” he said.
The Crazy Horse Saloon at The Beach Hotel hosted Durban’s first stripper, Nadia, Nymph of the Nile.
“Everyone had to close at midnight in those days. The police used to come in and watch and she was not allowed to show her top part.
“There was also a law that no alcohol be served before 10am, and one morning police arrived to arrest me for serving champagne at a breakfast. I told them to taste the champagne, as it was non-alcoholic, and they left with their tails between their legs. The police used to harass us all the time,” he said.
With the beachfront becoming a major attraction, the Kahn family bought The Four Seasons, while Sol Kerzner bought The Astra just off the Esplanade and later built the Elangeni and Maharani hotels.
During this time SA Breweries (SAB) approached Goodersons’ directors (Alan, his father and two brothers) with an offer to partner in setting up a chain of hotels.
Alan voted in favour, but the board was divided, two on each side, and the proposition was turned down. SAB turned to Sol Kerzner, and Gooderson described their decision as “a lost opportunity, but you can’t change history”.
In 1975, Gooderson bought out his brothers, becoming chairman of Gooderson Leisure Corporation.
It was the golden age of the Golden Mile and the starting point of a number of musical careers such as Four Jacks and a Jill, Spyder Murch and Gary Bryden, while Gooderson continued to bring out cabaret acts and bands from overseas, such as the Blarney Brothers.
By this time, his first marriage had ended and he had met his second wife, Judith.
He also continued to expand the company, buying hotels and moving into timeshare property with interests in KZN, Limpopo, Mpumalanga and Gauteng.
In the 1990s, the authorities began to clamp down on drinking and driving, which saw a slow-down in the entertainment industry, while the new political era in the mid-90s brought new patrons to the beachfront.
“Today the Durban beachfront primarily attracts African guests, mostly South African, with our main market being Gauteng.
“Durban is value for money compared with destinations such as Cape Town, and the beachfront is still very active, although the restaurants at night are struggling as the crime element deters the evening trade.
“I spend three days a week in my office, one day at home doing finances and one day playing golf. If I had to retire, I’d be dead in 18 months’ time.
“What I love about the hotel business is that you can keep changing and introducing new ideas.
“Sure, we have crime and challenges, but I am a very positive person and I still look out of my window every single day and see paradise,” he said.