[citation needed] Cato Manor became recognised when Black Africans came to settle in during the 1920s, and rented land from Indian landlords who were there since the early 20th century.

Local authorities then started the so-called Durban system which required permits from people who were in town to restrict the influx of population.

Towards the end of World War II, about 30,000 squatters had built their shacks in the place, which started even bigger riots between 1949 and 1950 when the Group Areas Act was passed by the government.

[4] On 23 January 1960, a mob attacked 4 white and 5 black policemen at the Cato Manor Police station; they killed the men and mutilated their bodies.

[5][6] An excerpt from An Ordinary Atrocity by Philip Frankel: "The small police force had been obliged to barricade itself in two adjacent huts which were eventually stormed by more than a thousand rioters.

The area began to come to life again in the early 1980s when the Cato Manor Development Association (CMDA) was formed and delivered much-needed infrastructure.