They were the first large group of squatters to populate the area, named after Sir Martin West, the first Lieutenant Governor of Natal.

This residence on 6 acres (2.4 ha) of land had been bequeathed by Mr and Mrs Bernard to the people of Westville for educational purposes.

It was near this site that the Outspan Tree, which marked the first overnight stop for the old ox wagons travailing to the interior, once stood.

The following year the co-educational Westville Government School opened as a provincial institution and operated at primary level until 1955.

A ceremony was held in recognition of the contribution made by the Bernard family, and a memorial in their honour was erected on the site of the original farmhouse.

In 1963 the three-story complex overlooking the tennis courts was started and this was the beginning of a building program which developed over the next ten years.

For three years in succession, 1968–1970, and again in 1972, WBHS provided the top pupil in the Natal Education Department's matriculation examination.

In the upper left-hand quarter is the griffin taken from the coat of arms of Martin West, the first Lieutenant-Governor of Natal, after whom Westville is named.

Represented in the lower right quarter is the historic monument, the Outspan Tree, which is in Jan Hofmeyr Road, where the ox-wagons made their first stop after leaving Durban.

Westville Boys' High School's motto Incepto Ne Desistam is taken directly from Virgil.

These words, found in Aeneid, Book 1, are used by Juno, queen of heaven who hated the Trojans led by Aeneas.

When she saw the fleet of Aeneas on its way to Italy, after the sack of Troy by the Greeks, she planned to scatter it by means of strong winds.

The lyrics of the song reflect on what it will be like for members of the matriculating class to visit their old school again in forty years time.

Other developments during this time included the Ted Maddams Media Centre and the modernisation and expansion of the computer facilities.

In 1999, the Dux of the school, Colin Bigg, achieved the top matric results in South Africa, the previous year he was the first pupil to ever be awarded an Honours Blazer for academics in Standard 9.

Following the 2006 matric examinations, WBHS was admitted to an elite group of only 13 schools in South Africa that achieved more than 100 passes for maths on the Higher Grade.