Is this an ex-whaling area Tim?
Colin, it turns out that there was once a whaling industry in Durban, a fact that I was unaware of.
Here is an interesting article that I found:
https://www.fad.co.za/Resources/whaling/whaling.htmFrom what I can gather, the pier was initially designed to have a nautical theme, but not necessarily meant to represent whale bones.
However, it has become known as the whalebone pier, and at the recent renovation at the end of 2023, two whale-tail seats were installed at the entrance, to reinforce this theme.
The main purpose of the pier is to disguise the two large storm-water pipes under the deck.