Coastal dune systems along the Maputaland coastal plain serve as key archives of the interaction between sea-level fluctuations, wind regimes, and sediment recycling along the southeastern African continental margin. This study presents an integrated analysis of a barrier-dune section at Richards Bay, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. By combining luminescence dating with grain-size and mineralogical analyses, three distinct phases of aeolian accumulation are identified, thereby providing improved chronological control and a reassessment of the area's palaeoenvironmental setting. The section records two closely spaced aeolian units deposited during the last interglacial (MIS 5e). The basal white, quartz-rich dune sands yield an age of similar to 129 +/- 7 ka and comprise well-sorted aeolian deposits. Their heavy-mineral assemblages are dominated by stable, resistant phases, consistent with distal sediment supply and extensive reworking of shelf and nearshore material under high sea-level conditions, although weathering and hydraulic sorting may also have contributed. The overlying strong brown, ferruginous sands yield an overlapping age of similar to 117 +/- 7 ka, yet display a contrasting mineralogical signature. Enrichment in less stable phases suggests a greater contribution from more proximal sources and/or modified transport pathways, while abundant secondary Fe oxides indicate substantial post-depositional alteration and intervals of surface stabilisation. The uppermost pale brown, well-sorted aeolian sands, deposited during the Late Holocene, record recent dune accretion or remobilisation of previously deposited material, with stabilisation occurring within the last similar to 200 years. These results provide new insights into the evolving environmental conditions and long-term dynamics of coastal dune systems along the southeastern African margin.