The following information is published with thanks to the Hout Bay Museum
Hout Bay is a picturesque fishing village about 25 minutes drive from the center of Cape Town. It is a popular residential area and is home to about 50 000 people.
The forest of Hout Bay once grew along the South facing slopes of the mountains and in shaded ravines. The extent of the area they covered we do not know but from Van Riebeeck's Diary we do know that they grew 5,500 paces from the sea. Today we have remnants of these forests - little pockets which have survived the woodcutters axe and the ravage of veld fires. The first written account of our forest goes back to 1614. An English East India Company ship called at Table Bay And Samuel Squire, the Master's Mate aboard the ship "Gift" recording his stay at the Cape wrote:- " Before our departure the General Nicholas Downton sent me to discover the inland country and see for tymber to mast our unbuilt pinnace or small sailing boat, the which I found on the S.W. side of the table in abundance either to build or mast small shipping ; with this we supplied our wants in that kind." When Van Riebeeck visited Hout bay for the first time in 1653(July) his diary records:- "They were the finest forest in the world and contained as long and thick spars as one would wish to have. It is amazing to see the fine forest that lie scattered all about the mountain- side." It was Van Riebeeck who named Hout Bay when he wrote in his diary in November 1652 of t'houtaeit jien.
He hoped that the wood could be hauled down to the beach and fetched away by station's yacht. But transport was difficult. The terrain was hilly, mountainous and swampy, and it was impossible to float them down the river. Low growing scrub, kreupelhout, growing close to the shore, was taken to Table Bay to be used for fuel in the brick kilns. Apart from the need of fuel, wood was needed for the building of the fort, the jetty to provide a safe anchorage, for ships of the DEIC, houses, furniture, tools, the military fortifications, the skutheiling (a guard fence surroubding the colony), redoubts and the Free Burghers' houses. The forest near Table Bay had soon disappeared and the commanders who came after Van Riebeeck were hard pressed to find wood.
In August 1666 men were sent to make a road over Bosheuwel in order to enable wagons to bring timber and planks from the newly found forest in Hout Bay. Wagenaar, the Commander who succeeded Van Riebeeck required a great deal of wood to build the castle and there was great activity in the forest of Hout Bay.
In 1676 the Company set up for Buiteposte in the valley for the woodcutters - "de Boere - bomen", " Aan die Strandt", Hout clincke" and one other where the head woodcutter Carel Tetherode was stationed. Cattle were kept to drag the wood from the forest to the beach. Because of the insolation of the Bay it was difficult to keep proper control of the workers. When the supply of wood dropped considerably Governor Goske became suspicious and investigated. It was discovered that skipper of the fluit Helenas which conveyed wood to Table Bay was having drinking parties on board using Company wine. There was also a complaint of homosexual behaviour. After a Court Case the Skipper and two boys aged 15 and 20 were found guilty. They were found guilty and there punishment was to be bound and thrown into the sea. In 1672, before the Castle was completed, war broke out between Holland and France . Wood was urgently needed to complete the building of the Castle and a large number of trees were cut down in Hout Bay. All the Free Burghers' wagons and trek oxen were confiscated in order to transport the wood from Hout Bay to the Castle. There were 10 woodcutters and the head woodcutter working in Hout Bay in 1679. The number of slaves were not listed. Simon Van Der Stel wrote in 1679:- " there is little accessible timber remaining apart from the great forests at Hout Bay". And so began the time of new thinking- an awareness of the need to preserve what was left of those great forests. Laws preventing the indiscriminate removal of wood by the Free Burghers were passed. Permits were required to cut down wood and at one stage the death sentence for offenders was imposed. But perhaps this punishment was too severe to make it effective. Repeated warnings were given that the wood was only to be taken from the forests of Hout Bay. To obtain wood lead seals at a cost of 10c was obtained from the castle. The company's overseer in the Hout Bay forest would register holders of the lead seals and compare them with the names in the register kept in the castle. The permits applied only to the Free Burghers. Enormous amounts of wood were still leaving the valley, cut down by the company's foresters for use by the company. In 1680, on his first visit to Hout Bay, Simon Van Der Stel inspected Hout Bay with the intention of establishing a saw mill in order to make the carting of wood from Hout Bay simpler. But the mill was not set up as by that time the forest had dwindled to an unprofitable size. In 1683, Hendrick Dircz van Embden and Hendrick Coster were given the right to cut down trees in the company's forest in Hout Bay and to sell to the public.
April 1691 the brothers Joost and Borchardt van Isenberg were awarded a 5 year permit to cut and sell wood in Hout bay. They had to maintain the forest planting 3000 young oak trees every year. The saplings were supplied free of charge by the company.
Simon Van der Stel began the planting of alien trees in Hout bay when he passed this resolution in 1691.Two elephants that wandered into Hout Bay in 1689 damage the young oaks. They were shot and given to the slaves.
To make matters worse for the early commanders the Here Seventeen decided that no more wood was to be sent to the Cape.
1685 saw 805 wagons loads of fire wood leave Hout Bay for Table Bay. Simon van der Stel plotted out a new route and a new road over Constantia Nek was completed. The new road was shorter by 1 1/2 hours travelling time for an ox wagon. By now the forests were almost depleted and farming was expanding in the valley. The Company woodcutters withdrew from the valley in 1710.
Towards the end of the Dutch control of the Cape at the end of the 18th century there was a scheme to colonize the Cape by importing European labour - some of these immigrants were employed in Hout Bay but were soon lured away by offers of a brighter future and when the British took possession of the Cape in 1806 only one old man was discovered pottering around in Hout Bay and making enough to live on as a woodcutter - one of the last woodcutters of out indigenous forests.
Our remaining pockets of forests growing along the slopes of Grootkop adjacent to Orange Kloof, Myburghs Ravine and Myburghs Corner. There are also small patches in the ravines on the Constantiaberg and a grow of yellowwoods on the Karbokelberg.
Some of the trees in the forests:-
Yellowwood -Opregte geelhout Podocarpus latifolius
Bastard Saffron- Cassine crocea
Rooiels Cunonia capensis
Kiggelaria africana - Wild peach
FARMING
The first Freeburgher farmers arrived in Hout Bay in 1677. However ,7 years before that agricultural activities had started in the valley- as early as 1670 there was a mention of a house and the Council of Policy had decided to plant sweet potatoes at this house and also to place some of the company's pig's there. This decision was taken in order to supply the many woodcutters who were engaged by the company in the forests with food.
By 1676 there were 4 Buiteposte in the valley all involved in the Business of supplying wood to the company. Each post was manned by soldiers, slaves and contained fairly large herds of cattle, sheep and "bokke"(goats). Lions were a problem and there were reports of cattle and sheep being taken from the herds in broad daylight and predators raiding and carrying off stock in the evenings. Kraals were built to safeguard the animals.
With the outbreak of war with France there followed a shortage of grain and the Council of Policy decided to settle Freeburghers in the valley.
And so in 1677, 2 Freeburghers, Pieter van der Westhuizen and Willem Schaltz, both capable farmers were granted land, as much land as they could work. They were to plant grain and as payment for the hire of the land to supply the company with one tenth of the Harvested grain. Each lessee could keep 30 cattle plus the manure from the company's cattle in the Buiteposte could be used to fertilized the grain fields. In 1678 Pieter van der Westhuizen 's house was destroyed in a fire and he lost a child in the fire.
Besides having to protect their livestock from wild animals, develop the virgin land and the many other hardships they must have encountered, it is no wonder that these pioneer farmers contributed very little to the company grain coffers. By 1681 both farmers had thrown in the towel and were back in Table Bay. One wonders what tangible contribution they made towards future farming in the valley. Perhaps portion of the old part of the Kronendal Homestead contains something of the dwelling - if not just the foundations. And if their farmlands are where the existing farmlands of Kronendal are today then these lands are the oldest existing lands in South Africa today.
On December 29 1681 land in the form of a farm, which was later to become Kronendal, was granted to Willem van Dieden and Pieter van der Westhuizen , Pieter obviously determined to have another go at farming, this time with a new partner. Another grant of land was given to Willem Basson on the Farm "Ruijte Plaats" to the north Kronendal.
It appears that Pieter made a good choice in choosing Willem as his partner for in 1682. Willem van Dieden showed his talents as a negotiator and as a Businessman. He complained to the company that he was receiving far less for his delivery per hectare of grain than what the company paid other farmers. Further more his land in Hout Bay still had the condition of delivering 10% of the crop to the company. The company decided to help him and released him (and all other farmers) of 10% charge for the next 24 years and to receive the same amount for his deliveries as the other farmers.
OWNERSHIP
In 1715, the farm Kronendal was granted to Matthijs Bergstet. Other owners of Kronendal have Willem Basson and the Rev. Fransiscus le Seur In 1793 Johannes Guillaime van Helsdingen acquired Kronendal on marrying the widow of the previous owner, Jakobus Lourens Bierman. In 1800 van Helsdingen added the front section of the house and the historical gable. William Duckitt, and English agriculturalist and expert who toured the Cape giving advice to farmers recorded his visit to Hout Bay:
"I saw one place, which belonged to a Mr van Helsdingen near the bay. He was building a large house near which he has an overshot windmill for grinding corn. The soil about him is very poor and sandy and his crops were slight, but he had some pretty young stock on his premises of black and white colour.
In 1821, 400 morgan was granted to Col Christopher Bird and became known as Moddergat . A gabled house and wine cellar was built about 20 years later by the Boonzaaires who also planted vines and made wine in their wine cellar.
Soon afterwards, and towards the end of the 19th century many subdivisions of the original farm were made and we have the Trautmans' establishing themselves at Uitkyk, The Louws at Nooitgedacht, the Myburghs at Sans Pareil and Simon Dorman who bought land in the village area and opened a general dealers stall. His son later bought Oakhurst and started farming with vegetables, vines and sairy farming.
IRRIGATION
Originally lands along the banks of the river were irrigrated from furrows. The land on the East bank a furrow (traces of which are still discernable) led off the main river and followed the contour of the mountain. This Furrow fed dams along the way providing water for the lands between the furrow and the river.
The farms on the west bank were supplied with water that led from the dam in the vicinity of the present robots. This dam was fed from water from a spring higher up towards Suikerbossie and the runoff of the water from Karbonkelberg and little Lions Head. Furrows ran both south and north from this dam supplying water to the crops.
However, later in the 1930's due to mismanagement and soil erosion the level of the river was lower than the level of the furrow and so the water no longer led into the furrow - but the age of mechanisation had arrived and pump up were installed.
Hout Bay is best known for his vegtables. Being close to Cape Town it was more profitable to grow vegetables to supply the local market and passing ships. Arend Brink was the cauliflower King - buyers waited for him to arrive with his cauliflower's. Beautiful Cape tomatoes of the 1930's came from Hout Bay. Mr. Hains, the farmer at Moddergat bought seeds back from England smuggled in his shirt pocket. The tomatoes when harvested were the envy of all and when they put on the market all farmers bought a box for the seeds.
Carts pulled by mules and horses carted vegtables to the Sir Lowry Road market. Four mules were needed to get the wagon up the first and only long uphill- to Suikerbossie and from there two were sent home and the other two proceeded to Cape Town. The wagons left Hout Bay at midnight. When they got to Sea Point Tramways Terminus, the wagon wheels glided smoothly along the tramlines. Being very early in the morning (they had to be at the market before 6am ) there was no traffic on the road. The first motor truck - Republic with solid tyres, arrived in Hout Bay in 1928 and from there on trucks were used to take the produce to town. The farmers took great pride in their trucks and motors cars and always had the latest model- Dodge and chevrolets were the makes they bought. Now they buy Toyota.
But what does the future hold for these lands which provide a green lung down the centre of the valley. Will they continue to farm or will it fall prey to the developers hands and become another housing Estate.
Duppie van Oudshoorn is the only full time farmer in Hout Bay. He has paseed retirement age and his sons are not interested to carrying on with farming- what will become of the oldest existing farmlands in South Africa?
FISHING The Khoi- Khoi were the first known fisherman of Hout Bay. Living in shelters they gathered shellfish from the rocks and trap fish in the estuary.
When Table Bay was settle in the Dutch to provide a revictualling station for passing ships of the D.I.E.C., fish collected from Hout Bay. VAN Riebeeck and the early commanders often sent the company sloop over to Hout Bay to trek fish from the beach which they found there great abundance.
The first farmers were fishermen as well. They fished from small boats with hook and line and by trek nets from the beach to feed their labourers or to exchange with inland farmers. An advertisement of the sale of Kronendal and contents in 1832 lists flat bottomed boats and seine nets as part of farm's equipment.
In the early 19th century the Cape exported salted snoek to Mauritius (it still does) in exchange for sugar, and in 1890 Crisp Arnold built the first fish processing sheds on the beach to prepare the snoek for this trade. The local farmers were becoming more involved in fishing and built their sheds alongside - they were the Trautmans, the Dormans and the Schwenkes. The fish was resalted and stacked in long lines in the sheds. One month later the fish, which was now dry, was packed in 100lb bundels, covered in sacking and exported to Mauritius.
Their fishing boats were powered by the wind. They were frail craft in comparison to the fishing boats today with their modern navigational equipment.
At the turn of the century the floor of the ocean was described as being a red blanket of crayfish. (Crayfish is a fresh water lobster not found in South Africa so this name is a misnomer.) Our kreef were known as Cape Crawfish until 1953. Other names were Spiny Lobster and kreef. Rock Lobster is now the accepted name for the Cape Crawfish - in 1953 Parliament amended the Crawfish Export Act of 1940 by the substitution for the name~). Crayfish factories were being set up along the west coast and in Cape Town to exploit this rich food source and in 1903 the Hout Bay Canning Company was formed and set up in the hulk of an old sailing ship, the R. Morrow that had been wrecked when it was driven ashore at Mouille Point in stormy weather.
The Managing Director, Lucien Plessis was a frenchman. He had been involved in importing canned Cape crawfish in France and had come out to South Africa to explore the possibility of setting up his own canning company. There was no need for the sailing boats to go far, that went out to catch the crawfish as the bay was teeming with them. Canned crawfish was exported to france, Britain, United States and Australia. In 1914 an explosion on board put an end to the industry for a short while. The explosion was caused by a leak in the acetylene gas supply which was used for lighting and power purpose on the old ship. Mr Plessis together with 6 other men were killed in the explosion.
After repairs to the ship the company continued to function as a canning factory up until 1947 when reclamation work covered the old hulk and the company was absorbed into the sasp Company.
The twenties saw an increase in the demand for fish with improved cold storage facilities and the SAR'S new cold storage truck to rail fish up country.
Jacob Trautman, a German immigrant, and his sons become more involved in the industry the Truatmans are considered to be the pioneers of the fishing industry in Hout Bay.
Jacob's son , Ernest, took over his families fishing interests at the age of 28, and another branch of the family Christiaan Truatman, Ernest's cousin, built a packing shed in this area that is known as the village - (this packing shed is still standing today) and from here the first crayfish tails were packed and taken to town to be frozen and exported to America. This was the start of the multi million Rand frozen tail export industry.
The seas were rich in sea life and trekking from the beach yielded nets containing a variety of fish- Kabeljou, sole, maasbankers, yellowtail, joosop and galjoen. Housewives paid 3d for fish but there was no local market for crayfish. The snoek season started about the 1st April and continue until the 15th June. When the fish run was good the fishermen worked around the clock, leaving home on Sunday evening, they did not return until the following Saturday afternoon. In the day time they went snoeking and in the evenings trawled for maasbankers. Apart from catching the fish they also had to offload and help with the salting and stacking and then was the bait to be found and the fishing gear to repair. They slept whenever and wherever they could.
In comparison to todays sophisticated fishing aids and equipment, the 30's appeared primitive and the title village of Hout Bay was a sleepy hollow in a rural setting.
Before nylon was invented, fishermen used cotton line. In order to stiffen the cotton line and prevent it from becoming entangled, the lines were blooded. This took hours of work. Barrels of blood had to be brought from Cape Town Abattior, strained and then with lappies applied to the line- up to 15 applications. Placed in a barrel over water, supported on sticks so that it did not come into contact with the water, a fire made under the barrel and the blood steamed into the line. This stiffened the line and also protected it.
The bokstangs or sinkers were also made by making moulds in damp sand and pouring the moulten lead into these moulds- they were decorated with bands of copper and brass.
The lures were made from sharkskin cut into ribbons - in the water they became soft and supple and shiny.
The snoek hooks were barbless and the copper wire attaching the hook to the line was specially treated in order to strengthen it to withstand the sharp and ferocious teeth of the snoek.
Fishermen's wives were very hardworking. Apart from the normal housework chores they had to take meals down to the beach for their husbands assist with the catching of bait. They also made oilskins out of unbleached calico. Suits were made and repeatedly dipped in linseed oil. When the calico was well coated it was water resistant and kept the fishermen dry and warm. Vingerlappies from old blankets and army coats were made to protect the fishermen's fingers when he was handline fishing.
Fishing did have its slack periods. Leonard Trautman recalled a particularly poor season in 1928 when his father Jacob caught only 47 snoek in the entire season. However, the previous year had been particularly good, especially an exceptionally large haul of Kabel jou in February which yielded 3350 kabeljou of which 100 averaged 90lbs, 1700 from 40- 80lbs and the remainder 1550 from 15-20 lbs. The large ones were sold wholesale at 1/6d each and the small ones 9d each.
Lobsters were exported overseas first as canned lobster and then later tails were packed and frozen. Tamatiebak was the fastest crayfish boat in the Cape waters. Built by farmer John Brink on the farm Kronendal and name Tamatiebak by the local fishermen.
The mother boat took the kreef bakkies out to the fishing grounds, each bakkie had about 8 hoop nets aboard for catching kreef - they returned in the evening loaded down with kreef.
Today rectangular traps are used and the traps are normally left overnight - catches are generally small.
Development of the harbour began in 1937 when the first breakwater was built- previous to that there was no protection for the fishing boats. The larger fishing vessels lay at anchor in the bay and the smaller boats were pulled onto the shore. offloading a catch of snoek was lengthy and tiring business. The boats were brought as close to the shore as possible. Here the catch was loaded onto rowing boats and from there each snoek had to be carried ashore. Fishermen still recall exactly how they carried their snoek- depending on the size and strength of their fingers- 3 in this hand and 2 in that.
During rough seas they battled to keep the craft afloat - often going out in raging storms to work the bilge pumps or to steer their craft to calmer waters.
Despite the increased fishing activities of the 30's development was slow and it was only after World War ll that development went ahead by leaps and bounds- mainly because of the intense exploitation of the pelagic shoal fish to produce fish meal. The fisheries development Corporation was establish in 1944 to assist the fishing industry with housing, harbours and boat anchorage. A short while later the fishing industry research institute helped with research into processing of fish foods and the SABS arrived in 1953 to improved the standards of fish products. At Hout Bay SAPS was formed by the almagamation of a number of smaller companies. The harbour was extended - houses were built for fisheries staff, new slipways, harbour offices, extention of the breakwater, better packing facilities and the newly formed SASP set up a fish liver oil factory, a cold storage chamber, smoke houses and processing factory.
In 1952 2 1/2 acres of land was reclaimed from the sea to expand wharf facilities. A report in 1953 states: With the completion this month of the construction programme Hout Bay will have what is probably finest and largest fishing harbour in South Africa.
And so Hout Bay Harbour continues to expand, but with the decline in our fish resources the harbour is expanding to other areas. With dwindling fish stocks the harbour is becoming more tourist orientated - four pleasure craft take visitors on short trips around the bay and to Duiker Island, the Circe, Ichabo, R9 Condor. Mariners Wharf, South Africa's first fish emporium opened to the public in 1985. The Wharfside Grill is well known for its fish dishes, there is also snoekies and the laughing lobster for fish and chips.
And the future- a boatyard that will provide dry boat storage for 40 portable vessels will be officially opened above this beach on the six of March this year. The once peaceful harbour has become a hive of industry and activity.
With housing expanding up the mountain, the total population of Hout Bay in 1983 was 10 000,of those 10 000, 5 500 live in the harbour area. There is a planned projected settlement of 20 000 over the next 20 years.
Two large companies operate from Hout Bay Harbour- S.A.P.S. and Chapmans Peak fisheries which belong to the Dorman family - the only Hout Bay pioneer fishing family to have retained a controlling interest in the industry.
THE OLD FORTIFICATIONS OF HOUT BAY
In 1652 Jan van Riebeeck established a settlement at the Cape to provide supplies, fresh food, water and rest for the fleets of the Dutch East India Company (V.O.C.) trading between Holland and the East Indies. He built a fort and later, the Castle and other fortifications to protect the anchorage in Table Bay.
The growing of fresh produce and grazing of animals soon spread from Table Valley along the Liesbeeck river and its tributaries to Constantia Valley. Hout Bay with its vast forests was a source of valuable building material for this expansion long before the first farm was established at Kronendal in the 1670's.
A hundred years later the V.O.C. settlement had spread inland and become a vitally important half- way for ships of all nations trading in the East . The turmoil's of war in Europe increased its strategic importance. Holland became virtually a province of France. The Prince of Orange fled to England and French troops were sent to protect the Cape from British occupation. In 1781 Hout Bay was included in the new defences.
The garrison considered of Khoi troops quartered at Kronendal reinforced by the french Pondicherry regiment composed mainly of Indian Sepoys under the command of Irish Expatriate, Count de Conway. West fort was built adjacent to the present day harbour. It's guns were able to protect three laden ships of the returning East India fleet sheltering from marauding Admiral Johnson of the Royal Navy who had partially destroyed the rest of the fleet in Saldanha bay. The taking of prizes and privateering were rife in war conditions.
After this episode East Fort battery was built with earthworks and canon of large calibre on gun emplacements adjacents to the present day Chapmans Peak Drive. Some of the guns with the V.O.C. mark can still be seen and cannon balls that would have been heated in ovens before firing have been retrieved by archaeological digs.
The East Fort guns have been fired in anger only once. Admiral Elphinstone sent a flotilla inshore to examine the seaward fortifications of the Cape onther 15th September 1795. "The Echo' put into Hout Bay and, remaining out of range, drew fire from both East and West Forts enabling her commander to report back details of range and fire power to his Admiral. The following day the Dutch surrendered and the British then occupied the castle and other fortifications including the Hout Bay forts.
The early drawings and descriptions tell us that in 1796 Royal Engineers built the barracks and command post above the East Fort battery. The Block House was three storeys high, built of stone, with a plastered upper floor and windows with wooden shutters. Magazine and cisterns occupied the lower floor. An outside wooden stair led up to the middle floor command post and officers' quarters. Wooden Galleries were fixed to the corners of the upper floor . Large stone barracks for the troops were built higher up the mountain as well as a guardhouse and sentry box at the entrance of the old road, and a cookhouse opposite the blockhouse. A path leads down to the battery and powder magazine which is now built over by the World War ll Pill Box.
The old road may still be traced today along military Road , from the Manor House Hotel, above Chapman's Peak Hotel, past some houses and then joining Chapman's Peak Drive, to finally end in the barrack area.
The Cape was handed back to the Batavian Republic in 1803 , and seized again by the British in 1806, prompted by the need to defend the British trade routes from Napoleon. The forts were repaired and reinforced , then gradually, as the Cape Colony felt secure from foreign threat , the bush encroached and building fell into ruin.
In 1920 Chapmans Peak Drive was opened , bisecting East Fort and isolating the command post from the battery.
In the 1939-1945 Second World War life returned to the battery site when a coastal artillery Pill Box was built within the old protecting earth works of the power magazine. Two quick - firing Naval guns were mounted to protect Hout Bay once more. The war came very close when enemy submarines were successfully hunting the ships of Allied convoys carrying troops and supplies from Europe to the Middle East via the Cape
In 1995, two hundred years after the battle of Muizenberg and the visit of 'The Echo' and 50 years after the end of world war two , East fort is being stabilised , cleared and presented to the people as part of the people as part of Hout Bay 's history.
INFORMATION WITH THANKS TO HOUT BAY MUSEUM - Kindly contact Craig Dunlop craig@trailfinders.co.za or 0027824599280 if you would like further information with regards to visiting Hout Bay for tours and guided walks.
