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s a i c e

CHAPTER 9: Western Cape Province

Introduction: For the purpose of this book one could venture to say
that civil engineering in southern Africa started in the
The Western Cape Province was one of the places to Cape and the roads, passes and rail links eventually
which the European seafarers from Portugal came when provided access to the hinterland. These transport
sailing around Africa to find a passage to the east. The routes ultimately also provided the spines around which
need for fresh water and food forced them to stop and development took place. Even the rush to claim the dia-
restock. But the southern tip of Africa was a magic mond fields around Kimberley and the gold of the Wit-
place with a majestic mountain, the now famous Table watersrand would not have been possible without civil
Mountain rising from the cold Atlantic Ocean – it be- engineering amenities and projects. The battle for the
came what was known as the Cape of Good Hope. But it gold fields ultimately came down to who controlled the
was also the Cape of Storms where many ships came to railway lines, roads and water supplies – in a sense civil
grief. It also became a place of strife with various Euro- engineering structures became the crucial elements in
pean super powers of the time, most notably The Neth- the bitter Anglo Boer War (1899–1902), which almost
erlands, France and Great Britain, vying for supremacy. financially ruined Great Britain.
But it was also the place where the original indigenous
peoples of South Africa – the Khoi-Khoi and the Euro- In terms of climate the southern parts are Mediterra-
pean settlers first met leading to centuries of strife on nean, but only 100 km to the north of Cape Town it
whose land this southern part of Africa really was. changes to semi-desert, and to the east, mild climates
with year-round rain. From the cold west coast and its
It was only natural that the Dutch settlers started semi-deserts and its world famous wild flower shows
building structures like rudimentary harbours and, of each year in spring, to the east with its lush forests near
course the well-known Castle to live in, from where Knysna, containing magnificent age old trees like the
they could defend the important refreshment station Yellowwood and Stinkwood, from Cape Point and the
as it was originally intended. Water furrows to irrigate word famous Fynbos plant kingdom, to the north across
the gardens and even canals in the form of canals or mountain ranges capped with snow in winter into the
grachte reminiscent of Amsterdam followed. Unfortu- Karoo landscapes with its dinosaur fossils where the
nately these canals were later filled. There is a tour of springbok and kudu still roam, this is a unique place,
the underground watercourses and tourists can wander unsurpassed anywhere in the world. Add to this the
along the old structures through which fresh water is mountains and the seas that are among the most dan-
still draining towards the sea. gerous in the world in terms of swells, challenges for
civil engineering abound, not only in terms of rock,
Civil engineering activities were therefore at the fore- sand and water, but also in terms of the preservation of
front of what the settlers set out to do. One could even the ecological health of this sensitive part of the world.
mention the Robben Island quarries from which shells
and lime were mined for hundreds of years. This prod- In terms of geological history much can be seen if one
uct was destined to provide the mortar that was used observes the cuttings through the mountains and the
to bed the huge stones of the sea walls and other struc- exposed foundations of the mountains along the coasts.
tures including the Castle walls. Even Charles Darwin visited Sea Point in 1836 to look
at magnificent examples of igneous granite intrusions in
the clay stones in the late 19 century. More about this
th
The history of the Cape has been documented in many
great publications and the interested should scout can be read about in The Voyage of the Beagle.
around and read about the fascinating quest to make Last but not least, The Cape Society of Civil Engineers
the southern tip of Africa reminiscent of Europe in many was established in Cape Town in 1903 and provided a
ways. But civilising did not come cheap and this was the much needed local assembly where civil engineers de-
start of the demise of most of the indigenous peoples of bated for many evenings about the challenges of the
the time who existed along these coasts for thousands time, even what the sea water was doing to the con-
of years before. All that is left of them are stories, some crete they used to build the old harbour at the time.
artefacts, fish kraals and the oldest shell middens in the A most interesting time ensued – much of which are
world which are about 140 000 years old, and date from contained in the Proceedings of the Society of which an
the middle Stone Age at sites like Blombos Cave. original is kept at the SAICE national office.

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