Page 104 - SAICE book proof 2 LATEST JULY 2014

s a i c e
WESTERN CAPE PROVINCE

The province features: ◊ Below: Table Bay Harbour
◊ Bottom: Victoria and Albert Waterfront
1. The Castle. Unlike traditional castles in Europe
this castle is possibly better defined as a fort and is
the oldest and most historic building in South Africa
post 1652 when Jan Van Riebeeck landed to create a
permanent refreshment station for the Verenigde Oost-
Indische Compagnie or the VOC of The Netherlands.
The work commenced in 1666 under the supervision
of Engineer Pieter Dombaer but was only completed
1679. Several additions were made over the years.
The building material consisted mainly of big blocks
of Malmesbury slate with Table Mountain sandstone
here and there. The shells for the burnt lime mortar
came from Robben Island, the wood from Hout Bay
and the tiles for roofs from The Netherlands. This five- To tell the story of this harbour will require a couple of
pointed star-like structure is still in excellent condition volumes and a tourist guide like this cannot do justice
after about 350 years, even though it is in a marine to the fascinating saga that spanned over three cen-
environment. Unfortunately its beach position was lost turies and more. Breakwaters and seawalls along the
when the reclamation of the sea took place in various Atlantic coast to divert and dissipate the huge storm
stages and today it is about one kilometre from the sea waves, a prison on the seashore and a prison on Rob-
sitting behind the harbour structures. ben Island, the Mouille Point lighthouse, the various
basins including the Alfred and Victoria basins are all
testimony to the ground-breaking and pioneering work
33°55’32.05” S, 18°25’40.66” E of civil engineers of the times who included the Dutch
and later the British in particular.

2. Table Bay harbour probably owes its original A walk around this historic place noting the structures
importance not to being a safe harbour but to the fresh and buildings delight many modern tourists.
water streams originating from Table Mountain. As a
harbour it is less desirable due to the fierce north west- 33°54’35.86” S, 18°25’32.02” E
ern winds of the winter Atlantic storms driving straight
at the harbour walls. The original harbour structures
consisted of log cabin type hollow squares tied together, 3. The Victoria and Albert Waterfront is
filled with brushwood and stone and capped with heavy a remarkable rebirth and recycling of a series of old
timber to form solid jetties. harbour structures and one of the most popular modern

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