Page 192 - KBHA Bulletin 10

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established the town of Mellville. He stayed with George Rex. Brenton-on-Sea,
Brenton-on-Lake and the Brenton Blue butterfly are named after him. There is sadly

nothing to commemorate his considerable contributions to Simon’s Town. We have
recently been successful in naming the small dining room in Admiralty House “The

Brenton Room”, and hope to find Brenton’s Beacon which he erected on the mountain

slope above the Martello Tower.

The Brenton/Napoleon story does not end there. His grandson was Lieut. Jahleel
Brenton Carey, who was held partly responsible for the death of the Prince Imperial

Louis Napoleon in Zululand in 1879. The body of the Prince was transported from
Simon’s Town to England.

During my recent writing I located Richard Brenton Sinker, the great-grandson x 3, of
Jahleel. He provided me with most valuable information and copies of several paintings

by Jahleel Brenton.

The Commissioner’s House

Dundas purchased the house of the Widow Hurter in 1814 to establish Admiralty

House. However, from 1815 to 1822 it was known as The Commissioner’s Residence
and is labelled thus on paintings by Jahleel and his sister Mary. These early paintings

show a rather barren Simon’s Town. Only the milkwoods alongside the house are

shown. These are now estimated as being 1500 years old and probably owe their
existence to the fact that they were a most effective south-easter windbreak!

Early paintings show a large flattened sand-dune in front of the house, now the splendid

Admiralty House lawns!

The following paintings show how little Admiralty House has changed over the last two

hundred years. (Figs. 5.2 – 5.7).