Page 54 - KBHA Bulletin 10

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The Holy Trinity Church Cemetery (1874) is familiar because it is so visible in front of
the church on the low-lying flattish land next to Main Road – effectively the beach in

the old days. (Fig. 2.4). During the early years the Rev. James Baker (1877 – 98), the
Rev. Percy Hillyard (1896 – 1901), and Canon Richard Brooke (1901 – 22) conducted

the burials in the churchyard.

The nearby Dutch Reformed Church (1876) on Rouxville Road occupied a very small

site and it is believed that the congregation used the Simon’s Town cemeteries.
Dominee Morgenrood would have been responsible during these years.

A short distance away up Rouxville Road stood the Kalk Bay Mosque (1898). The

Moslem Cemetery was situated at “Die Land” on sloping ground behind the

Fishermen’s Union cottages. (Fig. 2.5). It was the smallest of the three and measured 25
sq roods and 65 sq ft., or 519 sq m (roughly a square of 23 m x 23 m). It was on land

that was part of the original quitrent grant to W. D. Jennings in 1825. In 1904 it was

bought by one Joseph Abdol (Transfer Deed No. 497 dated 15 January 1904) for
explicit use as a burial place for the Malay community of Kalk Bay. Neither the

numbers of graves located there, nor who was buried there, are known at this stage.

Each of these graveyards provided only a short-term solution to the problem of burying
the dead because of their limited size, lack of soil depth, and the high value attached to

all land for residential development. The same problems confronted the Muizenberg

community. So it was merely a matter of time before a concerted effort would have to
be made to solve the common problem facing all religious denominations in the

Municipality. A large site was required that would cater for long term needs.

The search for a new cemetery 1891 – 1903

The search process took 12 years, during which time the scattered cemeteries continued

as burial places. The task of finding a new site passed from the churches to the public
authorities, initially to the Village Management Board, 1891 – 95, and then to its