Page 118 - Bulletin 13 2009

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It seems as though the move to South Africa had near miraculous consequences for the
Ladan family. On 19 of November 1908, 15 years after the birth of their daughter Cato, a

son Louis Gerardus was born in Kalk Bay. (Fig. 3.4). Eight years later he was followed by
another son, Eduard – Eddie.

In 1912 Louis bought a big plot for £200 from William Frederick Henry Pocock who had
twice been Mayor of Kalk Bay - Muizenberg. It was on this plot that Louis started building

a substantial family home which he called Schoonzicht. (Fig. 3.5). It is thought that a
whaling lookout had originally been on the site. There were cannon balls in the garden

which may have been left behind when the site was a gun emplacement at the time of the
Battle of Muizenberg in 1795. The house stands largely unaltered to this day. With its

wonderful indigenous garden, made by Louis, and renowned display of flowering aloes, it

became a famous landmark on the route from Cape Town and was declared a national
monument in later years. By 1915 the family had moved in and although parts of

Schoonzicht were sometimes rented out the Ladan family lived there for the next 77 years.

In March 1915 Louis became a naturalized South African citizen.

Louis could be a difficult man – he had a reputation for interfering in neighbours’ affairs.
While his wife was very sociable Louis was not one for social gatherings – he was

something of a loner. When his daughter Cato married Billie Williamson in 1921 Louis
kicked her out and refused to let that ‘Engelsman’ in the house. In tears Cato retreated to

family friends across the road, the Liddells, who eventually negotiated a truce.

Louis Ladan was an active property speculator, builder and contractor. At some point he

had been a Municipal Water Inspector, and was registered in 1924 by the City Engineer’s
Dept. as a licensed plumbing tradesman. He advertised a wide range of services: Hot and

Cold water installations, stove repairs, drainage works, chimney cleaning, artistic iron
work, house repairs and decorating. He was one of the early Kalk Bay property developers