Page 152 - Bulletin 14 2010

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Conclusion

The Main Road and Maitland / Voortrekker – Strand Road milestones that have vanished are
probably lost forever. Many more would have been lost but for the efforts of concerned

individuals. However, the instances of “re-discovery” – of milestones XII Tokai (lying under

rubble) and XVI St James (lying on the rail embankment) – could mean that others may lie not
far below the present road or pavement surfaces – given the difficulty of moving them, because

of their mass, bulk, and smooth surfaces.

If so, the set of maps provided above, showing their exact locations, should enable Council
officials and contractors to work carefully in such places and perhaps unearth some of these relics

of our early road-building heritage.

POSTSCRIPT FEBRUARY 2021

During 2008 - 2018 Cape Town City Council replaced ageing water mains and related sub-
surface infrastructures along Main Road between Muizenberg and Clovelly, and also upgraded

adjoining public spaces. This provided the KBHA with an opportunity to realise a long-standing
objective, namely the replication and re-erection of missing milestones XV at Muizenberg and

XVII at Kalk Bay.

Measurements of extant milestones and rubbings of their inscriptions enabled the making of an

accurate template for the replication process. Authenticity required that they be made of
Malmesbury slate and, fortuitously, several large slabs were available at Clift Granite

Stonemasons of Paarl, who also had the necessary experience and equipment to cut and inscribe

them. Trevor Clift would oversee the process. With these requirements in place the project
received backing from Paul Booth, City Engineer’s Department, and the finished stones were

installed during October 2015 by the road contractors Martin & East, in conjunction with Andy
Rush of Knight Piesold, project engineers.

They stand today approximately on the sites of their predecessors. (Figs. 3.62 & 3.63.)