Page 96 - Bulletin 14 2010

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Town. But this became strategic only after it had been decided in 1814 that Simon’s Bay should
be the permanent Naval Arsenal. Louis Michel Thibault (architect, engineer and land surveyor)

had surveyed much of the route and laid it out as far as the Diep River bridge. Thibault died in
November 1815 but some time before this the project had been placed in the hands of engineer

John Chisholm.

In May 1814 Chisholm put detailed proposals to the Colony’s first civil governor, Lord Charles

Somerset, about the construction of the Simon’s Town – Muizenberg section. Work commenced
in June on this section, the most urgent stretch of the road and the Colony’s number one public

work at that time. It ran concurrently with construction on two other sections: Wynberg – Diep
River, and Diep River – Muizenberg along the new direct straight-line route from Wynberg to

nd
Muizenberg (commenced in August 1814.) The work was carried out by the 72 Regiment
rd
(Duke of Albany’s Own Highlanders) and 83 Regiment (Royal Irish Rifles) who, Chisholm
noted, worked harder than Navy men. On the Wynberg section the men were reckoned to have

worked harder because of having been given one pint of wine per day! By about August 1816 all

three sections had been completed.

The erection of milestones was undoubtedly part of this project and brought colonial practice into
conformity with that in the Mother Country, some 50 years after mile-marking along major

routes became obligatory there. The earliest reference to milestones, and to their provenance on
Robben Island, is in a letter of May 1811 from Capt. William Long of the colonial topsail

schooner Isabella to Mr C Bird the Colonial Secretary. It reads:

May 1811
Sirs, I have the honour to acquaint you, that, I left Cape Town yesterday morning in order to
proceed to Rubben Island [sic] for milestones for Simon’s Bay. At my arrival at this place, I
found that Mr Scholtz the gentleman charge d’affairs here, was not acquainted of my coming for
the said stones and had only fifteen brought down to the waterside and he having no sufficient
assistance to bring the remainder down being, Sir, I thought proper (the wind being favourable)
for me to proceed for Simon’s Bay, not to wait for the remainder, as Mr Scholz himself has
promised to send them over to Cape Town with his own boat.

Please Sir, have the goodness to let me know to whom I have to deliver the stones and the
quantity and quality I am to deliver as I suppose the stones begins their number from Cape