Page 135 - Bulletin 17 2013

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The making up of roads required petitions from residents who also bore some of the costs. It

seems that ‘old’ roads, for example, Rouxville were funded 50% by the Municipality – Rouxville
Road cost £600. With ‘new’ roads like Rosmead the costs were paid by property owners – in this

case £493 10s 11d. Rosmead caused the Municipality and the residents several problems. The
DR Church, having first refused to sign the necessary petition to have the road built, then refused

to pay up on the basis that the road had been laid out on their land. This was refuted and
evidence was produced to show that the Municipality had obtained the land from Robert Fish.

When work started on Rosmead Road it was found to be a huge shelf of sandstone which had to

be broken up before the road could be made. There were several letters from furious residents
complaining about the delay and the fact that they seemed to be living in a quarry. Lever Street

cost £145 17s 6d and by 1927 all work had been completed.

Main Road

Moving southwards along the Main Road, buildings shown on the ‘L’ Plan (Fig. 3.15) are from

right to left: the DRC Pastorie and Church with cottages and shops behind; Rouxville House with
cottages behind; Dukehaven; Melville House and shops; and the van Blerk building – shops and

cottages.

The DR Church (Figs. 3.16 & 3.17.) was built in 1875 and remained a church until the

congregation moved to Fish Hoek and the land and buildings were sold in 1949. In 1875 the
Consistory of the DRC at Simon’s Town obtained the three erven between the Main Road and

Lever Street from A. J. van Breda; they paid for one erf and he donated the other two. The

church was built at a cost of £877 part of which was donated by Abraham Auret who owned
properties in Belmont Road. The church was consecrated in 1876 at a service attended by over

600 people. A church school was opened in a building behind the church and a Pastorie built on
the Main Road – today occupied by Artvark.

Until 1905 the Kalk Bay church fell under Simon’s Town and in that year it was agreed that it
would have its own independent Kerkraad. In 1910 the entire block was transferred to them. In

1949 the block was bought by Leon Klein and Mendel Sher for £10,500 when the church closed