Page 149 - Bulletin 17 2013
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The Fortune Family
Mention must now be made of one of Kalk Bay’s oldest and best known families. Mohammed
Allie Fortune’s father was born in about 1892 and they are descendants of a Muslim called
Suliemain who had arrived at the Cape as part of the entourage of the famous political prisoner
and teacher Tuan Guru.
The Fortune family have been fishermen in Kalk Bay for generations The 1912 boat owners’ list
at Kalk Bay lists Piet Fortune (Good Hope 21 ft.) M. Fortune (Beatrice 24 ft.) and Billy Fortune
(Dar es Salaam 22 ft.).
The Poggenpoel Family
It is not known where the Poggenpoel family originated but they were fishing in Kalk Bay by
about 1850. The first Anglican baptism in 1861 was a Poggenpoel and this family became one of
the most respected in the community. Kobie Poggenpoel is a well-known resident and boat
owner of Kalk Bay. In 1898 his grandfather Dirk bought land from Robert Andrew Fish for £80
and built a house. (Fig. 3.30.) In 1906 he owned two boats which had cost him £127. Apart from
supplying fish locally, he was also selling fish to the Mauritian market. Dirk took several
mortgages and owned various properties that he rented out. Like many others he faced financial
problems in 1908 when the whole of South Africa was in a post-Anglo Boer War recession. His
problems were compounded by the collapse of the Mauritian fish trade. He could not collect
rents and was forced to sell his two boats for £25. By 1912 he is recorded as being the owner of
the 21 ft. Dolphin. His house on the hill, second above the mosque, was transferred to the bond-
holder Robert Crosbie in 1916. Crosbie’s estate sold it to Thomas Newman for £820 in 1918.
The Poggenpoel and Fisher families lived on it what was known as ‘Newman’s Cottage’ for
many years.
Kobie’s father, also Dirk, was a much loved and respected fisherman who continued the fishing
tradition until he was 80. (Fig. 3.31.) Like his father before him he never ever wore shoes or
boots when he went fishing as he believed that if he ended up in the sea he would drown trying
