Page 67 - Bulletin 17 2013

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Glencairn

The first land grant at Glencairn dates from 1811 and Welcome Cottage was built on it

around 1812 - 13. The first 56 plots were sold in 1901.

Official Guide Book and Souvenir Cape Gala (1907 – 08) Season, 1907: 146

At Glencairn, however, which is a newer and perhaps, smaller place, the train
stops not far from a hotel. The train service to this place is excellent, being the same as
that to Simon’s Town. Of course, good fishing can be obtained all along the coast at this
part; while a considerable amount of shooting is done in the Noordhoek district.

Resort development came much later. The pool was probably built around 1925 at which

time the subway was constructed to provide access to the beach. Bathing boxes were built
by the Glencairn Hotel, Rotary Camp, and residents. The smaller pool at Shelly Beach

dates from 1936 when City Councillor Abdurahman brokered a gentleman’s agreement
with the Simon’s Town Municipality that this should be for the use of non-European

bathers and campers. (Margaret Cartwright, pers. comm.) (Figs. 1. 74 – 1.77.)

Simon’s Town – Seaforth

Long Beach, running from the North Battery at Glencairn towards Admiralty House, was

the last significant beach on False Bay’s west coast but it was somewhat remote from the

centre of Simon’s Town. The town’s waterfront was an attractive granite shoreline with
pocket beaches separated by boulder outcrops – until it disappeared under piecemeal

reclamation for naval purposes at West Yard, and then in 1906 the much more substantial
East Yard at Cole’s Point. The dumping of town refuse and rubble diminished the quality

of the town’s remaining relatively natural beachfront. (Figs. 1.78 & 1.79.) In 1921 a
reinforced concrete pier was built near the original slipway and the future Jubilee Square,

and is reputed to be the oldest pier of this type in South Africa.