Page 80 - Bulletin 18

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Hart’s yacht Carol was hauled up. But it soon proved to be too small to handle the ever-

increasing size of craft.

On 21 June 1917 the harbour was declared a minor port of the Union and fell under the

jurisdiction of the SAR & H. Befitting this status a Customs Office was located at the
junction of the breakwater and fish landing quay. There seems to have no official ‘opening’

in 1918 because all components of the growing harbour had come into unrestricted and

general use as they were completed. Furthermore, Cape Town had other priorities to attend
to: its completion more or less coincided with the Spanish Influenza Pandemic which

paralysed Cape Town during October-November 1918, and with the wartime Armistice on 11
November 1918.

In the final analysis some of Nicholson’s estimations and assumption proved to be incorrect.

For example, he had estimated the project would cost R55,766 but the final cost turned out to
be £72,700, coincidentally exactly the figure Mr. Hurtzig in London had estimated, with the

cost of the northern breakwater subtracted. He had also assumed they would encounter few

hazards and fairly calm conditions whereas many working days were lost due to heavy sea
conditions. But at least there was no loss of life among the work force and only one minor

injury. Mr. Furlong was also convinced, based on his 5-year stay in the resident-engineer’s
bungalow on the Point, that no northern breakwater would be required to protect the boats

from the “easterly seas” that swept into the little bay. He also feared that such a breakwater,
by creating a narrow entrance, could endanger boats entering the harbour in a strong beam

sea if they were to lose control and run onto it. But eventually, twenty years later, it would

have to be built.