Page 192 - Bulletin 19 2015

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It is believed that he was a Pretoria-based businessman who flew down at weekends to be
with his family at Kalk Bay – his son Clive went to Kalk Bay Primary. Little more is known

about the Rumbles. A search of the Pretoria archive records shows several files in the mid-

1950s where he was involved in court actions relating to payments. In 1960 Rumble
registered a patent for an electrical plug in Australia and in 1970 registered a USA patent for

a tamperproof container cap. He died in London in July 1971.

Although the Rumbles had bought Petrava in 1950 it appears that it was on the market again
in 1953. Council received a letter dated 27 September 1953 from a Matron E Hook. In it she

said she had bought ‘Pravia’ (sic) and transfer would take place on 10 November 1953. She

wanted to know if she could convert the house to a surgical hospital and with an extension,
add a maternity ward. It seems strange that without much debate Council agreed, subject to

the regulations being met and 20 parking places being provided. Nothing more was heard.
Clearly she had not bought the house and no transfer took place.

The following year lawyers wrote on behalf of an un-named client requesting permission to

convert Petrava to an hotel. They pointed out that permission had been given previously for a

hospital with the addition of a maternity home. Council seemed to wake up at this point and
said that in 1940 they had made it clear this should be maintained as a residential area. They

now said the area should remain single residential.

The 1953 Street Directory lists the occupant of Petrava as Surgeon Lt. - Commander Sydney
Appleton. (Fig. 3.81.) This was a wartime rank and he was a well-known Cape Town

ophthalmic surgeon. He bought the property on auction and transfer was taken on 22 October

1954. Much valuable information about the house has come from the Appleton family who
have many happy memories of growing up in this house. Their daughter Lan Reid summed it

up:

However, that said, we all loved living there and had the most idyllic
childhood in and around St. James and Kalk Bay when it was a very

unfashionable seaside retreat a long way from everywhere - the girls went to