Page 56 - Bulletin 20 2016

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Cousins soon established a camp and began erecting stout “thatch structures” (83) to withstand
the severe Cape Point weather at Groendam. Now, while McKellar could not contest the
Colonial Government’s right to excise 20 morgen of land from him for a lighthouse at the
place of its choice, nor Government’s right of access to the lighthouse across his land (given
the title deed conditions to this effect attached to Cape Point Farm when first granted to
Osmond in 1816), nowhere did it say the Government had any right to set up camp outside
the proposed and contiguous 20 morgen tract of land to be excised, or graze livestock or
collect necessities such as water and fuel wood on private land beyond its boundaries. Thus,
on September 12, 1859, McKellar brought suit to this effect. This resulted in an agreement
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struck on January 28 , 1867, by which the Colonial Government was allowed to impose a
perpetual servitude on the farms Buffelsfontein and Cape Point Farm. In this McKellar
agreed that for the price of £153 sterling, paid to him, he and all future owners of these farms
would be bound to allow firewood at 3 Shillings a load (a load not to exceed 1200 lbs. in
weight) to be collected and also water from anywhere on the farms by tenants at the
lighthouse. Further, McKellar was appointed, “visitor”, to the Cape Point Lighthouse from
1867 until 1877 with a gratuity of £25 per year afforded him. Through this he agreed that he
could be called upon, as the nearest neighbour to the lighthouse, to assist in times of need and
render courtesies / services such as delivering post (84) .(Fig. 2.19.)

Another point that must be appreciated is that before McKellar, both Osmond and Wicht
were men of means who really did not need to make a profit from Buffelsfontein and Cape
Point Farm. Accordingly, they had little issue with neighbours and even others from further
afield coming onto their properties to picnic or, in the case of adjoining neighbours, collect
seashells (burned to produce lime) or fish. McKellar, on the other hand, as a newcomer to this
area, saw no reason to continue to indulge such expectations, however long-standing and
widely regarded as customary. He even went to the effort and expense of placing a notice in
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the Cape Monitor on February 15 , 1860, informing the public that trespassing on his
property would no longer be tolerated. Still there were many adjoining neighbours who
believed there to be a recognized public right-of-way across McKellar‘s land to the
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Groendam and continued to use it. On October 20 , 1871, McKellar confronted five
members of the Kallis family crossing his land on their way to fish at Groendam, with the
result that they came to blows and ended up in court over this matter. From these proceed-

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