Page 75 - KBHA BULLETIN 20

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Then on December 12 , the Divisional Council of the Cape received a letter from Mayor
Lewis enquiring whether Council would be prepared to co-operate with the City Council in
acquiring Smith’s Farm as a nature reserve and public camping ground. In answer, the
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Divisional Council resolved on December 17 to co-operate and selected six Councillors to
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represent Council at a meeting of Cape Town ratepayers on December 19 . Even with this
display of interest and support for this project on the part of the Divisional Council, however,
it was reported in the Cape Times the next day that;

“at a meeting of Ratepayers convened by the Mayor in the Banquet Hall yesterday
afternoon, it was resolved, by a small majority, that the City Council should not be
associated with the proposed purchase of Smith’s Farm at Cape Point as a nature
reserve and camping ground” (96) .

So it was that these earliest efforts to save Cape Point, in some form of Public Trust, ground
to a halt.

Plan B

From here on, and for the next few years, the initiative to save Cape Point went through a
period of indifference as the years of the Great Depression set in and attention turned to more
immediately pressing matters. Still, there was some movement behind the scenes. On
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September 18 , 1934, a letter was received by the Divisional Council from Mr. Reginald
Ward on behalf of the executors of “Estate late Smith”, offering Smith’s Farm to the
Divisional Council with all its rights for £25,000. Two days later Council informed Mr. Ward
that it was not in the market for this property – with nothing in the way of further
explanation. However, on March 5, 1935, a memorandum was sent to the Secretary of
Council, Mr. G. O. Owen from Council Engineer T. P. Fox containing copies of title deeds as
well as a plan of Smith’s property. Clearly, on the part of the Divisional Council, at least,
there was still interest in this project behind the scenes (97) .

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Then on November 6 , 1935, Councilor G. W. Dillman of the Divisional Council had
occasion to interview Norman Smith with the view of securing an area at Cape Point for the

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