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erection of public conveniences. At that meeting Smith informed Councilor Dillman that his
family was only interested in selling the farm in its entirety and was not in favour of this
request from Council to sell a small potion. In his report to Council, Councillor Dillman,
conveyed not only Mr. Smith’s reply but also put forward a proposal that Council seriously
consider acquiring Smith’s Farm, “for preservation as a recreation area for the public” (98) .

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Following this, on November 25 , at a joint meeting of the Works and Health Committee, the
Chairman of Council Mr. C. W. T. Duminy was authorized to bring this matter before the
Mayor of Cape Town and determine the present position of the Municipality on this issue.
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The Mayor met with Mr. Duminy and Secretary Owen on December 9 and informed them
that he would submit the matter to the responsible committee. With no reply forthcoming, a
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reminder was sent on August 18 and another on December 14 , 1936, asking for his
Council’s position to be stated (99) .

The second campaign

Whether any reply was ever received is not known and the fate of Cape Point languished
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until two years later when on July 16 , 1938, the whole issue was thrust into public view
again. On that day, an article by Dr. S. H. Skaife proposing the purchase of Smith’s Farm and
its development as a nature reserve, as part of the centenary celebration planned by the City
of Cape Town in 1940, appeared in the Cape Times. In his autobiography, A Naturalist
Remembers, Skaife recalls how in July of 1938 he was visiting the homestead at Smith’s
Farm where he was told that a Johannesburg-based syndicate had offered the Smith family
£20,000 for their property, which they were going to accept. Dr. Skaife was also informed
that the Smith family was not at ease with this decision and that the beneficiaries were
prepared to sacrifice £1000 each and thereby lower the price to £16,000, for an organization
that would preserve it for the nation. This then led Skaife to approach columnist Mr. Henry
Hope – one of the behind the scenes and often, unsung heroes of the initiative to save Cape
Point, and of whom Skaife writes:

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