Page 174 - Bulletin 21

171

force the fishing families to move from Kalk Bay and all indications are that in general

discussions were courteous with delegations being treated with respect. A group representing
the fishermen was taken to inspect the Steenberg site and remarked afterwards that it was a

nice piece of land if you were a farmer!

It was a time of great uncertainty for the whole community but they seem to have shown faith
in their leaders and the hardiness for which they were well known. Generations of taking on

the sea in all of its guises and dangers would tend to make you immune to the uncertainties
posed by committees who had no real idea what the life of a fisherman and his family was

like.

For Council this was a major investment and taking all options on board and the desire of the
fishing community to stay in Kalk Bay a decision to go ahead was finally taken to acquire the

land on 26 August 1938. At that time there were 449 people in the fishing community of
whom 394 lived in Die Land and 55 in other parts of Kalk Bay. Planning started immediately

and various options and layouts were considered. (Fig. 4.55.)

Obviously a phased approach was required. As buildings were demolished flats had to be
available to move into. No doubt the allocation of flats to families was a contentious issue

while rumour and counter-rumour went around the community. Tenants were selected by the

Public Health Committee with Sophia Fernandez representing the Cape Peninsula Inshore
Fishing Association. The list of ‘first’ tenants is a valuable piece of history – see Appendix A.

Demolition of existing houses started in 1941 and the first flats were handed over on 16 July

that year. There was a lengthy delay after this, much to the frustration of people waiting to
move. It was caused by a lack of funding due to the war and a seeming miscalculation on the

number of flats needed. The property of Mrs ‘Jack’ (Rachel) Harris was bought for
demolition and the final flats were only completed in June 1945. (Fig. 4.56.)

The flats were an all new world for most of the people. Well built, big windows, dry, with

running water and electricity. They were safe and secure at last. (Fig. 4.57.) It was inevitable
in a project of this size and complexity that some things weren’t perfect. For instance,

initially there was no guttering for the ground floor flats and this caused water problems