Page 117 - Bulletin 22 2019

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First Development Begins

Kalk Bay had been recognized as a health resort for years. The arrival of the Railway in 1883

confirmed that this was a place where people would one day live and commute to the busy
centres of Wynberg and Cape Town. The formation of the Village Management Board in 1891

gave investors confidence and this part of Kalk Bay became a target for property speculators
with many properties changing hands. (Fig. 3.5.)

From this same period the first houses started to be built in this area and over the next 15 years

development was rapid. Ladan Road, somewhat isolated at the end of Harbour Road was a late
th
bloomer. Although land changed hands it was not until the early 20 century that houses were
built there.

By about 1894 there were only three buildings in the area of interest: Beran’s Cottage (circled),
and beyond it the houses Bellevue and Prospect built and owned for many years by the Meyer

family. A third house Sunnyside was later built between them. (Fig. 3.6.)

The complexities of building the Kalk Bay Police Station have been covered in KBHA Bulletin
7. Beran’s Cottage had stood on the site, which was Crown Land, for many years. Mohammed

Beran was a Muslim fisherman who had been allowed to take over this small house on the
understanding that he would keep some sort of law and order on Fishery Beach. He had lived

there for 16 years and had made many improvements to the house ‘at his own risk’ but fell foul
of the new Village Management Board – allegedly for refusing to act on instructions. In the end

he was paid £75, the cottage was demolished and the police station built. Plans were drawn by

Public Works Department in February 1897 and work began. (Figs. 3.7 – 3.10.)

This Police Station was designed for family living – in this case with three bedrooms – and this
would have made it a very desirable posting. The small cell – seldom used – was at the back up a

slight slope. The site of this building, the fact that it was built before plans were approved, and
that it encroached on the Main Road, were matters for argument for years to come.

On completion there remained the matter of the need for a mortuary – where to put remains of

people who had for instance drowned in the harbour. In 1916 the PWD decided to build it next to