Page 89 - Bulletin 22 2019

86

war decades the well-maintained, gaily-painted, and much-photographed boxes survived

intact until around 1970. Aerial photography shows that by 1971 the front row of 18 boxes on
the south side had been removed, leaving a total of 69 boxes.

The storms of the 1970s were the death knells for many of the 50-year old structures and all

the north side boxes vanished leaving some 28 in two rows at the south side. These numbers
survived until the early 2000s. In 1995 the Council had renewed 19 of them at a cost of

R100,000. (Fig. 2.64.) At the time the assistant-Director of Civic Amenities, Mr Rob Horn,

stated that there would be an outcry if the boxes were ever taken away. “We want to retain
the quaintness of St. James, which is probably the most photographed beach on the

Peninsula.” By 2005 the back row had been removed leaving one row of 19.

Around mid-night on 22 December 2000 a fire, apparently started by vagrants, destroyed

eight boxes which were later replaced. (Fig. 2.65.) In recent years, owing to neglect, local
residents have repaired and painted all the boxes at their own cost. The run-down pool and

seriously eroded beach have remained popular despite their poor condition. (Figs. 2.66 &
2.67.) Another nighttime fire on 8 August 2020 destroyed three and damaged two boxes and

the remaining 14 now face an uncertain future. (Figs. 2.68 & 2.69.)

Dalebrook

Before the railway arrived a gently sloping beach ran up to the Main Road, and more or less

continuously to Kalk Bay. The construction of the pool in a small gulley between 1903 and
1914 provided safe bathing, and local residents and hotels and boarding houses like Seahurst

and Dalebrook (later Innisfail) leased sites and erected bathing boxes. In 1915 there were 11

boxes standing next to the rail embankment: three on the north side and eight on the south
side of the pool. In 1924 more sites were identified to the south and by 1927 the numbers had

increased to 15, and none was lost to the railway widening in that year. In 1940 six more sites

were added and the number of boxes peaked at 20 in the 1950s. (Figs. 2.70 & 2.71.)

The pool was enlarged by two-thirds around 1960. By this time storm-waves had destroyed
the four northern boxes. (Figs. 2.72 – 2.77.) In 1960 a Council proposal to replace a number