Page 91 - Bulletin 23- 2020

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The catching of this fish passed into Kalk Bay legend and like all legends it grew in the telling.
This very amusing recollection is told by Leonard Bright, a columnist for, I think, The Argus:

One Sunday Jack was fishing at the favourite fishing spot on the stone slab where the
women gutted the fish and threw the offal into the sea. Word flashed around the small
boys that Mr. Moore had got stuck into something big. We raced for the slab, and found
Jack, his rod bent double pumping in some MIGHTY FISH. In 20 minutes he had it
alongside and little Leonard, anxious to be part of this making of history, held on to one
of the three gaffs which were in action. Little Leonard fell smartly into the sea, and held
up operations while he himself was gaffed out by the seat of his shorts. We all hoisted this
giant of a fish to our shoulders and staggered along the railway permanent way to the
Kalk Bay railway station where the luggage scale, surely as much above suspicion as
Caesar’s wife, announced the trophy to weigh 133 lbs (60.3 kgs).

When Jack died in 1963 daughter Edith took transfer of Upcott. When she died in 2005, aged 92

she had lived at Upcott for 80 years.

Moving further up Ladan Road

The Croft, 5 Ladan Road stands on erf 89949 which had been carved off the plot next door after

passing through several owners. It was bought in 1920 by Louis Ladan who had plans passed in

1919. (Fig. 3.24). He planned to build two of these flat roofed houses but, for whatever reason,
The Croft is the only house in the street with a flat roof. (Fig. 3.25).

The house was sold by Louis Ladan to the war widow Rose Ann Russell in 1920 for £2,000 –

vastly overpriced with the 1924 Municipal Valuation being £1,120. She had been born in Crieff,
Scotland and no doubt the house was named for a Scottish croft. When Rose sold it fourteen

years later in 1934 all she could get was £1,250.

As mentioned earlier Rose Russell had a major problem with Ladan blocking access from the
end of Harbour Road and it took some time to resolve. She sold in 1934 and in 1943 the house

was bought by James (Kay) McCallum. They were a well-known family with four sons who had
been in Kalk Bay since 1926. They had lived in rented houses in Ladan Road for some years.

There had been tragedy in the family when their son, the popular ‘Hughie’ was killed aged 26 by

a sniper in the preparation for the South African assault on Monte Sole. (Fig. 3.26.) Although