Page 104 - Bulletin 7 2003

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Africa” at Witsands beach. It was launched there and sailed under sail to Simon’s
Town to have her engine installed. Mr. De Villiers was the skipper and the crew were

all from Witsands, Slangkop and Noordhoek.

They went to Walvis Bay in South West Africa for the six-month season to catch

snoek. On return to her home port Simon’s Town she was welcomed by all the
Witsands and Simon’s Town people. They brought with them butterfish and dried

snoek. Twenty of the crew are still alive and live in Ocean View. “Star of Africa”
was sold to a company in South West Africa.

Community Life in Simon’s Town

The Dockyard and the schools and churches were, in many respects, cornerstones of
community life. Skills were acquired in the Dockyard that were often reserved for

white workers elsewhere, while the schools and churches instilled a strong sense of

morality and discipline. (Fig. 3.15). Within the community there were racial, group
and class prejudices. Certain parts of town were regarded as “better” than others. For

example, the Mount Pleasant area (Fig. 3.16) compared to the Council flats in the
Kloof area. There was very little contact between the coloured community and the

African community in Luyolo. (Fig. 3.17).

Forced Removals

The African community was removed from Luyolo in 1965, two years before the

Group Areas proclamation, and re-settled in Gugulethu. In September 1967 the
whole of Simon’s Town was proclaimed a white group area. By this time the Royal

Navy, which many had regarded as a “protector” of their rights, had long since
handed over control to the South African Navy. This had happened in 1957. Between

1968 – 74 the whole coloured population of 5,000 – 6,000 people, more than 65% of

Simon’s Town’s total population, was re-settled – most going to Ocean View. Some
of the fishermen are, however, still fishing from Kalk Bay, Kommetjie and Witsands.