Page 118 - Bulletin 7 2003

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THE KALK BAY COMMUNITY

Vincent Cloete

Beginnings

The first inhabitants of Kalk Bay were Khoi people. As a boy I can remember the
day archaeologists examined the overhangs and caves on Trappies Kop and

discovered shells and animal bones there. These could have been from the Khoi or
from escaped slaves and others who found refuge there during the Colonial Era.

Quite probably these were the first fishermen of Kalk Bay.

In 1687 Simon van der Stel spent some time at Kalk Bay while surveying the western

shores of False Bay. A base camp was established in the area of today’s outspan

where a stream of water flowed down the valley. It still flows but in pipes under
Clairvaux Road that end in the harbour. He also discovered a well-situated corner, or

hoek, hence the name Vishoek, where an abundant supply of fish could be obtained
to feed the inhabitants at Cape Town.

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So towards the end of the 17 century a fishery had been established in this area.
Traditions of fishing with trek nets and hand-lines were brought in by those who

came from Batavia. Table Bay, and the western side of False Bay, particularly
Buffels Bay near Cape Point, were the best fishing areas. (In former years huge

shoals of steenbras, and even bigger shoals of yellowtail, would come in from the
Agulhas Bank and Struisbay, blown in by the summer south-easter to feed on shoals

of anchovy and calamari / chokka).

Rights were probably granted to half-a-dozen families in the Simon’s Bay area to do

trekking. A family called Miller had a trek at Froggy Pond; the Jaffa’s had a trek
close to the dockyard below Admiralty House – old man Jaffa was from Java; the

Cotton’s trek was at Long Beach – old George Cotton came from St. Helena and his