Page 145 - Bulletin 7 2003
P. 145

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                     that  this  matter  would  be  taken  up  with  the  District  Surgeon.  Water  for  the
                     prisoners  was  fetched  from  across  the  road  at  the  Kalk  Bay  Railway  Station,

                     while the Kalk Bay Municipality handled the sanitary arrangements. It was noted
                     that the latrines were clean. Rations were of good quality and well cooked by the

                     matron. The stores were neatly arranged and kept in Adshead’s kitchen where the

                     matron did the cooking. There was no storeroom.


                     It was noted by the Prison Authorities, on receiving Adshead’s resignation (he
                     accepted  a  post  at  the  Royal  Naval  Institute  Simon’s  Town),  that  the  police

                     would now take over the lock-up as from 1 January 1899 for police quarters and
                     a charge office, and no prisoners would in future be permanently kept there. All

                     supplies and stores would be transferred to Simon’s Town leaving only blankets,

                     pillows,  buckets,  pails  (night  soil),  scrubbing  brushes  etc.  The  Resident
                     Magistrate would visit the lock-up once a week on inspection.



                     After the Lock-up


                     The  lease  of  the  lock-up  house  was,  however,  due  to  expire  on  31  December
                     1899 whereafter it was  planned that the constabulary would move to a newly-

                     built police station with charge office and cells. The first site investigated for the
                     establishment of a police station was on Railway property near Kalk Bay Station,

                     but this was refused by the Railways. The second site, which was the one chosen,

                     was on Crown Land opposite Fishery Beach.


                     The choice of this site for the building of the police station was ironic as it was
                     here,  on  the  Main  Road  under  the  milkwood  trees,  that  van  Eyk,  the  first

                     constable of Kalk Bay, had built and lived in what was described as a “hut”, but
                     which was really a typical small flat-roofed building. (Fig. 4.2). When van Eyk

                     was leaving Kalk Bay as a constable he asked the Resident Magistrate if he could

                     sell  his  “hut”  to  a  Malay  fisherman  Mohammed  Beran.  This  was  agreed  to
                     provided Beran continued with van Eyk’s duties, which were to look after the
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