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