Page 170 - Bulletin 7 2003

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from the platform, after a climb of 145 steps up a spiral staircase and 5 landings within
the tower, is spectacular.

There have, of course, been many wrecks around the Kommetjie coastline and mention

is made in the book of the better known names such as the Kakapo which steamed full

ahead up onto Noordhoek beach in May 1900. In 1905 the Clan Monroe went aground
on the rocks at a point near the position of the lighthouse. The warning “maroon”, or

rocket, which alerted those in the area of the shipwreck and a lifebelt from the Clan
Monroe, are now on display at the lighthouse. During an autumn storm in 1909, the

Shaw Saville & Albion Line’s Maori, having left Table Bay, was slammed onto the
rocks just beneath the surface at Duiker Point, and there are some dramatic

photographs available of the stricken vessel fast upon the rocks with the figure of a

crewman clinging to the foremast.

I wonder how many of you are aware of the fact that Kommetjie had its very own

Cricket Club, founded in 1938, through the energies of George Towler, together with
the assistance of Dave Nourse who was one of South Africa’s greatest batsmen during

the early part of the century. Why a cricketer of his stature should have taken such an
interest in an obscure club in a remote part of the Peninsula is a question that does not

seem to have been answered in the history of the club, as presented to the Fish Hoek
Valley Museum.

Title

Having sweated, if not “blood and tears”, certainly much stress and despondency
during the four-year period it took us to complete the book, the question of a title only

came up during the latter part of last year, when we applied for an ISBN number. It was
then that the task team realized that, according to the Deeds Office, the first land sales

took place in 1903, which meant, of course, that the village was fast approaching its

Centenary anniversary. At about the same time, word went around that a very
enthusiastic and community-minded resident had actually volunteered to co-ordinate

and convene suitable celebrations and festivities. This brave man, Andre van