Page 120 - Bulletin 9 2005

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through the turmoil of sand and rocks was indeed a wondrous and awe-inspiring sight.”
Eventually they arrived at the foot of Lighthouse Hill where a stiff gradient, similar to that

of Red Hill, confronted them. The loose coarse gravel made the climb difficult but the car
eventually arrived at the lighthouse keeper’s quarters where they were greeted by light-

house staff, and Mr. and Mrs. George Boyes. So, although the knowledgeable motoring

fraternity of Cape Town had regarded the trip as impossible, the pioneering Valveless party
had succeeded in getting through.

Construction of the “All Round” Road continued during the Great War. By 1919 only the

Hout Bay – Noordhoek section along the sheer Chapman’s Peak cliffs, and the Witzand
section between Slangkop – Red Hill, remained to be completed. Eventual completion of

the whole project was achieved in 1923 – only ten years after its commencement. (Figs

3.11 – 3.19.)

The road was hailed as one of the most beautiful drives in the world by overseas tourists,

who often brought their own cars with them on board ship. Already in 1913 the Cape
Peninsula Publicity Association (which had been founded in 1907) had begun promoting

the Cape as “The Motorists’ Paradise” and local car hire firms supported this initiative.
(Figs 3.20 & 3.21.) The completion of the road now made possible a variety of circular

drives of shorter and longer duration. To drive from Cape Town to Kalk Bay one only had
the old Main Road starting literally at the City Hall, and one threaded one’s way through a

river of carts and trams as far as Wynberg and thence along a sandy wagon road the rest of

the way. After passing through Muizenberg the road next to the railway line probably
differed little from its present day appearance, confined between the line and turn-of-the

century villas, so many of which survive. The great difference, of course, was the
comparative lack of traffic. The passing of a motor car would cause quite a stir. In fact, the

almost daily flitting in his Renault from The Mount Nelson down to Muizenberg for a
swim, by Parliamentarian J. W. Quinn, rated special mention in Motoring in South Africa

magazine.