In celebration of Heritage Month, the City of Cape Town recently completed a project that records the history of Cape Town’s South Peninsula through stories.
The aim of these stories is to support tourism development and to stimulate local interest by illustrating the rich heritage of the area.
The City’s Environmental Resource Management Department has partnered with specialists to prepare a suite of interesting stories about places, buildings, sites, events and people in the Far South Peninsula, linked to the history of the area.
The Far South Peninsula is an area of extraordinary natural beauty and cultural heritage value. It is one of Cape Town’s premier tourist regions, with unique environmental and heritage assets. These assets form the basis of the tourism and recreational industries that contribute significant income to the local, regional and national economy.
‘Through this project, the City was able to capture the history of Cape Town’s “far south” . The stories have been comprehensively recorded by many residents and each story is about real-life characters and events that have shaped our past. We are particularly excited about initiatives like these which offer a fresh approach to educating residents and tourists about the heritage of our city,’ said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Energy, Environmental and Spatial Planning, Councillor Johan van der Merwe.
Cape Town is a top global tourist destination, but many visitors to the Far South Peninsula only focus on Cape Point and the penguins at Boulders Beach. This project highlights additional attractions which can be unpacked via stories to promote tourism in the area.
‘I would like to thank the various role players, especially Councillor Simon Liell-Cock, for the dedication that went into this project. This initiative has contributed to the identification of the unique environmental and heritage assets in the area and will enable the City to develop strategies to appropriately use and protect these resources in a sustainable manner,’ said Councillor Van der Merwe.
The stories have been selected to balance historical themes from pre-history, through pre-Colonial to Colonial settlement, apartheid and democratic South Africa. They cover the geographical area of Chapman’s Peak southwards to include Imhoff, Ocean View, Masiphumelele, Kommetjie, Witsand, Misty Cliffs and Scarborough, Plateau Road, Cape Point, Smitswinkel Bay to Miller’s Point, Boulders Beach, Simon’s Town, Red Hill, Glencairn and Fish Hoek to Muizenberg.
The linking of historical stories and tourism development required an approach to story-telling that goes beyond the mere recording of historic events. The tone of the stories is conversational in order to engage local residents and tourists alike, and can be utilised in story-telling mode by tour guides or to fulfil on-site interpretive requirements.
The 13 story packages are as follows:
- Beauty secrets of the South Peninsula
- A graveyard of ships
- Sultans and slaves: the Muslim community of the Deep South
- The lure of the sea
- Whaling in False Bay: then and now
- An alliance with the sun: Randlords and diamond magnates
- Stories from the graves, graveyards and memorials of the South Peninsula
- The battle of Muizenberg
- Fisherman of the South Peninsula
- Explorers of the South Peninsula
- Culture: language, education, faith and philosophy
- The Group Areas Act and its aftermath in the South Peninsula
- Princes, chiefs and other royals of the South PeninsulaThe 153-page document can be downloaded as a complete file (10mb) or as individual chapters here
