Sights and Sounds

Waterfront Heritage

Calls for greater public access and a wider use of Cape Town’s historic harbour started in the early 1970′s. In 1988, the then landowner (State-owned transport corporation, Transnet Limited) established a wholly owned subsidiary company, Victoria & Alfred Waterfront (Pty) Limited, to redevelop the historic docklands. This was received with large-scale public acclaim. Since its origins in 1860, the Port of Cape Town has been the scene of excavations, reclamations, harbour construction programmes and land based developments. By the time Prince Alfred (Queen Victoria’s second son) tipped the first load of stone into the sea to initiate construction of Cape Town’s harbour, the trade routes to the East had transformed the city into a hive of seafront activity.

The discovery of gold and diamonds in South Africa meant that the first section of harbour, the Alfred Basin, had to be added to and the Victoria Basin was built. The construction of the two harbour basins took place between 1860 and 1920, and the area is notable for its outstanding heritage buildings. It retains the charm of Victorian industrial architecture and the scale of a harbour built for sail and the early days of steam travel. In the 1970s, containerisation had developed worldwide as the major method of cargo handling and transportation. It was this, together with South Africa’s economic isolation at the time and the reopening of the Suez Canal, that led to a sharp reduction in the utilisation of land and harbour facilities surrounding the Victoria & Alfred Basins. At the time, Transnet was in the process of rationalising harbour facilities and reviewing its harbour and other land holdings with particular emphasis on the returns being generated by these assets.

Over the past 140 years, the harbour has undergone numerous changes, which continue even today with the redevelopment of land and buildings surrounding the original Victoria & Alfred Basins. The Victoria & Alfred Waterfront project is the culmination of nearly three decades of planning and development proposals.

Buildings of Historical Significance

The Historic Clock Tower
The Victorian Gothic-style Clock Tower has always been an icon of the old docks and has become an important focal point in the Waterfront’s recent urban design. This was the original Port Captain’s Office completed in 1882. On the second floor is a decorative mirror room, which enabled the Port Captain to have a view of all activities in the harbour. On the bottom floor is a tide-gauge mechanism used to check the level of the tide. Restoration of the Clock Tower was completed towards the end of 1997.

Time Ball Tower
The Time Ball (invented by Captain Robert Wauchope) is a signaling device in which a ball is dropped at a given time in order for ship masters to determine the error and rate of their chronometers whilst in harbour. The Time Ball Tower in the Waterfront was built in 1894 and is situated next the Harbour Engineer’s former residence (Dock House). It remained in use for 40 years after which new technology led to it lying idle for 63 years before being restored and officially recommissioned in November 1997.

Nobel Square
Nobel Square pays tribute to the four South African Nobel Peace laureates – the late Nkosi Albert Luthuli, Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Mpilo Tutu, former President of the Republic of South Africa, Frederik Willem de Klerk and former President of the Republic of South Africa, (then President of the ANC) Nelson Mandela, for their efforts that resulted in the eradication of Apartheid and the promotion of peace in the country.

South Africa has 3 other Nobel laureates: Max Thieler – 1951 (Medicine), Nadine Gordimer – 1991(Literature) and John Maxwell Coetzee – 2003 (Literature).

The Dragon Tree
The Dragon Tree (dracaeno draco) planted next to the Time Ball Tower is a species originally from the Canary Islands. Well over 100 years old, this is one of the largest of its type in Cape Town. Believed to have been planted by a sailor passing through Cape Town, the sap (“dragons blood”) of these trees was once popular as a medicine to treat dysentery and diarrhea. Unfortunately, the Dragon Tree was severely damaged in storms in 2001 and the tree was in the process of regeneration and eventually removed.

Robben Island Embarkation Building
At the end of Quay 5 on Jetty 1 is the embarkation building for prisoners sent to Robben Island. Although the purpose and use of the island changed a number of times over the last century or so, it more recently gained international notoriety as a prison for contemporary political figures including South Africa’s first democratically elected President, Nelson Mandela.

The Robben Island Exhibition and Information Centre
Situated next door to the Historic Clock Tower building is a unique museum depicting the history of Robben Island and the political struggle for democracy. Daily ferry trips to Robben Island depart from the jetty near the Robben Island Exhibition and Information Centre in the Clock Tower Precinct and from the Robben Island Embarkation Building on Jetty 1. Guided tours and bus tours on the island include a visit to the prison with viewing of the limestone quarry, Garrison Church (1841), lighthouse (1863), Leper’s Church (1895), guesthouse (1895) and a Kramat, or Muslim shrine. Seabirds, African (jackass) penguins, ostriches and bontebok are some of the wildlife on the island. Tickets may be purchased from the Robben Island Embarkation Building,

Seal Landing
It is unusual to get a close view of seals, as offshore islands are their preferred breeding grounds. A colony of Cape fur seals are however a familiar sight resting on the seal landing in the Clock Tower Precinct next to the original Bertie’s Landing Restaurant and on old tyres lining the quaysides around the Waterfront. They are an integral part of harbour life and Capetonians are fortunate enough to have these seals living in such close proximity.

Breakwater Prison
The original Breakwater Prison was constructed in 1860 to house the convicts working on the breakwater. A dramatic reminder of the punitive penal attitudes prevalent in the 1890′s is the remains of a treadmill visible alongside the former prison building, now housing the University of Cape Town’s Graduate School of Business and the Breakwater Lodge – a comfortable non-graded hotel. Iziko Maritime Museum The museum showcases the maritime history of Table Bay and houses the largest collection of model ships in South Africa.

Chavonnes Battery
Of particular significance to the new Clock Tower Precinct development is its historical base – the Clock Tower, itself a national monument. Recently, preliminary excavation uncovered a portion of the Chavonnes Battery, which is one of the oldest European structures in South Africa.

Investigations conducted by the Archaeology Contracts Office at the Department of Archaeology at the University of Cape Town yielded a full report on the history of the battery. Built in 1714-1725 by the Dutch East India Company, the Chavonnes Battery was designed to further protect the Cape, together with Fort Knokke and the Amsterdam Battery – and eyewitness accounts described the Chavonnes Battery as being the most formidable of the Table Bay fortifications. By mid-19th century, the Chavonnes Battery had been put to a number of uses. Besides serving a military role, it was used as an isolation and convalescent wing of the old Somerset Hospital. Crew and passengers of ships stricken with contagious illnesses such as smallpox were confined to the battery until they were considered fit. The Battery was decommissioned in 1861. As part of the new development, the Chavonnes Battery has been retained and part of the ruins open to the general public (by appointment only) – and acts as a real feature of the Clock Tower Precinct.

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Other Historical Buildings and Interesting Locations

There are numerous other historical buildings within the V&A Waterfront boundaries and a number of these may be viewed by strolling around the Waterfront. Maps detailing the locations of the historical buildings are available from Waterfront Information or from the Media Centre. Ferryman’s Freehouse/Mitchell’s Scottish Ale House – 1860 Dock House – 1880 Robinson Dry Dock – 1882 Old Power Station (Pump House) 1882 Harbour Café – 1902 Old Port Captain’s Building – 1904 Old Millwright’s Building (core of Two Oceans Aquarium premises) – 1907 Union Castle Building – Baker, Kendall Morris Design – 1919 Alfred Mall and Victoria & Alfred Hotel Bascule Bridge – 1996 Swing Bridge – 1997

For more information, visit the V&A’s website.