Simon's Town Museum
Project Phoenix

Simon’s Town was a town of many nations and cultures from its inception. Simon’s Bay was named by Simon van der Stel, when he was carrying out his survey of False Bay in 1687. He recommended Simon’s Bay as the new winter anchorage for the "Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie" fleet (in English, the " United East India Company" and nowadays more generally called the "Dutch East India Company") or simply the "VOC". After much dithering, the VOC finally acted on his recommendation in 1743, when Baron von Imhoff ordered the building of the Storehouses in what is now the West Dockyard. At first the settlement remained tiny, most of its inhabitants being resident only in the winter. The population of Simon’s Town were mainly VOC officials, soldiers and slaves that had been bought to the Cape from China, Indonesia, India, Madagascar, Mozambique, Zanzibar, Angola and other parts of West Africa and the indigenous Khoisan people. Small numbers of Scandinavians, Germans and Frenchmen joined the community as sailors, whalermen, mercenaries, farmers, teachers, traders and so on. The little village remained small though as a result of its seasonal trade with the Dutch East India Company fleet and other passing shipping.

The British took control of the Cape in 1795 and handed it back to the Dutch in 1803, only to seize it once more in 1806. From 1814 the Royal Navy established a permanent naval base at Simon’s Bay and the town began to flourish. People were drawn from all over by the possibility of employment. The large Royal Naval fleet had to be provisioned and this created business opportunities for a relatively large number of persons. Many people from Britain began to settle in Simon’s Town. The Kroomen from West Africa originated in places like Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast and Ghana. They joined the Royal Navy on three year contracts, but many married Simon’s Town women and stayed on in the town after their contracts had expired.

Muslim sailors from Zanzibar joined the Royal Navy too. They were known as "Seedies". Most returned home at the end of their contracts, though a few settled in the town, marrying local women.

The Catholic Church of Saints Simon and Jude owes its existence to two Spanish brothers, the Delcarmes, reportedly from South America, who married Irish and German wives respectively and whose descendants were so numerous that they formed the basis of the resultant Catholic congregation and were able to build a church in 1850.

During the middle and late 1800’s islanders came from St Helena to settle in Simon’s Town. In the early 1900’s another group of islanders arrived from Tristan da Cunha to settle in the town. Amongst other trades, these people were skilled fishermen and whalermen.

Also arriving in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s were the Indian people, who began businesses in the town. Their descendants still own businesses in Simon’s Town today.

Another group to arrive in the late 1880’s were the Xhosa people from the Eastern Cape. They built the railway into Simon’s Town from Kalk Bay, which was opened in 1890. At first they lived alongside the railway track and then on completion of the work, they moved to a kloof close to the town, where they built their homes on terraces on the mountainside. They assisted with the building of the East Dockyard (1901-1910) and later found employment with the Simon’s Town Municipality and in the day to day activities of the expanding Dockyard.

Other nationalities who worked on the building of the East Dockyard were the Italians, the Chinese, Indians from the Punjab and again a large number of men from the United Kingdom.

In the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, a large number of Jewish people, mainly Lithuanians, settled and opened businesses in Simon’s Town, becoming prominent members of the community.

In addition, there were small numbers of Philippinos who settled in Simon’s Town in the 1800’s. They were mostly sailors or fishermen.

Centuries of intermarriage and social interaction in Simon’s Town created a very culturally diverse community, whose history and heritage must be UNIQUE in South Africa, if not the world!

Simon’s Town was declared a White Group Area on 1 September 1967 and the subsequent Forced Removal of the people of colour irrevocably destroyed the multi-cultural fabric of Simon Town society. Families were literally split as some were removed and some were able to stay in the town - all based on the colour of their skins.

In order to preserve the heritage of the Simon’s Town community, the Simon’s Town Museum initiated Project Phoenix in 1996. A committee representative of those forcibly removed from the town was formed to assist the Museum to gather and record the history of Simon’s Town’s dispossessed people.

Phase One of Project Phoenix was completed in September 1997 when a permanent exhibition of photographs and documents showing the town, its people and the results of the Forced Removals was opened. Phase Two is underway and the Museum and the Project Phoenix Committee is collecting material for displays on the Artists, Poets, Writers, Dancers, Societies, Sports, Entertainers and Achievers of Simon’s Town.

Any assistance for Project Phoenix in the form of family histories, photographs, documents, artefacts and funding of course, would be most gratefully received. The Simon’s Town Museum has had to fund Project Phoenix itself, on a very limited budget and the scope of the research and display work we can undertake is therefore very restricted.

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The Jaffer family outside their home in Mount Pleasant.

Children outside the Muslim School at the Noorul Islam Mosque.

District Six had their famous 7 steps, Simon's Town had 20!! - at the corner of Rectory Lane and Smith's Lane and they still exist today.

Luyolo (Happy) Village in circa 1964. It dated to just after 1890 and the homes were built on stone terraces on the mountainside.

The residents of Luyolo in circa 1964.

A wedding in Luyolo in the 1960's.

Old building on corner of Arsenal Road and Barrack Street. Demolished in the 1970's along with many other old buildings in Simon's Town.

A home in Rickett's Terrace. When Muslim slaves were freed many of them settled in the area around the Mosque. Some of the buildings in this area may have dated to the 1700's. Sadly they were bulldozed in the 1970's.

Bounty from the sea - many families in the community were dependant on the sea for a living. The pleas from the fishermen that they had to be close to their boats and their livelihood, fell on deaf ears. Whereas Kalk Bay fishermen were given a 15 year suspension before they had to move, Simon's Town's fishermen had to leave. Within a short while the fish market closed and the fishing fleet disappeared.

Trekboat of the Delcarme family on Glencairn beach.

Interior of the Kindo family home in Cardiff Road. One of the hurtful experiences of the Forced Removals was that heavy furniture like this, much of it handed down through the family, had to remain behind. It was dumped or taken away and sold in antique shops. The rooms in the new houses that the community were removed to in Ocean View, were tiny by comparison to those in their old homes.

Decorated fireplace in the home of the Kindo family.

The Amlay family were the first former residents to return to their old home in Simon's Town. Patty Davidson (nee Amlay) has opened The Heritage Museum in the house. It portrays the lifestyle of the former residents of Simon's Town, particularly that of the former Muslim community.

The memorial cairn at the entrance to Jubilee Square, which was erected by the "white" community of Simon's Town in remembrance of their friends and neighbours who were forcibly removed from the town under the Group Areas Act of the 1960's.