Page 19 - Bulletin 13 2009

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the Kalk Bay - Muizenberg Municipality actively promoted. It increased revenue from
tourism and rates, which was now guaranteed by the building of many new homes and

hotels.

In many reports from the memoirs of the early nuns it was stated that Fr. Duignam with

his own bare hands quarried the rock out of the St. James mountains for the building of
the convent. This was more likely to have been another of Fr. Duignam’s many yarns to

the younger nuns during the 1920s as it was highly unlikely that any of the faced quarry
stone came from the St. James mountains, as there was no quarry there that could have

produced such stone in such large quantity. What did happen were two things. Firstly,
there was a large quantity of dressed quarry stone on site which was left over from the

building of the church, and secondly, the resident agent of Sir John Jackson (Pty.) Ltd.,

who was commissioned to oversee the building of His Majesty’s Dockyard in Simon’s
Town, was friendly with Fr. Duignam. So it is most likely that the bulk of the faced

quarry stone came from their Seaforth quarry, as had the stonework for the Church. Fr.

Duignam was assisted in the construction of the convent by Italian stone-masons, on
loan from Sir John Jackson (Pty.) Ltd., and many of the local Filipino fisherfolk of Kalk

Bay - all of whom were parishioners of the church.

The opening of the convent

On 13 January 1908 all the Sisters in Springfield turned out for this great occasion.

(Figs. 1.9 & 1.10). It was the first time since their coming to South Africa that they had
travelled by train. Previously they had always used a double-cab. Unaccustomed to the

usual hurry at a station, they lined up in an orderly rank from senior to junior, both for
entering and leaving the train, with something of religious solemnity. This caused a

certain delay both at Wynberg and St. James stations.

“ Oh that my tongue could utter the thoughts that arise in me” the conductor must

have mimed at each end!