Page 13 - KBHA Bulletin 16

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(winter) as ports. The Navy used only Simon’s Bay and its supplies, and the wintertime

shipments by the Agency, had to be transported by ox-wagon down to Muizenberg and
then along the rough coast road to Simon’s Bay – sheep and cattle were driven through

taking a number of days to complete their journey. This caused damage to fragile cargoes
like wine casks and harmed and exhausted the animals. Wagons were scarce and also

costly: the cost of victualling ships in Simon’s Bay was estimated to be one-third more
than at Table Bay; and, the cost of transport over the twenty-mile land route exceeded the

cost of sea freight across the 1,800 miles to St. Helena! (Arkin, 1964: 202 & 179.) The

transport problem had its counterpart, early on, in inadequate storage facilities at both
Simon’s Town and Jamestown.

To these difficulties the duration of a round-trip to the Island had to be factored into the
supply equation: a week to ten days were allowed for loading at the Cape and again for

off-loading at St. Helena; when added to the 16 – 20 day voyage this could result in a
round-trip of seven to eight weeks, or about eight trips per vessel annually. (Arkin, 1965:

275.)

Eventually the restrictions were relaxed somewhat: private Table Bay shippers and

British vessels returning to British ports were allowed to carry stores, while the Company
ran three small ships almost continuously: its own schooner, a British brig of 200 tons

capable of carrying 350 tons, and a larger one of 460 tons. While all of them eventually
used Table Bay in all seasons the Navy persisted in using Simon’s Bay on account of its

being the official Royal Navy station.

The required supplies fell into distinct categories: livestock, fodder grains, wine, and

miscellaneous items needed infrequently.

The best livestock were to be found in the Roggeveld and Graaff Reinet districts but this

would have entailed a 30-day cattle-drive to Cape Town, with consequent effects on the
quality of the beasts by the end of the trip. So they had to be sourced from the nearby

Cape and Stellenbosch districts where numbers were limited and so meat consignments to