Page 34 - KBHA Bulletin 16

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King’s Road left side (going up) King’s Road right side (going up)

Mrs Kleinschmidt’s building King’s Hotel with staff rooms behind
Windsor House, various cottages and Cottages – now Fishermen’s Cove
what became ‘Pratten’s Flats’, now
Windsor Flats
Empty plot Several small cottages, including The
Forge, and what became Adams’
Cottages; no. 8 has not yet been built
Small cottages Empty land
Empty land
Small cottages owned by Mrs
Kleinschmidt; later demolished

What we know today as Windsor Road was initially known as King’s Road because

of the King’s Hotel. It was not until 1923 that it was called Windsor Road in the street

directory of the time. It is commonly accepted that it got its name from the ancestral
home town of the Fish family who were so prominent in the early years of Kalk Bay.

Between about 1910 and 1930 Windsor Road underwent a burst of investment and

development and all of this land was built on – with some buildings being demolished
and replaced. Kalk Bay was seen as a good investment during the wave of holiday

tourism that had started with the arrival of the railway in 1883. This accelerated after

the depression that followed the end of the Anglo Boer War. It is significant that what
was built during this 20-year period stands virtually unchanged today. For the fishing

community the buying up and development of property was to mean an increasing
shortage of affordable housing.

The Kleinschmidt Family

A couple integral to the history of the area were Carl Kleinschmidt and his wife
Emma Mathilda – a formidable lady. Carl was born in Cape Town in 1853 of German

parents and was in Kalk Bay by 1880. At first he owned boats but later became one of
the principal fish merchants, advertising as Kleinschmidt & Co – Fish, Ice & Produce

Merchants. (Fig. 2.3.)