Page 11 - Bulletin 4 2000

8

place which would not affect fishing activities. By using Kalk Bay as a primary base, before taking

the carcass over to Fish Hoek, Cruywagen and Russouw were hoping to play for extra time and avoid
adhering to the strict conditions of their concession.

Lime kilns at Kalk Bay

Lime burning operated at many places along the coast from Kalk Bay to Simon’s Bay and as far as

Buffels Bay. Wherever there was a large deposit of shells lime burning took place. On the 1689 map

of the Cape Peninsula (Fig. 1.2) a kalkoven is shown at the mouth of the Elsies River in Glencairn,
while another is shown on the shores of Table Bay. In a later map of 1713 a cylindrical ‘kalk-oven’ is

detailed at this point.

Kalk Bay received its name from the lime kilns which operated on the Point. Lime burning was

started in the early 1670s as a result of the huge piles of mussel and seashells that lay on the beach. It
was started by the free burghers and sold to the D. E. I. C. at a price of three guilders per ton. The

bulk of the lime processed was used on construction work in Cape Town. The returning ox-wagons
were loaded with processed lime and fish. A two-way trade thus developed between Kalk Bay and

Cape Town. Transport of lime by boat was dangerous as lime solidified when wet, and this could

easily cause the vessel to sink. Only shells were taken by ship to the lime kilns of Cape Town.

The kilns used to calcine the shells were basically open cylinders with a rooster to ignite the fuel in
the kiln. The process of burning shells for lime was tedious. Black mussel shells were the most

popular and about 20 bags were necessary for one firing. Collecting wood and packing the kiln was a
day’s work. A layer of thin kindling wood was laid over the rooster and on the floor of the kiln. On

this a layer of thicker billets of wood was placed. Bags of shells and wood were then sandwiched: 6

bags shells / one layer wood / 6 bags shells / one layer wood / 6 bags shells. The height was about 1.5
metres. The fire was ignited in the rooster in the evening and it burnt through the night. The next day

it was possible to rake out the lime which was slaked, sieved and bagged.

8