Page 4 - Bulletin 4 2000

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KALK BAY UNDER THE DUTCH EAST INDIA COMPANY 1652 - 1795

Mike Walker

(based on the talk by Dan Sleigh)

Introduction

Diaz, on his homeward journey at the end of May 1488, ‘hoved to’ at the entrance to False Bay but
did not enter it. The crew no doubt saw Cape Hangklip and the Hottentots – Holland Mountains and,

if the visibility was clear, the mountains of the Cape Peninsula. Many years later, in 1503, Antonio da

Saldanha climbed Table Mountain and was the first European to see False Bay from the landward
side. The view from Table Mountain is well known and he incorrectly observed ‘a large river’

entering the bay. This was no doubt the Zeekoe, Princess and Sand vleis near Muizenberg.

The name False Bay was derived from Cabo Falso (the false cape) when the earlier voyagers mistook
Cape Hangklip as the point where they steered due north to return to Europe i.e. they mistook Cape

Hangklip for the Cape of Good Hope. False Bay was never investigated by the early Portuguese

voyagers and they, having no competition from other nations, avoided the Cape, especially after
Francisco d’Almeida and his fellow men had been murdered by the local Khoi people on the shores

of Table Bay in March 1510.

The Dutch, as is well known, set up a refreshment station in Table Bay in 1652 under Jan van
Riebeeck. ‘Kaap Fals’ (False Bay) as it was known then did not play any part in this scheme. No

investigation was undertaken of False Bay until February 1662 when a British ship, the Orange,

anchored in False Bay. She was in dire need of help - 39 of the crew had died and 150, including the
Captain, were seriously ill. A sergeant and several soldiers were sent across land to Table Bay to seek

help. This ease of access to the fort at Cape Town necessitated a more serious investigation of False

Bay, especially with regard to the potential dangers of a foreign invasion.

In May 1671 the flute Ysselsteyn sheltered in False Bay in what is today known as Simon’s Bay. The
bay was duly named Ysselsteyn Bay. The arrival of the Ysselsteyn and the subsequent positive

reports from the Captain, of the potential anchorage and the supply of fresh water, aroused interest in

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