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Johnson SA Ltd., on 23 June 1923 (D.T. 4874) and on the 12 December 1924 (D.T. 11374.)
They also purchased two pieces of railway land from the Union Government (103 square roods)
in November 1923 and a further three pieces of land (102 square roods) in October 1924. For

this, and the land they purchased from Irvin and Johnson, they paid in excess of £18,000!

By 1928 Union Castle had, however, decided not to proceed with the idea of a hotel at the Point.
Whether it was that the Point was more exposed to the south-easter than they had expected, or

whether there was a problem with services or building plans, is not known. Dunn and Watson of

London were the Union Castle architects, with Baker and Masey acting as resident architects. No
plans have been unearthed to indicate that drawings for a hotel were ever done.

On 12 November 1932 they put their entire Point property on the market for public auction under
the hammer of Henry Herman Esq. Advertised as the “land sale of the season” and the “Finest

Position on the whole of the False Bay Coast Line”, the Point Township consisted of “12
residential sites with magnificent and uninterrupted marine and mountain view.” The auction did

not reach the reserve price and the sale did not go through. Three years later, in 1935, African
Lands and Hotels Ltd., sold the land for £4,500 (a considerable loss) to the City Council for

recreational purposes.

The Union Castle Company, in order to pursue their original plan for a hotel enjoying the cool

sea breezes of False Bay had, in the meantime, bought the Majestic Hotel. The date of purchase
has yet to be verified but is believed to be circa 1928. Refurbishment and up-grading were

undertaken, but by 1939 the popularity of the City Bowl had increased as air-conditioning had
been introduced at the Mount Nelson. With the threat of war hanging over Europe fewer and

fewer overseas visitors were arriving. Consequently, in September, 1939, at the very outbreak of

war, Union Castle sold the hotel to George Koenig, who had previously been manager of the
Rand Club in Johannesburg. So ended the Union Castle’s association with Kalk Bay, a venture

that had proved expensive and was short-lived.

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