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children’s home during the war. Her sister-in-law, Eileen Robinson, lived in ‘Crawford Lea’ on

the sea front in Beach Road.

Sir J. B.’s elder son Joseph was a black sheep – fast cars, fast women, alcohol and gambling
were his undoing, but he obviously had a good sense of humour. The tale is told that during one

cruise on the Italian liner Andorra, he appeared at the First Class fancy dress ball wearing
nothing but a loin cloth and a pair of woman’s bloomers across his chest. When the captain,

somewhat taken aback, asked him what he represented he replied: “A chest of drawers.”

Joseph died comparatively young and never married, so the irony of the story was that the

Robinson baronetcy passed to Wilfred Robinson, the son of Jack who had married the daughter

of his old enemy Frederick York St. Leger.

Alpheus Williams

We now come to more recent Muizenbergers whom many of you may remember. You will
certainly know the large house ‘Vergenoeg’ on the beach, which was designed by Sir Herbert

Baker’s partner Francis Masey and built for Alpheus Williams in 1914. It was definitely against

the law to build any structure below the high water mark, which was designated Admiralty
Reserve. However, Mr. Williams, who was the general manager of De Beers Consolidated

Mines, had expressed a wish to have a holiday home on the sea front. (Fig. 1.6.) The result was
that his friend, Cecil John Rhodes, when Prime Minister of the Cape, had a special bill passed

through Parliament to allow this. It is a magnificent house and was visited in the early days by
many distinguished visitors including Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone, General Smuts, and

Louis Botha. In later years, when the house had passed to Alpheus’ son, Gardner Williams, it

continued to host important people, one of whom was Prince George, Duke of Kent, after whom
Prince George Drive was named in 1936.

Although it was seldom used ‘Vergenoeg’ was luxuriously furnished with antique furniture,
carpets and original pictures, and three retainers, a butler, a chauffeur and a housekeeper lived

there throughout the year. Mr. Williams also kept two cars there, a Bentley and a Ford.

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