Page 53 - KBHA BULLETIN 5

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had been formed in 1905. It agitated for cheaper petrol, safer motoring and road regulations, road

improvements, and the construction of new roads.

In 1929 there were altogether 180,374 vehicles of all types registered in the Union, of which
130,360 were cars. The five most popular makes were Chevrolet, Ford, Dodge, Chrysler, and

Whippet. (Fig. 3.23.) In Cape Town the cheapest 4-door sedan was a Ford from Holmes Motor
Co. at £235, followed by Opel from P & O Motor Co. for £255. The most expensive was a Rolls

Royce from Stuttaford & Co. for £3,950 followed by the big American models of Lincoln,

Packhard, and Cadillac. (RAC Jnl., April 1930.) Petrol at this time cost 1/7 per gallon and the
price had remained fairly constant since 1918, and the RAC had actually managed to have the

gallon price reduced by twopence.

This growth in motoring, and in travel generally, raised the demands for hotel accommodation,
and motor servicing and garaging, and a number of hotels and garages in Muizenberg and Kalk

Bay advertised regularly in the RAC Journal. (Fig. 3.24.)

In addition, the sport of motor racing was taking hold in South Africa at this time. In 1936, on a

relatively flat and wind-sheltered site at Pollsmoor, the Grosvenor Grand Prix Circuit was under
construction. It was 4,63 miles long and its sloped banks were to be capable of seating 100,000

spectators. (Fig. 3.25.) The promoter was Mr A. O. Edwards a well-known British sportsman.
Interest had also been shown in building a circuit at Noordhoek (Fig. 3.26) and at Koeberg. Cape

Town’s first Grand Prix took place at Pollsmoor on 16 January 1937 and was followed by others

until the start of war in 1939. Boyes Drive was also the venue for an event known as the Boyes
Drive Hill Climb held in 1937. Former Kalk Bay resident, Doug van Riet, who now lives in

Gordon’s Bay, participated in both the first Grand Prix and the Hill Climb.

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