Simon’s Town Historical Mile #2: East Side
This is one of three multi-caches which start at Jubilee Square in the centre of this historic town. They are hidden along the Simon's Town Historical Mile, St George’s Street, which runs from the rail station to the East Dock access gates. It has 21 buildings over 150 years old and includes 4 museums, the Church of St Francis (thought be the oldest Anglican Church in the country) and a Mosque built in 1926. A map and detailed information is available at the information office on St Georges Street just south of Jubilee Square.
This cache takes you to some interesting locations to the east of Jubilee Square and can be done in well under an hour.
Simon’s Town History
The town officially called Simon’s Town, but often referred to as Simonstown, was originally named Simon’s Vlek after Simon van der Stel, the Dutch governor of the Cape Colony between 1677 and 1699, who surveyed the bay east of Cape Town in 1687 and earmarked it as a safe winter harbour during the months of May to September for which it was finally proclaimed in 1741. It subsequently became the headquarters of the South Africa Navy.
Recently (on 4 November 2010) special celebrations were held marking the 100th anniversary of the opening of the East Dockyard.
For a useful summary history see www.simonstown.com/articles/thingsabout.htm. This website also has lots of other interesting and useful information about Simon’s Town and the surrounding area. The book ‘Simon’s Town – Its History’ by the Simon’s Town Historical Society (2000) ISBN: 0620360119 Quagga Books, Cape Town gives a detailed and illustrated history of the town. For a fascinating historical map of Simon’s Town visit www.awhaleofaheritageroute.co.za/simonstown.pdf.
To find the cache:
Park in or near Jubilee Square @ S34 11.587 E18 25.994 (fee payable in the square but official car guards in attendance).
Step 1: Leave the square at the SE corner and head down to S34 11.586 E18 26.055 where in a shady garden you will find a fine sculpture of a large carnivore. The alphanumeric value (A=1, B=2, C=3, etc) of the 2nd letter of the first name of the sculptor = A ****(Note added 25/10/12: sculpture gone so use A=5)****
Step 2: Pass up through the garden back on to the main street and continue to S34 11.5(A+4)(A+4) E18 26.0(A+2)(A+1) where you will see an interesting plaque on the wall of an important public building. A portico was added to this building in 19B9. (Portico = A porch or walkway with a roof supported by columns, often leading to the entrance of a building).
Step 3: Proceed further to a fascinating little museum @ S34 11.5(B-1)B E18 26.1(B-8)B. According to the sign near the front gate, the oldest hand-written kitaabs (books) on display are C00 years old.
Step 4: From here head for an old religious building @ S34 11.6(C-3)(C+1) E18 26.2(C-3)(B-3) which was constructed in 1856 (the date is shown a Latin ordinal number). Looking at the sign near the front gate, the number of fishes caught in the net depicted to the left of the cross/anchor at the top of the sign = D
Step 5: Now move on to S34 11.6(D-1)A E18 26.2A(D+1) which you can access freely by entering through the open gates of this religious building and passing through to the rear via a passage to the left of the small bell-tower and then up the steps. At this peaceful spot you will find somewhere to sit briefly which is also a memorial to a beloved husband who was born on 24 May 19E4.
*** 11/11/19 Note: sadly there is no longer public access to the memorial garden so use E=2 ***
Step 6: A short distance away @ S34 11.6(B-C)E E18 26.2(Ex2)E you will find a memorial stone for soldiers and sailors buried nearby. The alphanumeric value of the 2nd letter of the family name of the Private from the 60th Rifles buried on 06-01-1852 at this site = F
*** 11/11/19 Note: sadly there is no longer public access to the memorial garden so use F=1 ***
Final Step: The cache, a small camo'ed tablet pot, is hidden about 150m away (from Step 4) at the following coordinates:
S34 11.D(Ex2)C E18 26.(A-2)(F-1)(F+B)
You can check your coordinate calculation here:
