FBWC #5: War & Peace @ Blue Gums Multi-cache

False Bay West Coast #5: War & Peace @ Blue Gums

This is the 5^th of a 7-cache series which will take you to some possibly less well-known parts of this wonderfully wild but still easily accessible coastline – and fill a few gaps between existing caches!

The cache, a camo-taped tablet pot, is a park ‘n’ grab short multi which can be done in 5-10 minutes and is hidden at this large parking area on the west side of Main Rd M4 as it winds its way up along the coast towards Smitswinkel and Cape Point.

Step 1: at the published coordinates you will be standing in front of a large Bluegums notice board on which you will see that there is a line of A square boxes depicting what can and can’t be done at the location.

The boxes show 1 animal and B humans.

At the foot of the board is the number of the Act covering this SANParks managed area the first figure of which is C

Step 2: move across the short distance to another board at S 34 14.858 E 18 28.472 about baboons with 6 square boxes on which you will D of these animals illustrated.

Step 3: carefully cross over the road to S 34 14.832 E 18 28.480 where you will spot a special stone on which you will see the name of a place and underneath it the number 2E

Step 4: now cross back over the road to S 34 14.833 E 18 28.470, the location of a road sign which has F arrows on it – including the wiggly one! On the rear of the sign is a sticker with a phone number, the last digit of which is G.

The cache can be found at:

S 34 14.E(A-1)(G+6) E 18 28.(B+D)(C+D)(E-1)

WW2 was the ‘finest hour’ in the history of South African coastal artillery. It was a period of hectic activity and phenomenal growth but fortunately it was also a great anti-climax as SA Africa was spared an enemy attack on coastal cities from the sea or air.

In 1986 a request for information about one of the many coast artillery buildings erected in SA during WW2 revealed that relatively little information about it could be found in the SADF Archives. When the file on this topic was subsequently discovered in a tin trunk of old files at Fort Wynyard, this lack of info in Pretoria became easier to understand!

Blue Gums Fortress Observation Post is 400 feet amsl high up on the slopes of the Swartkop mountain range between Miller's Point and Smitswinkel Bay. It is located above the house Blue Gums which was the home of the Revd Leonard Green, an Anglican RN Chaplain.

Although the date when Blue Gums Fortress Observation Post was built is not known it was likely completed in 1942. It was one of 6 Fortress Observation Posts (FOPs) in the Simon's Bay Fire Command. Cobra at Slangkop, Bosch at Olifantsbosch and Vasco at Cape Point covered their respective water areas on the Atlantic side of the Peninsula, while Diaz at Cape Point, Crow at Scala and Blue Gums did so on the False Bay side.

The Historical Record of 2nd Heavy Battery, SA Artillery (a misleading term as it was really the regiment manning all the batteries in the Simon's Bay Fire Command) reveals that the Fortress Observation Posts at Cape Point, Olifantsbosch and Slangkop were in action by mid-1941.

See here for a detailed account of the arrangements agreed between the owner of Blue Gums and the SA Navy for the use of the property and its subsequent history from 1942-1955, when it was eventually handed back.

Points of interest include:

1. The terms of the agreement provided that the right of way should be granted for the duration of WW2 and a year after but should not exceed 9 years 11 months.
2. The FOP was a concrete structure and that the kitchen and mess were housed together in a separate wooden building. Between the two were wooden ablutions and an iron water tank
3. The most important item of equipment at the FOP was a Fortress Position Finder ‘Y’ Mk 1 which had a maximum range of 28,000 yards. Target data was transmitted by telephone through the range finding exchange.
4. After the Allied victory in North Africa, it became clear that the danger of an enemy attack was greatly reduced. In January 1944 Vasco and Cobra FOPs were closed down due to shortage of personnel. On 13 June 1947 two ex-servicemen, who had served in the SA Air Force, applied in writing to the Secretary of the War Stores Disposal Board in Pretoria to ‘acquire the use of the complete block’ at the Blue Gums FOP. They had paid several visits to Cape Point and inspected a small, deserted UDF hut. Despite its dilapidated state they considered it ideal as a head-quarters for their weekend fishing trips.
5. The agreement was due to expire on 27 May 1953 and on 1 August 1952 the Officer Commanding Coastal Command advised the Quartermaster-General and Naval and Marine Chief of Staff that Blue Gums still formed ‘a link in the general framework of the Simonstown defences’ and that it was essential that the road be retained. He requested that ‘negotiation should be opened in order to secure occupation for a further period of 10 years’.
6. Coast Artillery became obsolete in South Africa in 1955 and resulted in the disbandment of the SA Corps of Marines on 1 October 1955. Thus, on 31 December 1956 the Naval Chief of Staff advised the Quartermaster-General that Blue Gums FOP was, 'no longer a requirement for coast artillery and did not justify the purchase of the site', The site and FOP were to be returned to Mr Day.

(Info adapted from article in Simon's Town Historical Society journal of Jan 1986)

Today the residence at Blue Gums is situated on 1,100 sq.m of private land within the 34-hectare Castle Rock Conservancy which is surrounded by nature reserve all the way up the mountain and to Cape Point. At the shoreline it borders with the Castle Rocks Marine Protected Area – with the mountain, part of Table Mountain National Park.

Much work has been done and continues to remove thick alien growth (spider gums, hakea, rooikrans and Port Jackson) from the surroundings and a large area of the mountain slopes down to shore level has been cleared (see photos here and video here).

It has a long and fascinating history (see here for example), and this and other interesting info on the property, its ownership and subsequent development is available in a comprehensive and richly illustrated blog Blue Gums Free. The house and adjacent cottage have been modernised and are now used as a mountain getaway.