THE HISTORIES OF HUMAN POPULATIONS AND SETTLEMENTS IN THE OVERSTRAND

We can distinguish three phases of human occupation in the area that is now the Overstrand Local Municipality. The first can only be established through archaeology and lasted from about 70 000 years BCE till the start of the last Ice Age. These are late stone age humans, living in small groups in caves along what was then the coast and consuming mainly marine food.

The second phase sees groups of the San people entering the area from about 10 000 BCE. Some of these occupied caves on the coast, and others lived a hunter-gatherer life inland. The third phase sees the entrance of the Khoekhoen people. They were pastoral people, moving their herds of cattle from place to place in search of grazing. But they did establish settlements for considerable periods, the largest of which was near the present town of Caledon. There was also a substantial settlement near the Bot River, where the first contacts with Europeans in numbers occurred. Initially, communication was with survivors of shipwrecks along the coast, followed by interactions with officials of the VOC, and then farmers moving in to settle permanently.

In due course, villages serving the farmers appeared, and small fishing communities grew up along the coast. The coastal settlements became the early European villages and towns of the Overstrand. This presentation will focus on eight villages, four of which are now towns in their own right, or parts of larger towns: Rooi Els, Pringle Bay, Betty’s Bay, Kleinmond, Hawston, Onrus, Stanford and Gansbaai. Hermanus is omitted as its history is well-known and a topic of its own. We will look at the origins of each settlement, how it developed, its unique history and some indicators of its present status.

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