LITTLE
KNOWN FACTS ABOUT CAPE TOWN
We all know that Chris Barnard performed
the world’s first heart transplant in Cape
Town.
But did you know that, in 1826, Dr James Barry,
a female doctor despite the name, performed the
world’s first Caesarean birth in Cape Town?
How about the fact that Strand Street
was originally on Cape Town Beach, or that the Mother
City is built on a river?
There is much about the Mother City
that is not widely known.
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Did you know that electric lights were
first used on April 13 1895 to light the streets of Cape
Town, and that the first light to be installed was on
top of the pole in the centre of the fountain in Rondebosch?
How about Strand Street being on the beach?
The entire area from Strand Street to the present day
harbour was reclaimed just before World War 11.
Bree Street was originally built to be
wider than all the other streets in Cape Town so that
an oxwagon could make a u-turn in the street.
The present day island in the centre of the street was
only added in the early twentieth century.
Ever wonder why a place at the top of
a hill is called Plattekloof, while the area at the foot
of the hill is called Panorama?
Simple.
The local municipality made an error when issuing the
title deeds to the two areas.
The Portuguese explorer Antonio de Saldanha
was the first European to climb Table Mountain in 1503.
For a century after this Cape Town was known as "Agoada
do Saldanha" - The watering place of Saldanha..
In 1620, the English seafarer Humphrey
Pitzherhert landed at what he called the Bay of Soldania
(Table Bay).
He then set about naming the surrounding mountains.
The present day Signal Hill was named ‘King James
his Mount’, Lion’s Head was ‘Ye Sugar
Loafe’, and Devil’s Peak was named ‘Herbert‘s
Mount.’
Finally, we all know that many famous
cities are built on rivers.
For example London is on the Thames and Paris on the Seine.
Well, so too is Cape Town.
The Fresh River runs off the slopes of
Table Mountain and through the Company Gardens. It can
be seen at the gates of Tuynhuys just off Government Avenue.
The river then travels down underneath Adderley Street
and continues to the Waagenaar reservoir under the Golden
Acre.
Kader Khan
Editor
info@yummie.co.za
