Surf, sea and history aplenty in Muizenberg

Muizenberg is just a narrow strip along the False Bay coast but it’s brimming with history and has all sorts of associations for a surprising number of people.

It’s been a village since the 1700s, became a favourite bolt-hole for Randlords in the 1900s and has been a mecca for watersports from the time that surfing was invented. Its warm waters (relative to the Atlantic Ocean) have been surfed by world champion surfer Shaun Thomson and British writers Agatha Christie and George Bernard Shaw.

Being the nearest beach to my family in the southern suburbs and a favourite destination for solo travellers, friendly Muizenberg has drawn me back repeatedly. Samhitakasha, the Cob House —  made of mud, straw and wood — with its charming host, Carey Yarrow, is a cosy home from home. I love the pavilion at Surfers Corner, and the easy access to the beach, which is always filled with happy kids and dogs. The gentle waves are perfect for beginner surfers.

Then there are the buzzy restaurants and coffee bars, like the Harvest Café near the beach, where I went daily when I was trying out being a digital nomad. Sitting there among the workers, many from overseas, and the laid-back Capetonian bohemians was a daily balm.     

Heritage and history

But Muizenberg also offers heritage and history by the bucketload, and there will be a packed programme in September, organised by the Muizenberg Historical Conservation Society.

For just a snapshot of Muizenberg’s past, I joined a Culture Connect walking tour of the village, led by the society’s director, Brett McDougall. I also visited two small museums — Het Posthuys, originally built as a lookout post for ships, and Rhodes Cottage, where the archimperialist died in 1902.

McDougall’s focus was the social history and architecture of the village, and about 17 of us gathered at 10am on a bright sunny day to take the tour, which wound along Melrose, Killarney, Atlantic, Palmer, Holland and Hansen roads, culminating in lunch at a restaurant in Palmer Road.

Muizenberg village’s architectural fabric, from buildings erected mainly in 1900-40, is remarkably intact considering it was relatively neglected for almost half a century when the suburb became unfashionable. “In 1941, there were nine licensed hotels, seven private kosher hotels, and 24 private nonkosher hotels and boarding houses in Muizenberg, and many were in the village,” McDougall told us. These included the St Elmo’s and the Haifa Hotel.

Having undergone a welcome and somewhat miraculous revamp, the enclave has many artists and writers among its residents. As we wound our way through the streets, passing rows of well-maintained houses with neat gardens, he shared anecdotes about the village and some of its colourful residents from the past and present. Entering Arthur Road, we went past the interesting-looking double-storey where the poet and novelist Finuala Dowling makes her home, and then to Stone Cottage on the corner, where artist and former Robben Island detainee Lionel Davis lives.

As we stood in front of the cottage taking a water break in the intense heat, Davis came out to chat to us. The amiable artist, now in his 80s, is known for his self-portraits and paintings that reflect SA’s cultural and political shifts, with references to the former District Six, where he lived before the forced removals.

Late Victorian semidetached houses form a large part of the residential fabric of the village. In Killarney Road, McDougall pointed out a pair of pretty timber cottages that once belonged to whalers. These had been assembled from kits sent from Scandinavia in about the 1880s.

From about the 1920s, Palmer Road, with its row of shops, became the village’s commercial centre. “People came here to stock up on groceries and visit the fishmongers, drapers, milliners, builders, shoe repair stalls and other services on offer.” Today, proud residents do a great job of maintaining the village’s architectural heritage. This wasn’t the case just 20 years ago, when druglords and shebeens held sway. Residents worked tirelessly to oust the unsociable elements, sometimes resorting to knocking on doors themselves, he said.

Replete with anecdotes and facts about this peaceful and pretty enclave, we gathered at Joon Mediterranean restaurant for drinks and, for those who wanted to stay on, lunch. I always enjoy it when a get-together is tacked on to a tour because you can swap stories and reflections with others who had joined.

Two perfect museums 

When I got to Het Posthuys on the Main Road, Muizenberg Heritage member Tony Rozemeyer was waiting for me. The solid little building is considered to be one of the earliest along the False Bay coastline, having been erected as an outpost and lookout soon after the arrival of Jan van Riebeeck in 1652. Located on the ridge to spot enemy ships entering the bay, it contains exhibits depicting the history of the area, from the first Dutch arrivals to British occupation and the Battle of Muizenberg.

Located nearby is the site of the Battle of Muizenberg, fought between the Dutch and the British in 1795. The area was recently declared a Provincial Heritage Site, which means it will be entitled to greater legal protection.

Rozemeyer added that in one of its reincarnations, Het Posthuys was used as a tollhouse to levy taxes on farmers passing by to sell their produce to ships in nearby Simon’s Bay. It has also served as a police station, stables, a naval storage facility, an ale and eating house, a brothel and a private home.     

Another gem of a museum and just down the road on this “historical mile” is Rhodes Cottage, still furnished with many of the objects from the magnate and politician’s time. His private retreat, the attractive thatched dwelling is where he spent his last days, dying in 1902.

The Environment & Heritage Management Branch of the City of Cape Town is busy with improvements at this heritage site, having restored the furniture and renewed the electrical infrastructure this year.   

The Muizenberg-St James area attracted many wealthy holiday residents, many of whom followed Rhodes’s trend and had holiday homes built in and about Muizenberg. These include Sandhills, which belonged to the foremost colonial architect, Sir Herbert Baker. 

Heritage month events 

If you’re in the neighbourhood on September 13, McDougall will once again lead his walking tour through the village. On September 27 he will present a talk that explores Baker’s connections with the suburb. There are nine dwellings that were designed by him, including the gabled Vergenoeg, a national monument. Rhodes never got to see the grand Rust en Vrede, which Baker designed for him in 1899. The talk will be followed by a screening of a documentary on Baker’s SA period. 

There will also be a Literary Heritage Festival to be held on September 20 and 21, and 27 and 28 at Rhodes Cottage.

Whatever your interest, from surfing and eating out to history, you won’t run out of things to do in “Muiz”.