From raw, gritty romance to Napoleon's exile
THERE is a dimension missing from the life of our port city which was present up to the end of the 1970s – popular interest in the import, export or onward transmission of cargoes and the vessels that carried them.
From the earliest days of settlement, urban life revolved around activities in the anchorage and – from the mid-1860s – in the harbour. Newspapers contained “shipping intelligence” in every issue and ordinary people were well informed about arrivals, departures and wrecks.
Cape Town, situated near the meeting place of the Atlantic and Indian oceans, gained the reputation of being a cosmopolitan “Tavern of the Seas”.
Prior to World War II, cargo vessels were relatively small and carried limited quantities of assorted goods which were hoisted out of holds in nets attached to simple cranes or carried on the backs of brawny stevedores.
The advent of air freight and the proliferation of giant tankers and container vessels operated by small crews have stripped shipping of its raw and gritty romance, and the emergence of trendy waterfronts hosting cruise liners can’t turn back the clock.
Shipping diversity increased after the British intervened at the Cape in 1795 and 1806. Eastward bound vessels brought precious mail and supplies of comforts from “home”, including consumables like cheese, ham and liquor, machine goods, glass and superior candles.
Ships from Asia or Mauritius brought rice, sugar, spices, coffee, Indian textiles, hardwoods, china and exotic items which distinguished the domestic scene.
The timbers and fittings of the ships that dropped anchor in Table Bay may have decayed, but their names have been recorded and are fairly easy to retrieve.
In 1812, during the Napoleonic Wars, the English ship Queen Charlotte brought mules and horses from Buenos Aires and the Thomas and the Ceres brought iron pipes from England for the city’s first modern water project.
Empty casks that had once contained wine, beer, salted meat or flour were recycled where possible and, in 1813, two loads were shipped to Cape Town from St Helena aboard the Maria. Hoops and staves from damaged casks were also salvaged for reuse. Local exports to the island rose during the six years that Napoleon was imprisoned there (181521), when the enlarged British garrison was provisioned from the Cape.
An intriguing import from this period, which has apparently escaped notice, was the arrival of small quantities of “coals” from mines in Port Jackson in the infant Australian colony of New South Wales, long before coal was mined commercially in South Africa (1864).
During those uncertain times, many ships carried passengers, dispatches, troops and military stores. The rest unloaded unspecified “sundries” which had been ordered by local merchants or were auctioned to the highest bidder on the Grand Parade.