Who was Chapman?
John Chapman was the Ship's Mate of the British ship "Consent" who, in a small boat, landed ashore on what we know today as Hout Bay's beach, on  the 27th July 1607. He quickly established that the Bay was in fact a safe anchorage and that fresh water was available, but probably little else.
It was dusk and he had to return to his becalmed ship lying off the majestic cliff we know today as the Sentinel. What he did not know was that he had stumbled across a "Garden of Eden" which even to this day ranks as one of the most beautiful bays on Earth.
The subsequent charts described the Bay as "Chapman's Chaunce" and it was only after Jan van Riebeeck's arrival from Holland, some 50 yrs later , that it became known as Hout Baeitjen and eventually Hout Bay. However, the name "Chapman" has remained to this day associated with the imposing mountain we now know as Chapmans Peak.

The "Consent" by Peter Bilas  (courtesy Clive Rae)
This magnificent painting gives us a glimpse of what John Chapman must have experienced and what Hout Bay must have been like almost 400 years ago. 

Chapman's Peak Scenic Drive May 1922 -  a scene of jubilation - now a scene of desolation.
(Courtesy Hout Bay Museum).

Why was Chapman's Peak Scenic Drive built in the first place?
On the 6th May 1922 the Governor General of the Union of South Africa officially opened Chapman's Peak Scenic Drive. It was the firm belief of Sir Frederic de Waal, Administrator of the Cape and the driving force behind Chapmans Peak Drive, that Tourists would one day abandon Egypt and spend three months of the year in Cape Town, and the new spectacular road was one of the ways to entice the international travellers of the day to spread their interests and wealth to South Africa.
In December 1999,  a falling rock resulted in a tragic loss of life. Cape Town's South Peninsula Municipality immediately took steps to remove loose rocks by "rock barring" but shortly after in January 2000, the worst veld fires ever experienced in living memory, damaged the mountain further rendering the scenic drive completely unsafe and  led to its inevitable closure.

Where are we now?
What started as a maintenance exercise soon became a major reconstruction challenge with an estimated price tag of possibly R100M or more. Hout Bay was traditionally a rural fishing village but in recent years de Waal's prophecy has been partially realised. Until its recent closure, Chapman's Peak Drive was high on the the list of destinations for our overseas tourists; the closure has been a calamity for tourism in the area extending along the entire Western seaboard. Business has seen a 30% decline, and for some it has been the end of the road.  What can be done?
After extensive thought and discussion, the Hout Bay Heritage Trust have given birth to an embryo project which could turn disaster into success, resulting in a greatly enhanced experience for our tourists and at the same time provide a first class educational experience for our children. The Trust is convinced that Chapmans Peak's closure is not a disaster but probably a blessing in disguise, opening the way to the transformation of tourism in our community.

Chapman's Peak Scenic Drive
The road to nowhere - or is it the start of a completely new tourism chapter ?   © D Cowley 

East Fort - from a Cape Times photograph c.1920 .

Chapman's Peak's Historic Fort
On the Northern slopes of Chapmans Peak is an old Fort which predates the 1922 scenic drive by over 130 years. Established at the time when the Dutch East India Company (VOC) was undergoing a  rapid decline, the fortifications were built for them by a French mercenary regiment from India who had already constructed a battery of 20 pieces of cannon at West Fort at the western extremity of the Bay. The forts exchanged their colonial command on more than one occasion until they were abandoned around 1826.
Like Chapmans Peak Drive, the Forts suffered the ravages of time and neglect and by the time the picture opposite was taken early in the 20th century, the 1796 blockhouse had already extensively collapsed, its timbers having long since decayed. 

The Heritage Trust 's Millennium Pledge
In January 2000, the 1781 VOC gun battery was severely damaged by fire, the timber carriages of some of the guns being totally destroyed as the picture opposite shows.
The year 2000 brought to a close a millennium of technological advance but also a millennium of terrible social exploitation in our country. The twentieth century also saw massive environmental destruction  world-wide on a hitherto unprecedented scale.
On behalf of the community, the Hout Bay Heritage Trust  pledged its resolve to turn the tide and see how,  as a community, they could turn their energy towards constructive projects to make  their environment and community, a better place by  building community pride. After the year 2000 fires, the restoration of the East Fort guns with their tourism potential seemed to be a worthy challenge.

Some of the fire damage of Jan 2000  © D Cowley