Lower Fort and Battery
(VOC / Indian / French c. 1781-3)

                        

EAST FORT GATE PROJECT
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The American War of Independence, commencing in 1775, had world wide consequences for the European powers of the day and strangely Hout Bay also. The most southern tip of Africa was not seen as important in itself, but seen as the "key to the East" and since Marco Polo, the insatiable demand for products, which only the East could offer,  had driven merchant sailors of many nations to round the Cape in search of trade. When the American War of Independence started, the French supported the Americans in their quest against Brittain thus creating a state of war between Britain and France, who were at the time allied to the Netherlands. It was clear that the Cape could easily fall to a British invasion, as a result, a French Regiment was rushed to Cape Town to protect the VOC  (Verenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie) settlement. The regiment of mercenary soldiers was raised in Pondicherry in India,  which was a French enclave South of Madras. The French  "Pondicherry Regiment" remained in South Africa for a period of two and a half years and amongst the fortifications which they built was the lower  gun battery at East Fort (later to be known as the Gordon Battery).

Hout Bay was seen as a soft target with an easy beach for landing and  with only a short march over the Nek to Cape Town, which, with a few field guns, could be attacked from above. Thus in 1783 the East Fort Battery of 8 x 18 pounder Dutch guns was constructed following the construction of West Battery which was completed previously by them, with 8 x 24 pounder guns. The iron guns, though made to the specification of Dutch Military Engineers, were in fact cast in Sweden and were known as "Finbankers". Opposite: We can get an idea of what the Pondicherry Regimental uniform looked like, wouldn't it be wonderful to meet them on "duty" once more but as tourism guides?

Soldiers of the French Pondicherry Regiment who originally built the East Fort Battery. (Courtesy Andy May)

The Battery consists of eight 18 pounder guns placed there by the French. The 8 guns were strategically placed in the perfect location to defend the Southern approaches to the Bay. Their  elevated position would have made them particularly dangerous for an invading force at the mercy of the wind to aim their guns on target. In addition, the French made the effort to carefully conceal the battery, so the defenders would have had the advantage of surprise. The guns could not only fire 18 pound round shot but would also fire grape and chain shot  which would disable the rigging and sails of the enemy craft, thus making it very difficult to defend their ships.
Opposite: One of the VOC guns after the 2000 fire. The gun was subsequently restored to working order and fired on the 15th September 2001, the 206th anniversary of the last time it was fired in anger.

Opposite:- April 2002. The North 360 deg traversing platform implacement having been extensively cleaned up, but alas the guns require platforms and carriages for which extensive funding is needed. On this spot, there would have only been one gun which would have been mounted with the trunions above the level of the revetment wall in front to allow the gun to be fired at a depressed angle at short range. If it is possible to reconstruct the five Traversing Platforms which once existed, it is likely that they will be the only examples of their type in the country. It is the intention of the Trust to restore all eight guns to working order. This will mean that East Fort will be the oldest working coastal battery in the world. The Guinness Record is currentlly held by a battery at Dover in England since 1886. E ast Fort will beat the record by more than 100 years.

The "Battle of Hout Bay" 15th Sept 1795
The cannons at East Fort were last fired in anger on Sept 15th 1795. Around noon, the 16 gun British Ship Sloop HMS Echo, part of a small flotilla en route from Simons Town to Table Bay under the command of Capt Todd, entered the bay on a reconnaissance mission. The task being  to establish whether or not the Bay was fortified and at the same time alarm the Dutch that a British Naval task force was active on the  Atlantic seaboard. The Echo drew fire from both East and West batteries, and quickly took flight without loss, but she also took with her reliable intelligence about the gun batteries for the British fleet. Admiral Elphinstone's feeling that Hout Bay could be the "soft underbelly" of Cape Town was proved wrong and Hout Bay's Gunners stand was probably the last act of defiance by the Dutch prior to the first British occupation.

In 1995 the Heritage Trust inaugurated the "Hout Bay Cannon Race" coincident with the 200th anniversary of the last time Hout Bays cannons sounded in anger. The local community's runners, spearheaded by the Hout Bay Harriers, run from West Fort to East Fort and back, a distance of 10 Hout Bay Kilometers (9 and a bit genuine kilometers). With the help of the "Black powder Union" enthusiasts fire a model gun to start the race . A second gun sounds from East Fort which signals the arrival of the first runner there. A third gun is fired for the winner on his return to West Fort and a fourth one for the first lady. Lots of fun for all and a special tradition which we hope will grow each year. We now have a real working 18 pounder firing at East Fort and hopefully we will be able to do the same at West Fort in the future.
Work has been completed on the refurbishing of one of the East Fort guns to get it into working order (see opposite). It was fully restored by the Trust and relocated to a more visible platform which will be seen from most of Hout Bay. It will be fired for the first Argus Cyclist and Two Oceans runner each year and on other special occasions  - a great tourist attraction.

Gerry de Vries tests one of the Lower Battery 1765 Guns in preparation for the official firing on 15th Sept 2001 the 206th anniversary of the "Battle of Hout Bay".