The Strand History (Part 3)

...continued from The Strand History (Part 2)

The Strand History Part 3:

As the sands are very fine and the beach shelving, it is a thousand pities nobody has been enterprising enough to start a dozen of bathing-machines, so to improve its great natural capacities as a watering-place'. Some twenty years later, despite the lack of bathing-
machines, the Cape Argus reported that 'Somerset West Strand is as popular as ever . . . it is chock full of visitors as usual from the uttermost parts of the colony and beyond'.

The prolific harvest of the sea at Mosterd's Bay - catches of 55 000 to 100 000 harders were not unknown in the early days - allied to its charm as a holiday resort - were the basic reasons for its initial arrival on the map. However, there were two main factors which led to its eventual development. It was made more accessible by the extension of the railway line beyond Somerset West to Sir Lowry's Pass (1890) and the opening in 1906 of a branch line to what had by then become the Strand, while the establishment of de Beers Dynamite Factory in 1902 brought an increase in the number of permanent residents. More and more summer visitors flocked to the Strand as hotels, boarding-places and holi­day houses mushroomed. At about this time too a wooden bridge was built across the Lourens River replacing the rickety planks which had formerly spanned it.
Conspicuous among the modest dwellings built at this time was the large double-storeyed house put up by Mr Sam Kerr, of Vergelegen. Standing alone among the sand dunes on the southern edge of the town, it soon earned the nick-name Die Spookhuis (The Ghost House), and so it has remained ever since. It is said that delivery carts had such difficulty in reaching this house through the heavy sand that arrangements were made with the occupants that a red flag should be hung from the balcony when provisions were re­quired. Today it is a rooming-house in a well-populated area, and the dunes are a thing of the past.

World War One:

During World War I Strand residents did much for the entertainment of convalescent soldiers. On one occasion in April 1917, sixty-five wounded soldiers from the Alexandra Hospital were brought out to the Strand in 'thirty side-car outfits and nine motor cars' to 'sojourn by the sea' for a day. Local hotels supplied tea and meals to the visitors and, after lunch an outdoor concert was held in the park.
The Strand was particularly hard hit by the Spanish 'flu epidemic of 1918. Doctors and chemists (not to mention ministers of religion and undertakers) were worked off their feet. A newspaper of 18 October described the position at the Strand as 'very serious' with a death toll of 58, including 11 Europeans, and the number of'dangerous cases' on the in­crease.
However, those residents lucky enough to escape infection rose to the occasion and organised a soup kitchen and other services. The Boy Scouts did splendid work, helping at the soup kitchen, delivering medical and other supplies and even assisting with the burial of the dead. By the time the epidemic had begun to abate towards the end of October, deaths at the Strand totalled 83, 27 of which were Europeans.
At the Dynamite Factory (AECI) 67 natives died. Their burial place is between the mouth of the Lourens River and the Factory Compound and is marked by a cross. (If any one knows where this is please let us know)With the epidemic ended and armistice declared, the Strand took part in the general rejoicing. Flags were flown, bonfires lit, church bells rung and a holiday was declared. On 20 November (year ?) a poem - expressing the feelings of all at the cessation of hostilities -appeared in the Cape Argus. It was entitled 'The Dawn of Peace', and its author was Alice M. Withers, wife of the Wesleyan Minister at the Strand.
By the 1920's the Strand was beginning to expand in the direction of the Cape Explosives Works. Houses sprang up inland towards the big salt pan, haunt of wild birds, and the h'ttle vegetable farm nearby. The pan was drained, and during the Voortrekker celebrations of 1938 the only reminder of its existence - Salt Pan Road - became Sarel Cillers Street.

In time the Melk Bay dunes were bulldozed off the face of the earth, the river bridged with concrete and a beach road skirting the entire beach front was built. There has been much development in and around the Strand since the end of the Second World War. Few traces remain of the early 'watering place' and its simple pleasures. Gone are the days when fish could be bought fresh from boats, from the stalls near the jetty, or from a fish cart. Modern hotels, towering blocks of fiats, imposing public buildings, residential developments, shops and factories now cover the area where, over two hundred and fifty years ago the farm of David and Claudina du Buisson stood in splendid isolation.


This Article was sent to The Helderberg Basin Blog by Beryl Baleson now living in Israel, Many Thanks Beryl

*Note: Author Unknnown

The Strand History (Part 2)

Continued from The Strand History (Part 1)

The Cape Almanak reported in 1835 that several Houses and Huts that were erected at Mosterd Bay, and were occasionally visited by invalids and others for the purpose using the sea-bath. There were six fishing Boats manned by free people of colour (free slaves), and all sorts of small fish are caught. The health of those who ventured to Mosterd's Bay was said to be beneficial by the first visitors to Moesterd Bay.

These early fishermen, having no local market, piled their catches into carts and did the rounds of the farms in the district, announcing their arrival by toots on the 'fish-horn'. And then farmers and their families began to trickle into the bay for camping summer holidays, bringing with them their own supplies including live sheep and fowls. Abundant fresh fish however, was always obtainable.

First Reported Ship Wreck

In February 1847, some excitement was caused in the district when a vessel ran ashore at the mouth of the Lourens River. On hearing the news Mr D. J. van Ryneveld, Land-drost and Civil Commissioner at Stellenbosch, hurried to the spot. The ship was found to be the Robert (665 tons), laden with teak from Burma and bound for London. She had sprung a leak which, as Mr van Ryneveld reported in a letter to the Secretary to Govern­ment, 'had gained so rapidly' that her master, W. R. Sayers, had been obliged to 'run her ashore in order to save the crew and cargo in which he succeeded".

On 6 March a sale - to take place on the beach - of the cargo saved from the wreck of the Robert was advertised in the South African Commercial Advertiser. '500 tons, more or less of Teak Wood' were to be offered as well as '40-50 Cases and a few bags of Cutch, also Masts, Sails, Spars and Rigging, together with stores, boats etc of the vessel". The teak consisted of 'well squared beams and Planks measuring from 30-40 feet in length and from 18 inches square down to U inches thick, as also some staves and crooks, the latter suitable for shipbuilders'. At the same time would be sold 'the hull of the ship as she lies stranded on the -Beach with such portion of the cargo as may remain on board". Refreshments were to be provided.
A large quantity of the wood was purchased by Messrs Hovils and Russel, W. Martin and R.H. Arderne who continued to advertise for sale 'teak logs, planks etc either at Hottentots Holland or delivered at any place in Cape Town' up to May of that year. A small quantity was purchased by Mr H. Boase, Postmaster at Somerset, who is said to have used this timber in the construction of a house on the Main Road there. Many years later this Dwelling became the offices of the legal firm of Solomon and Wells Blake.

Soon after this event the infant 'fishing and sea-bathing village' of one hundred and fifty inhabitants became known for a while as van Ryneveldsdorp in honour of the Landdrost of Stellenbosch who built a house for himself in what is now Michau Street.
The wife of a member of the British garrison in Cape Town 'greatly enjoyed", in the year 1862, bathing at the Strand. A number of Cape farmers, she reported, were camping out the sands 'as coolly as if they belonged to the sea. The matrons wore the funniest headdresses sunshades conceivable, while the men sprawled about under the lee of their wagons.

Part three will be posted soon...

Freidman and Cohen History

This article comes from the Freiedman and Cohen that has been trading for over 100 years in the Helderberg Basin.

A young man by the name of Benjamin Friedman escaped from the pogroms in Russia and arrived from Lithuania at Cape Town in 1903. He managed to get a job at the docks in Cape Town where he worked for 2/- ( 20 cents) per day. After approximately six months he felt that as he had saved a little money and taught himself to speak a little English and Afrikaans he should try to start his own little business.He bought a bicycle for 10/- ( 1 Rand ) and cycled all the way from Cape Town past Goodwood, Parow, Bellville, Kuilsriver, Faure and Firgrove to Somerset West. At Somerset West he learned that AECI, or as it was then known the Cape Dynamite Factory, was being started and it would employ a large number of people.

He went to the Magistrate and for 2/ 6 ( 25 cents ) he obtained a general dealers license. He then hired a shop in Station Road, Somerset West ( where Mrs Sybil now has her furniture store ) and proceeded to Cape Town to purchase stocks.The wholesaler at that time was Messrs. JW Jagger & Co, who refused to open an account without references. This Mr Benjamin Friedman was unable to supply as he had never traded before and knew nobody in the trade. He then suggested that they send the order COD. He admits that he has never been able to establish what made him suggest that they send the order COD as he obviously would not have the money to release the order. However, he was a man of great faith and always said the Lord will provide.When he arrived at the station he found that by mistake they had not marked the goods COD.He took delivery, sold the goods and immediately went in to Jaggers to say that they had not sent the goods COD so he came to settle the account. They then opened an account for him and he was in business.

Two years later he married a Miss Anna Cohen, and his brother-in-law, Mr Shio Ben Cohen, joined him and they decided to open at the Strand. The Strand was then only a little fishing village and the sea used to push up at Spring tide, right up to where Friedman & Cohen is now. Mr Friedman bought the land where the shop is now situated, much to the amusement of the old residents, as they said the customers would need a boat to get to the shop.

A typical country store was built and had a little groceries, crockery and kitchenware, and dress materials. Behind the shop were Mr Cohen’s house, the stable and the stores.

In 1928 Mr Abe Friedman joined the firm. A few years later the great depression of 1933 took place. Business was extremely bad. Businesses were considered lucky if they could remain solvent. Unemployment was rife, and people were happy if they could get jobs as labourers on the roads and railways.During the great depression the partners decided that as in the days of Joseph when the seven fat years were followed by the seven lean years, so also this depression will be followed by a boom. They decided to enlarge the shop, to install new fittings and fixtures, and to turn the store into a departmental store, by opening a furniture department, a shoe department, and a showroom. Mrs Cohen ran the showroom at that time in one of the rooms in her house. This proved to be a very wise decision because on account of the depression all these improvements were carried out at a very low cost, and when the country kicked out of the depression, Friedman & Cohen was ready to enjoy the boom to its full extent.

In 1948 Friedman & Cohen bought an adjoining property which belonged to the Mochomovitz Bros. For 25 000 pounds ( R 50 000 ). This was the highest price that had ever been paid for any property at the Strand at that time. The highest price paid for a property before that was when Mr Benson Bosman bought the White House Hotel for 10 000 pounds (R 20 000 ) .I still remember so vividly when Mr Victor du Plessis, who was our father’s attorney for many many years, came into the store and said he wanted to talk to us privately. We went into the office and he said that he had been Mr Benjamin Friedman’s attorney for many many years. He knew how hard Mr Friedman had worked for his money and he was terribly upset to see that our father had hardly passed away and we were already wasting his money and that we must please cancel the sale.We assured Oom Duppie as we used to call him that we appreciated his concern very much indeed but that we were confident that our move was the correct one as the property joined ours and would be very useful if we one day wanted to extend. He was not the only one who felt we made a bad buy. Most of the property owners thought we were mad and were waiting for us to go insolvent.

In 1948 we decided to change our grocery department into a self-service supermarket, which included a butchery, vegetable and fresh fruit department.This was a very bold step, as self service supermarkets were absolutely unknown in the country, and although Stuttafords and OK Bazaar operated supermarkets successfully in the cities, the country folk are much more conservative. As we were the very first self-service supermarket in the country, we did not know whether it would be successful. However, we met with a lot of resistance from our customers, but overcame it by appointing two of our most friendly and capable assistants as hostesses, who helped the customers to choose their requirements from the shelves.

In 1958 we decided that the store had grown too small again and we decided to demolish the whole place, as well as the building bought from the Mochomovitz Bros., and build a three storey building which included a lift, the very first lift in the Strand. As a result of this we were able to enlarge our existing departments and to start many new departments. This rebuilding program again proved to be a wise one. The customers doubled and the business really prospered.

On the morning of 25 October 1973 at 00h30 Friedman & Cohen had a disastrous fire that gutted the whole building. It is impossible to describe the trauma of seeing 70 years of sweat, hard work, planning, failures and successes destroyed in few hours. This was even more so, as the fire could have been extinguished if the Strand had had a reasonable fire brigade instead of a little Land Rover. The Somerset West Municipality and AECI very kindly agreed to assist, but by the time they arrived it was too late.Fortunately the furniture department, which is a separate building, was not destroyed and in the morning we gathered there with all our staff. We advised our staff to go home to relax. And not to worry, as their jobs were safe, and to meet again the next morning. The next morning it was the same procedure and the day thereafter. On the Wednesday, Mr Sam Friedman, Mr Abe Friedman, Mr Avron Cohen and Mr Benjamin Friedman had a meeting where Mr Sam and Mr Abe told the boys that as they were in their sixties they did not have the energy to restart the business and thought we should sell the site. Avron said we will do all the work, just help us with the financial arrangements and Benjamin said how can you just allow a tradition and business of 70 years to disappear. After a long discussion we decided to call in the shopfitters. The staff were absolutely superb, and although we only took the decision on Wednesday afternoon to restart the business, we were ready for trading by Monday morning. Our suppliers, our customers, and everybody concerned were most cooperative and helpful. But now our troubles really started. We unfortunately were hopelessly under-insured. Instead of insuring our property at replacement value, we only increased the insurance each year to cover the inflation rate. Also the fire took place at the end of October when our stock was at its very highest because all our summer and Christmas goods had arrived. Unfortunately we were paid out according to our balance sheet which was in June, and the stock was at its lowest.Although the country was booming in 1973, we suddenly fell into a recession in 1974, and money was in extremely short supply. We approached our Bank for a bond but they refused - saying that statistics have proved that 14 % of businesses destroyed by fire can recover successfully.

Leon Cohen joined the business in 1976, after obtaining his BCom (C.A) from the university of Cape Town. He took charge of the administration and was responsible for the computerizing the financial systems. He left the business in 1989 to immigrate to Australia.We then approached a new Bank who were very excited about getting our account. We neededR 1 000 000 for the rebuilding of the shop for which we wanted a bond of R 700 000. We needed R 350 000 overdraft to restock and R 500 000 for fixtures, fitting, fridges, cash registers, office machinery and typewriters. We managed to get leasing for the fixtures and fittings and the Bank provided us with the bond and the overdraft facilities. However the Bank tied up all our assets including our private homes as collateral, with the result that if things did not work out, we would all have gone out absolutely penniless.There is an old Chinese adage that reads " Fate admires courage and is apt to bestow the good things on those who take the bad well ". This certainly seems to be true, for all of a sudden everything seemed to fall into place. Within three months most of the customers had returned to us, and we had more customers on our books than prior to the fire. Also the government had decided to introduce TV to the country. Barry Friedman who joined the firm in February 1975 joined Avron Cohen on a TV course with Philips, and we had an extremely successful year in our TV department. So much so that our turnover and profits doubled, and we were able to make large repayments. Also with the new air-conditioned store and the excellent layout, the planning of which took many many hours of hard work, the business just went from strength to strength and we could breathe freely once more.

The business has remained in the family for 3 generations. The ongoing success of the business is attributed to maintaining our excellent quality of customer service and our wide variety of quality mercha.

For further information you can visit the Friedman Choen website.

The Strand History (Part One)

The History of The Strand (Part 0ne)

(Special word of thanks to Beryl, who sent me a copy of this facinating article. I'm still awaiting the details of the author)

The first settler in the area which later became known as Mosterd's Bay or Hottentots Holland Strand or Somerset West Strand and, more recently, the Strand, was a Huguenot, David du Buisson, who had been tutor at Drakenstein to the children of Pierre Joubert, another Huguenot.
In 1707 du Buisson married Claudina, daughter of Pierre Lombard, also a Huguenot. Claudina herself had been born in the Colony and was seventeen years old at the time of her marriage. Claudina and David du Buisson's loan farm was bounded on the north by the Lourens River, on the east by Philip Morkel's farm Onverwacht and on the south by the sea itself. It was known as Vlooibaai.

On 9 May 1717, it was recorded in the Company Journal that 'the farmer, David du Buisson, living in the Hottentots Holland' had been attacked in his house by fugitive slaves who inflicted on him 'seven or eight wounds'. He managed to escape, however, with his wife and children. His house was ransacked and food, ammunition and firearms were stolen.

In 1722 du Buisson died, Vlooibaai being then granted in freehold to his widow. She soon re-married and, on the death of her second husband, Vlooibaai was purchased by Olof de Wet. In 1748 it was bought by Philip Morkel's widow, Catharina Pasman, who left it to her son, Willem, together with Onverwacht and Voorburg.

Thus at this time the Morkel family owned virtually all the land from the sea running up the east bank of the Lourens River as far north as Morgenster and eastwards to the boundaries of the farms de Fortuin and Gustrouw, probably not far short of 5 000 morgen.

It is uncertain when the name Mosterd's Bay first came into use, or why, but the village which grew up at this spot was called Mosterd's Bay for many years. Two smaller inlets to the south were known as Schilpad and Hex. All these names have fallen into disuse, but the stretch of beach between what was Mosterd's Bay and the Lourens River mouth re­tains its original name, Melk Bay, so called from the milky whiteness of the surf there.

Mosterd's Bay, with its safe harbour, has been a fishing place from the earliest times. It is likely that the followers of Sheik Joseph, exiled on the farm Zandvliet near the mouth of the Eerste River at the end of the seventeeth century, ventured round the coast to this sheltered spot. The first Malay fishermen known to have settled at Mosterd's Bay were probably descendants of these people.

Fish was abundant, and it was recorded in the first half of the nineteenth century that the village of Stellenbosch was 'daily supplied with Fish . . . from Hottentots Holland . . . except when the south east wind blows rather strong and continually between the months of October and February [and] prevents the fishermen from putting out their boats'.

As early as 1829 there was a house of sorts at Mosterd's Bay. In a sale advertised to take place at the farm Meerlust, near the Eerste River, in that year 'half of the buildings of a strand house situated at Hottentots Holland, Mosterd Bay' was included among the items on offer.

Continued....The Strand History Part 2

Historical Photo of The Strand Promenade

I found this photo hanging at Surfside, a restaurant situated in the modern Strand Beach Front Hotel which has been built upon this site. I took a photo of it with my cell phone camera so please excuse the quality. The Stand Jetty is still standing although is fenced off due to safety reasons. If you have any idea when this was taken or have any other photos to share with us please do so.

A fascinating article on the history of The Strand...

Barnard and Leah Juter - (arrived in the Strand from Lithuania in 1920) behind them is thier Son Reuben Juter.

This article was written by Beryl Juter Baleson in memory of her grandparents Barnard and Leah Juter who settled in The Strand, Cape Province, in 1921 after their arrival from Pompian (Pumpenai) Lithuania.

Information contained in the first paragraph was acquired from a book on The Helderberg Towns at the Cape Town Municipal Library.

The list of early Settlers in the second paragraph was obtained from the records of the Jews Temporary Shelter in London where they stayed in transit between Eastern Europe and South Africa..

All further information was given by a family member.

This article is copyright and may not be used without the written permission of the author – balden@zahav.net.il


The Strand, which was originally known as Mosterd’s Bay, Hottentots Holland Strand, and then Somerset West Strand, nestles at the bottom of the Hottentots Holland Mountains in the Boland, Western Cape, about 30 miles northeast of Cape Town.

The first settler in the Hottentots Holland Strand area was a Huguenot, named David du Buisson who farmed in the area, on a farm named Vloobaai. There was an abundance of fish in this area, with the result that it became a fishing village at the end of the 17th century. The attraction of settlers to this area was the establishment of the de Beers Dynamite Factory in 1902, together with the prolific sea harvest all year round. This lead to the development of The Strand as a town as well as a seaside resort. It became a municipality in 1897.

The earliest Jewish settlers who arrived from Lithuania and Latvia were:

Morris Balonow arrived in May 1904 from Druja Vilna, Lithuania.
Harris Brodovsky arrived in 1899 from Kovno, Lithuania.
Morris Cheller arrived in 1902 from Kamay, Lithuania.
Joel Dorfan arrived in 1897 from Kovno, Lithuania.
Ephraim Epstein arrived in 1904 from Kovna.
Benjamin Friedman arrived from Lithuania in 1903.
Morris Geller arrived in 1905 from Kovno, Lithuania.
Rachmiel Jacobson arrived in 1902 fromPoniedel, Lithuania.
Max Meller arrived in 1902 from Kovno, Lithuania.
Meyer Millchian arrived in 1902 from Vilna, Lithuania.
Myer Miller arrived in 1899 from Malatt, Lithuania.
Nathan. Nochemowitz arrived in 1904 from Kovna, Lithuania..
Abe Schulman arrived in 1902 from Dvinsk, Latvia.

By comparison with other European groups of the Strand community, the Jewish Community have been more attached to The Strand than any others.

Jewish enterprise has done much to make The Strand one of the best shopping centres in the area.

There were varied occupations amongst the Strand residents such as general dealer stores; produce and timber dealers; farmers, merchants, managers, hoteliers, doctors and accountants.

Benjamin Friedman who started out as a general dealer in 1904, founded the Friedman and Cohen Department store. This was the largest Department store in the area.

A cinema was opened by Isaac and Rose Barenblatt in 1918 in the old town hall. In the 1930’s the Barenblatt’s opened the Empire Rialto Cinema.

The Somerset Strand (Strand) Hebrew Congregation was formed in 1902.
The first Synagogue was in Michau Street behind the Marine Hotel. Rent of 7s 6d. was paid monthly.

A permanent Synagogue was opened in 1930 in Wesley Street, its foundation stone laid by Mr Benjamin Friedman. In 1932 the Synagogue was Consecreated at which Reverend Hirshowitz of the Strand Hebrew Congregation together with Reverend Schlomow of the Somerset West Hebrew Congregation officiated. Afterwards a celebration was held in the Town Hall.

Payment by members at this time was 1 shilling a month.

The first Rabbi was Reverend Green, followed by Reverends Hirshowitz; Reverend Bordien; Reverend Gad and Rabbi Karwan.

Jewish Study classes for children were held at the Synagogue premises in the afternoons after attending school at Hottentots Holland School.

The Jewish congregation of The Strand grew from 60 people in 1904 to 40 families in 1918. In 1947 there were only 29 Jewish families.

In 1969 the Strand and Somerset West Hebrew Congregation combined to form the Somerset West-Strand Congregation.

The Synagogue remained empty until 1986 when it was sold to the Dutch Reformed Congregation for use as a Church.

In 1930 the Congregation requested the South African government to supply them with ground which would be suitable for a Cemetery. This permission was given and a Cemetery was built at the corner of Beach and Gordon’s Bay Roads in the Strand.

In 2003 the cemetery was vandalized and some Headstones were damaged, these have since been repaired and secruity improved. The cemetry it is still in use just two weeks ago Viv Perel one of the Somerset West members was burried there. (This insert was updated by Isaac Herring on the 1st June 2009 edited with permission of the author, thank you for your update)

The residents in the area were very active in the following Jewish societies i.e. Revisionist Society; Wizo; Ladies Benevolent Societies and the Union of Jewish Women

The beaches in the Strand attracted a large amount of Jewish people from all over the Western Cape in the summer, including the Young Israel Youth Movement who held their annual summer camp there. Unfortunately with the rise of the “Greyshirt” movement and anti-semitism becoming rife, the Jewish people of the Western Cape started using Muizenberg as a holiday resort. The Young Israel Camp moved its headquarters to Lakeside in the Muizenberg area.

By 1999 the Jewish Community had dwindled to five families.

These remaining members of the Jewish Community have now combined with the Somerset West Community and are known as The Strand – Somerset West Jewish Community.

I would like to add special word of thanks to Beryl Baleson for contributing this very interesting article to The Helderberg Basin Blog on this 15th Day of May 2009.