Information on Camps Bay, Western Cape, South Africa

Conference Venues South Africa brings you information on Camps Bay situated in the Western Cape Province of South Africa including information on history, location, geography, attractions.

Camps Bay is a wealthy suburb of Cape Town in the Western Cape. In the summer it attracts a large number of South Africans as well as international visitors looking for a holiday at the beach. Camps Bay is renowned for its white sandy beaches fringed by palm trees and trendy nightlife.

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Camps Bay History

The first residents of Camps Bay were the San and the Goringqhaique, Khoi pastorates. When Jan van Riebeek established a refreshment station for the Dutch East India Company, the 12 Apostles were covered in forests with lion, leopard and antelope.

In competition with the more recent settlers, the Gringqhaique lost their grazing lands on the south eastern slopes of Table Mountain and in 1657 were restricted to Camps Bay.By 1713 the number of Gringqhaique population had been reduced by measles and smallpox. All that was left of their settlement was an old kraal.

The area was then granted to John Lodewyk Wernich and passed from father to son. Johan Wernich married Anna Koekemoer, who on his death in 1778, married Fredrick Ernst von Kamptz, a sailor and the area became known as “Die Baai van von Kamptz”.

For most of the 1800’s Camps Bay was undeveloped. Lord Charles Somerset used the area for hunting and used the Roundhouse as his lodge. Kloof Road was build in 1848 and in 1884 Thomas Bain was commissioned to build a road from Sea Point to Camps Bay using convict labour.

The road was completed in 1887 and named Victoria road to honour Queen Victoria’s jubilee in 1888. The road allowed people to cycle out to Camps Bay which had gained popularity as a picnic site. This led to the development, in 1901 of a Tram service to bring people out for the day and with it the development of the tidal pools, the Rotunda (now the Bay Hotel) and a pavilion for concerts and shows. In 1913, Camps Bay was incorporated into Cape Town although it was still seen as a recreational area rather than a residential area

Towns and Suburbs of the Western Cape province of South Africa

Arniston , Albertina , Bantry Bay , Bellville , Barrydale , Beaufort West , Bloubergrant , Bloubergstrand , Brackenfell , Caledon , Century City , Ceres , Camps Bay , Cape Town , Clanwilliam , Claremont , Constantia , Constantia Park , Darling, De Rust , De Waterkant , Durbanville , Fish Hoek , Franschhoek , Fresnaye , Gardens , Gordon's Bay , Gansbaai , George , Grabouw , Green Point , Greyton , Hout Bay , Hermanus , Kenilworth , Kleinmond , Knysna , Malgas , McGregor , Melkbosstrand , Milnerton , Morreesburg , Muizenberg , Montagu , Mossel Bay , Mowbray , Newlands , Noordhoek , Observatory , Oranjezicht , Oudtshoorn , Paternoster, Lakeside , Langebaan , Paarl , Parow , Pinelands , Plettenberg Bay , Prince Albert , Pringle Bay , Rawsonville , Robertson , Riebeeck West , Rondebosch , Stellenbosch , Somerset West , Simon's Town , Saldanha , Sea Point , Sir Lowry's Pass , Stanford , St Helena Bay , Strand , Swellendam , Table View , Tulbagh , Uniondale, Vermont , Vredendal , Wellington , Wilderness , Worcester , Worcester , Wynberg , Yzerfontein