Fish Hoek

Province

Fish Hoek ( Afrikaans Vishoek, German as: "Fish - peak ") is a coastal town on the False Bay on the Cape Peninsula south of the South African city of Cape Town. In 2011 the town had 11,890 inhabitants. It lies at the mouth of the Silvermine Stream.

Administratively, Fish Hoek, Cape Town Western Cape belongs since 2000 to the province. The center of Cape Town is 35 kilometers away across the street. There is also a rail link with the Metro Rail to Cape Town.

History

The arrival of the first European settlers in Fish Hoek (then also: Vissers Baay or Visch Hoek ) in 1652 forced the residents there, to leave the area. The beach of Fish Hoek was later used as a base for whaling and fishing.

Hester Sophia de Kock in 1883 bought the land. She married in 1901 a local farmer named Jacob Isaac de Villiers. They grew wheat and vegetables, but also gave travelers accommodation. Thus, they were the first tourist business in Fish Hoek. Due to its location, the view and the lighthouse, the town was becoming more popular. After the death of Hester and Jacob de Villiers, the land was sold in 1918. Her grave is in the small cemetery next to the Dutch Reformed Church at the Kommetjie Road. The old farm house was a hotel, but burned down in 1947.

First houses were built. However, since with the Southern Line of the Metro Rail was a good rail connections to Cape Town, more and more people settled permanently. Finally, Fish Hoek 1940 was so great that it became a municipality. This lasted until 1996. During the years 1996 to 2000 Fish Hoek was a part of the South Peninsula Municipality.

Geography and climate

Fish Hoek is located at the eastern end of a flat, two- to three -mile-wide valley that extends from west to east across the Cape Peninsula. The villages of Noordhoek and Kommetjie lie at the western end of the valley on the Atlantic coast. The valley is known by 12,000 years old Paleolithic skeletons discovered Bertie Peers and his father in 1927 in the cave now known as Peers Cave.

Fish Hoek has a mild Mediterranean climate. In summer, the so-called Cape Doctor here.

Sons and daughters of the town

• Matthew Booth ( born 1977 ), South African soccer player