Photo by Thinus Maritz: www.tm-media.co.za
HISTORIC HOTAGTERKLIP
On entering Struisbaai, the visitor finds a unique little group of sixteen historic cottages – known as Hotagterklip (keep left behind the rock). This name derives from a stone outcrop that imposed a sharp detour on early travellers. The cottages are thatched with reeds (Chondropetalum tectorum) from our local Fynbos biome, and lime-washed using material available in the area. The use of local materials to build and maintain the cottages indicates the thrifty nature of this small sea-faring community.
All the Hotagterklip fishers’ cottages were worthy of preservation in view of various architectural and historical considerations, and were proclaimed National Heritage Sites in 1981. These cottages originally housed mixed-race fishers who were forcibly evicted in 1950 under the Group Areas Act of the previous Apartheid government.
A small graveyard with four gravestones is currently being restored. On examination one can see that many of the people buried here had Scottish heritage – clearly a result of Scottish seafarers who chose to make this their home.
Many of the inhabitants of Struisbaai North – the township to which the fishers were moved – can still recall the names of their ancestors buried at the little graveyard – sadly, though, with no identifying gravestones to indicate who lies there.
The three cottages standing separately on the western side of the road are a community project. One of the cottages houses a delightful coffee shop, with wonderful bread baked to order, whilst another a B&B facility. The third cottage comprises three small rooms. One room houses an information centre together with a cultural museum. The museum records stories and photographs, and research that has been done in remembrance of the past lives of this little community of fisher people. The second room is used as a workshop by a local entrepreneur, and the third little room is an arts & crafts gift shop.
No specific date can be given for the origin of these cottages. However, typically the kitchen fireplace is built on the outside of one of the gable walls – and this (hobhouse) feature was characteristic of Cape architecture until the arrival of the English at the Cape in 1806.