434 KAKI.V rilSTORY OF TIIK (Al'K I'UoVIXCK. 



fiirlv I'ortugiU'si' naiiu's, for the most part on the coast line, have 

 disappeared and translations of such names are substituted. Here 

 we have the history of the first discoverers. We find the greater 

 number of inland place names of Dutch origin. Many of the 

 early native names Avere translated by the Dutch into' their own 

 language. Heri' we find the history of the native and Dutch. 

 Take a glance at the place naiTies in the Eastern Province; are 

 Qiot a great number of the English town and farm names reminis- 

 cent of the 1820 British Settlers? A number of the (ierman 

 town names remind us of those who came out with the German 

 Legion. And so we could go on, taking large areas or dividing 

 these into small sections, and we should be sure to find place 

 names which will at once suggest something of their origin. 



In this paper I want to deal with some names which will recall 

 the days when the Dutch were in possession of the Cape from 1652 

 to 1795 and again from 1803 to 1806. Although the Dutch were 

 here for nearly a century and a half, few of the names of their 

 governors and statesmen have been given to places. It is to be 

 expected that the name of the first Dutch commander would be 

 commemorated. This is so, for Riebeeck Kasteel in the Piquet- 

 berg district was named in 1661 by an exploring party which Jan 

 van Eiebeeck sent out. Riebeeck West and Riebeeck East are 

 names given during last century, but also in his honour. Some 

 might suggest that Capetown, the mother city of the country, 

 should have honoured him by taking his name. Would it surprise 

 some of you if I told you that when Commissioner de Mist was 

 here from 1803 to 1805 the idea was mooted that Capetown shovild 

 be called Eiebeeckstad? Simon van der Stel, Governor from 

 1679 to 1699, gave his name to Simon's Bay, from which the 

 town at a later period took its name. His memory is retained by 

 the places StcUcithoscJi and Siiiionsberg, the latter a mountain 

 near French Hoek. In 1687 van der Stel, together with some 

 officials of the Dutch East India Company, made a survey of this 

 bay when it received its name. It had before this been known 

 as Issehteiii Bay. named after a ship of that name which called 

 there in 1671. It was not until 1742 that Simon's Bay became 

 a port of call for ships, which were obliged to sail into it between 

 the months of May and August when they were secure from the 

 north-west winds. The following year a station with store, 

 hospital and dwellings was established here. In the course of 

 time a small village sprang up, which became known as Simons 

 Town. 



In November, 1679, within a month of his arrival, van der 

 Stel visited the place where the town of Stellenbosch stands. 

 Here, in the valley, he saw a clear stream of water which divided 

 at one point and joined again a little further on, forming an island 

 of some size. His party rested on this island, which was dotted 

 thickly with a grove of fine trees. In Dutch the latter was a 

 hoscli or wood. To perpetuate his name he coupled that of this 

 grove to it, hence SieUenboscJi . This toMii is the second oldest 

 town in the Capo Province, the district taking its name from the 



