I like the name "The Tavern of the Ocean," formerly given to Capetown;
and what a welcome break it must have afforded in the wearisome voyage
from Europe to the Dutch East Indies, or to India proper! The
Netherlands Dutch seem only to have regarded it as a half-way house, a
sort of unimportant railway "halt" between Europe and the East, where
the necessary fresh water and green vegetables could be supplied to
passing vessels. It was not until Simon Van der Stel was appointed
Governor in 1678 that any idea of developing the Cape as a colony was
ever entertained. Van der Stel has left his impress deep on the
country. Though the vine had been already introduced by Van Riebeck,
it is to Van der Stel that the special features of Cape scenery are
due, for we owe to him the splendid groves of oak of to-day, and he
originated the Dutch Colonial type of building, of which so many fine
specimens still remain. These old Dutch houses are a constant puzzle
to me. In most new countries the original white settlers content
themselves with the most primitive kind of dwelling, for where there
is so much work to be done the ornamental yields place to the
necessary; but here, at the very extremity of the African continent,
the Dutch pioneers created for themselves elaborate houses with
admirable architectural details, houses recalling in some ways the
_chateaux_ of the Low Countries.
Pages:
273
274
275
276
277
278
279
280
281
282
283
284
285
286
287
288
289
290
291
292
293
294
295
296
297