Simon's Town
| Simon's Town | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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| Coordinates | 34 ° 12 ′ S , 18 ° 26 ′ E | ||
| Basic data | |||
| Country | South Africa | ||
| Western cape | |||
| metropolis | City of Cape Town Metropolitan Municipality | ||
| ISO 3166-2 | ZA toilet | ||
| Residents | 6569 (2011) | ||
| founding | 1747 | ||
| Website | www.simonstown.com (English) | ||
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Simon's Town (sometimes Simonstown; Afrikaans : Simonstad ) is a town in the province of Western Cape in South Africa . It belongs to Cape Town and had 6,569 inhabitants in 2011. The town was named after Cape Governor Simon van der Stel , who in 1687 realized that False Bay could be an ideal anchorage for the Dutch fleet during the winter months . After all, it was Governor Gustaaf Willem van Imhoff who built a port with dock facilities here in 1747. For over two centuries Simon's Town has been a major naval base in southern Africa . The influence of British colonial power can be seen in the Victorian- style houses that stand along the main street.
False Bay is located east of Cape Town on the east side of the Cape Peninsula , but west of the Cape of Needles and is therefore, contrary to popular belief, a bay of the Atlantic , not the Indian Ocean .
South of Simon's Town is Boulder's Beach , so named after the huge granite boulders that are scattered over the sandy beach. African penguins have lived here since 1985 in one of only three mainland penguin colonies in all of South Africa.
Simon's Town is connected to the South African railway network by the Southern Line of the Cape Town Metrorail . From Fish Hoek the route is only single-track and every second train ends there.
Simon's Town Agreement
From 1806 to June 16, 1975, Simonstown Naval Base was used by the Royal Navy . This use together with the South African armed forces (primarily South African Navy ) corresponded to an agreement ( Simon's Town Agreement ) concluded on June 30, 1955 between the South African Union , the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth of Nations on the defense of the sea routes around South Africa . After the parliamentary elections in 1948 , the Malan government pushed for the immediate transfer of the naval base under South African control. This corresponded to a political demand of the nationalists since the 1920s. The Simon's Town Naval Base was formally handed over to the Union of South Africa on 2 April 1957th According to the agreements, the Royal Navy could use this base in peace or in case of war together with possible allies , even if South Africa would not be involved in the conflict. This enabled the British to maintain military control of the South Atlantic and the southern Indian Ocean, including the Mozambique Strait . The South African Navy took on operational responsibility for the South African area, which saw an unprecedented development between 1955 and 1963.
During the Cold War and in particular through the Soviet military presence in Africa, the capacities for anti-submarine combat and anti- naval defense were expanded here. At the same time, the South African Air Force was upgraded . As a result of the Simon's Town Agreement , the South African Navy vacated their base on Salisbury Island in the port of Durban . As a result of South Africa's exit from the Commonwealth and the reduction of British military presence in the region due to the closure of the South Atlantic and South America Command, as well as increasing international pressure as a result of UN sanctions, South Africa gained greater influence in the use of the naval base.
When the Labor Party regained government in the United Kingdom following the 1974 elections, the cabinet under Prime Minister Harold Wilson imposed a total arms embargo on South Africa and canceled deliveries that had already been agreed. This led to the inquiry by the South African government in London as to whether the United Kingdom would like to continue to exercise the Simon's Town Agreement in its current form. As a result of this controversy, it was terminated on June 16, 1975. South Africa continued to expand the base. It received a dock for the maintenance of submarines , supplemented by a modern submarine communications center on a ridge near Fish Hoek , supplemented by secondary centers in Walvis Bay and Durban .
sons and daughters of the town
- Zola Skweyiya (1943–2018), South African lawyer and politician
Web links
- Official website of Simon's Town (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ 2011 census , accessed November 23, 2013
- ^ Allan du Toit: The Anglo-South African Simon's Town Agreement . In: Kathryn Young, Rhett Mitchell, (Editors): Commonwealth Navies: 100 Years of Cooperation . Canberra 2009, King-Hall Naval History Conference Proceedings (conference paper). at www.navy.gov.au (English) Overview of the conference contributions. on www.navy.gov.au (English)
- ^ SAIRR : A Survey of Race Relations in South Africa 1975 . Johannesburg 1976. p. 44