H I S T O R Y
FISH HOEK
Family-friendly Fish Hoek is home to a Stone Age historic site, where the remains of a 12 000- year old man was found. But it’s fascinating history goes back even further than that. The Fish Hoek Valley was once a channel separating two islands from the African mainland. 20,000 years ago, the sea receded, forming an isthmus connecting the islands to the mainland. Fish Hoek, Vissers Baay or Visch Hoek, appears on the earliest maps of the Cape and was an area teeming with wildlife and indigenous Khoikhoi people. In 1652, the arrival of European settlers forced the indigenous Khoikhoi people out of the area. The first grant of Crown land in Fish Hoek was granted to Andries Bruins in 1818 and the land changed hands several times before being purchased by Hester Sophia de Kock, who later married Jacob Isaac de Villiers. Fish Hoek initially served as a whaling and fishing village, with its beach being a prime location for these activities. Diplomat Edmund Roberts visited Fish Hoek in 1833. He described it as a “poor village” with a whaling industry. The arrival of the railway line in 1890 brought more visitors and development to the area. Over time, Fish Hoek transformed from a small village into a thriving town and popular tourist destination, known for its beautiful beach and vibrant community.
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