--- title: "History of Kommetjie – From Fishing Village to Surf Paradise" description: "From Khoisan settlers to today's surf hotspot: the fascinating history of Kommetjie near Cape Town." lang: en json-ld: | [ { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://villa-austral.com/en/kommetjie-geschichte#webpage", "name": "The History of Kommetjie & the Cape", "description": "From San rock paintings to the VOC trade route to UNESCO World Heritage — 100,000 years of history at one of the most fascinating places on earth.", "url": "https://villa-austral.com/en/kommetjie-geschichte", "inLanguage": "en-US", "publisher": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "Villa Austral", "url": "https://villa-austral.com" } }, { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://villa-austral.com/en/kommetjie-geschichte#breadcrumb", "inLanguage": "en-US", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Villa Austral", "item": "https://villa-austral.com/en/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "History of Kommetjie – From Fishing Village to Surf Paradise", "item": "https://villa-austral.com/en/kommetjie-geschichte" } ] } ] --- 1. [Villa Austral](/en/) 2. History of Kommetjie – From Fishing Village to Surf Paradise [Villa Austral ](/en/) [THE RETREAT](/en/#das-haus)[THE REGION](/en/#die-region)[WELLNESS](/en/#wellness)[ABOUT US](/en/#ueber-uns)[GALLERY](/en/bilder)[JOURNAL](/en/journal) FR[INQUIRE](/en/buchen) [JOURNAL](/en/journal) HISTORY · KOMMETJIE · CAPE PENINSULA # The History of Kommetjie & the Cape From San rock paintings to the VOC trade route to UNESCO World Heritage — 100,000 years of history at one of the most fascinating places on earth. ## 📊 Quick Facts First Settlement ~100,000 BC (San people) European Discovery 1488 (Bartolomeu Dias) Cape Colony Founded 1652 (Jan van Riebeeck) Oldest Wine Estate Groot Constantia, 1685 Slangkop Lighthouse 1919 · 33 m · Cast Iron Democracy 1994 · Nelson Mandela UNESCO Fynbos 2004 · Cape Floristic Region Table Mountain National Park 47,000 ha since 1998 ## 📜 📜 Timeline — 100,000 Years at the Cape ~100,000 BC First traces of human settlement on the Cape Peninsula — the San (Bushmen) leave rock paintings and shell middens along the coast. ~2,000 BC The Khoikhoi (Hottentots) settle in the region, bringing cattle farming and giving the Cape of Good Hope its Khoikhoi name: ǃUriǁʼaes. 1488 Bartolomeu Dias becomes the first European to round the Cape — he names it Cabo das Tormentas (Cape of Storms). King John II renames it more optimistically: Cabo da Boa Esperança. 1652 Jan van Riebeeck establishes a supply station for the Dutch East India Company (VOC) at the Cape — the beginning of European settlement in South Africa. 1685 Simon van der Stel establishes Groot Constantia — the first wine estate at the Cape and today the oldest producing wine estate in the Southern Hemisphere. 1795 The British occupy the Cape for the first time — a tug-of-war between British and Dutch follows until the British take definitive control in 1806. 1860s Kommetjie emerges as a small fishing village. The name comes from Afrikaans 'kommetjie' (small bowl) — named after the natural rock pool (tidal pool) at the lighthouse. 1919 The Slangkop Lighthouse is commissioned — at 33 metres the tallest cast-iron lighthouse in South Africa. It still stands today and is a landmark of Kommetjie. 1939–1945 During World War II, coastal batteries are built on the Cape Peninsula to protect the sea route around the Cape. Remnants of the bunkers are still visible near Kommetjie today. 1948–1994 The Apartheid era fundamentally changes South Africa. At the Cape, communities like District Six are forcibly removed. Nelson Mandela spends 18 years on Robben Island, visible from Table Mountain. 1994 Nelson Mandela becomes the first democratically elected President of South Africa. The Rainbow Nation is born. 1998 Table Mountain National Park is established — it encompasses the entire Cape Peninsula from Signal Hill to Cape Point, including the fynbos vegetation around Kommetjie. 2004 The Cape Floristic Region (which includes the fynbos vegetation around Kommetjie) becomes a UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site — one of the most species-rich plant kingdoms on earth. Today Kommetjie is a quiet, nature-connected coastal village — popular with surfers, artists and families who seek closeness to nature and the vastness of Long Beach. Villa Austral is at 13 Gannet Close. ![](/assets/strandhaus-D2DGBfD1.webp) VILLA AUSTRAL Stay right by the Atlantic in Kommetjie – Villa Austral, your home for these experiences. 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