The history of ‘beach apartheid’ in Hermanus

The coastline of the present Overstrand Municipality includes some of the best beaches in the country. Quite possibly, there has been conflict about access and use down the centuries, but for us, the crucial confrontation about the use of beaches came in the second half of the 20th century.

Hermanus’s local newspaper started publication in 1949, so there is no printed record of disputes between users, before 1948. Also, due to the bureaucratic oversight referred to in my previous article, no attempt was made to segregate the beaches along this coast until 1960.

It all started when certain events over the summer holidays of 1959/1960 captured the attention of the Hermanus Town Council. On 23 January 1960, this report appeared in the Hermanus News, in connection with incidents at the beach known to us as ‘Nanny’s Beach’ or ‘Kammabaai’:

Residents and visitors have enjoyed the beaches of Greater Hermanus for over a century (the photo above was taken in the 1930s). It was only in 1960 that the issue of ‘beach apartheid’ reared its ugly head.

PHOTO: Old Harbour Museum

Click below to read more. (The full article can be found on page 4)