The day was nothing short of beautiful as the residents of Fish Hoek came together for their centenary celebrations.
Those attending the celebrations gathered in front of the Fish Hoek Civic Centre, walking down memory lane in song and moving speeches.
But most important on the day was the unveiling of the plaque in commemoration of the auction and sale of the first residential plots in the township of Fish Hoek at 11:00 on 24 April 1918.
The plots, which were sold from as little as 10 to 150 pounds, went under the hammer in the hands of well-known auctioneer Johnnie Zoutendyk, of JB Zoutendyk and Co.
To celebrate this milestone, the community of Fish Hoek has arranged several events, with more being planned for the rest of the year. The centenary celebrations also saw the formation of the “Fish Hoek 100 and Beyond” non-profit organisation run by Fish Hoek businesses and community members who are committed to ensuring that this wonderful milestone for the town is celebrated with the involvement of as many businesses and community organisations and leaders as possible.
The organisation’s chairperson, Richard Valentine, says the event was a huge success. “Everything went well – even the weather was on our side. We had 100 little children singing ‘happy birthday’, there were several speeches and the children played violin before the unveiling of the plaque. We also had Joy Cobern who enlightened us all on the history of Fish Hoek,” he says.
The plaque was officially unveiled by Councillor Felicity Purchase who said they had a lot to celebrate. “We have the magnificent beach with great traditional fishermen, mountains, flora and fauna, schools, a good college and a good hospital. We are a unique town, diverse and resourceful. The unveiling of the plaque is an important milestone to celebrate lest we forget the blood and tears that went into building what we have [today]. Let us all come together, plan and work together for the next 100 years to come,” she said.
Valentine says the celebrations will also see other projects take off for the improvement of the area. “We are an open space technology project and we looked at potential projects that can be of great benefit in the valley. Some of them were to look at security, tourism and some work that will be done in the main road,” he says.
They are also planning a spring bash as well as a music festival as part of the centenary celebrations.
