Unearthing of centuries-old cannon blasts history buffs

10 September 2013 - 02:23 By NASHIRA DAVIDS
subscribe Just R20 for the first month. Support independent journalism by subscribing to our digital news package.
Subscribe now
The heavily corroded cannon dating back to the 1700s excavated near a hotel in Cape Town
The heavily corroded cannon dating back to the 1700s excavated near a hotel in Cape Town
Image: SHELLEY CHRISTIANS

A cannon cast in Sweden almost 300 years ago for the Dutch East India Company has been unearthed on the doorstep of one of Cape Town's top hotels.

The cannon was moved to the Company's Garden on Sunday. It will be cleaned and inspected by experts such as Gerry de Vries, chairman of the Cannon Association of SA.

The find, by construction workers last week, brings the number of cannons found in South Africa to 980.

De Vries said most of them were in Cape Town.

"They were used by the Dutch for coastal defence. Other cannons came from shipwrecks, or were brought to South Africa by the English or were donated by the French to the Dutch," De Vries said.

Seven cannons were bought from scrap yards.

"The oldest cannon was cast by Sebastiao Cobris who worked between 1516 and 1524. So it was cast about 150 years before Jan van Riebeek arrived.

"It came from a shipwreck off the east coast and is in the KwaZulu-Natal Museum but is not on display."

De Vries said the cannon found outside African Pride's 15 On Orange Hotel on Wednesday was cast in Sweden between 1740 and 1750 for the Dutch and was probably used to defend the anchorage before the construction of a harbour.

Nicholas Barenblatt, marketing manager of the Protea Hospitality Group, said the discovery of the cannon "buried close to our doors" for hundreds of years was a welcome surprise.

Mayoral committee member for spatial planning Garreth Bloor said the cannon might be placed in the new tea garden at the Company's Garden, in a museum or be used as a site marker to commemorate the Battle of Blaauwberg.

subscribe Just R20 for the first month. Support independent journalism by subscribing to our digital news package.
Subscribe now