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St Helena Bay

Settlement in West Coast District Municipality, Western Cape, South Africa

Summary

Settlement in West Coast District Municipality, Western Cape, South Africa

Field	Value
name	Saint Helena Bay
other_name	St. Helenabaai
image_skyline	St Helena Bay.JPG
image_caption	View of Britannia Bay west of St Helena Bay
pushpin_map	South Africa Western Cape#South Africa
coordinates
subdivision_type	Country
subdivision_name	South Africa
subdivision_type1	Province
subdivision_name1	Western Cape
subdivision_type2	District
subdivision_name2	West Coast
subdivision_type3	Municipality
subdivision_name3	Saldanha Bay
subdivision_type4	Main Place
established_title	Established
leader_title	Councillor
area_footnotes
area_total_km2	26.92
population_footnotes
population_total	11529
population_as_of	2011
population_density_km2	auto
<!-- demographics (section 1) -->	demographics_type1	Racial makeup (2011)
demographics1_footnotes
demographics1_title1	Black African
demographics1_info1	29.7%
demographics1_title2	Coloured
demographics1_info2	59.3%
demographics1_title3	Indian/Asian
demographics1_info3	0.3%
demographics1_title4	White
demographics1_info4	10.3%
demographics1_title5	Other
demographics1_info5	0.5%
<!-- demographics (section 2) -->	demographics_type2	First languages (2011)
demographics2_footnotes
demographics2_title1	Afrikaans
demographics2_info1	68.9%
demographics2_title2	Xhosa
demographics2_info2	25.7%
demographics2_title3	English
demographics2_info3	3.5%
demographics2_title5	Other
demographics2_info5	1.9%
<!-- Other information -->	timezone1	SAST
utc_offset1	+2
postal_code_type	Postal code (street)
postal_code	7390
postal2_code_type	PO box
area_code_type	Area code

Saint Helena Bay () is a settlement in West Coast District Municipality in the Western Cape province of South Africa.

Nicknamed by locals as Agterbaai, the town is located on the shore of the bay, from which it derives its name and is approximately 150 km north of Cape Town, South Africa. It surrounds the towns of Vredenburg and Paternoster, and is located across the bay from Laaiplek.

History

Historically, Saint Helena Bay is the location where Vasco da Gama, first set foot in South Africa. The date of this event was recorded as 7 November, 1497. The bay was named Bahia de Santa Helena (Portuguese for its current name) after Saint Helena a devout, influential Christian and mother of Constantine I. During this time the Portuguese explorers and the local Khoikhoi became involved in a skirmish wounding Da Gama in the thigh.

The Dutch East India Company established an outpost at St Helena Bay in the 17th century, the Free Burghers fished there and ships from the settlement at the Cape frequently traveled to the area in search of resources to sustain the settlement. In 1673 during the 2nd Khoikhoi War the Cochoquas under leadership of Gonnema attacked the outpost resulting in an escalation during the war.

Agriculture

Saint Helena Bay is a major fishing town. It is home to Sandy Point Harbor – one of two ports to the bay, (the other being in Laaiplek) on the West Coast of South Africa. In winter it is host to many fishing activities, where snoek is found in its waters, as well as an endangered species of rock lobster and crayfish.

The bay has a high number of pelagic fish, and consist of eleven fish processing factories.

Geographic

Saint Helena Bay is the only area along the South African West Coast where the sun rises across the bay. The reason for this is its unique location, where by the town itself faces north east and almost north.

It is described as "calm and tranquil" as quoted from the Portuguese explorer, Vasco da Gama.

The region of Saint Helena Bay is sub-divided into various suburbs, namely (from east to west): Laingville, West Point, Steenberg's Cove, Hannasbaai, Britanica Heights, Harbour Lights, Sandy Point, Blueberry Hill, Columbine, Mid-West and it incorporates the neighboring towns of Stompneusbaai and Britannia Bay. It includes a total of eighteen smaller bays.

Tourism and events

On the actual site of Vasco da Gama's arrival is a monument. Other attractions include dolphin and whale watching as well as sightseeing.

Saint Helena Bay is regular host to the St Helenabaai Seefees, (Afrikaans, translated as St Helena Bay Sea Festival). This event is hosted by the town's Tourism association and takes place annually in December during the South African summer season.

Its surrounding areas include attractions such as the Cape Columbine Lighthouse (19.7 km from St Helena Bay).

Sport

To the west of Saint Helena Bay, is a secure golfing estate known as Shelley Point.

Popular figures

Saint Helena Bay is noted as a popular destination for former South African Rugby Union player, Kobus Wiese, who owns property in the region. In February 2012, South African TV personality and soap opera star Hildegardt Whites (who plays the role of Bonita Meintjies in 7de Laan) married Polish-born musician Kuba Silkiewicz in Shelly Point, St Helena Bay. Whites grew up in the West Coast during her teen years.

References

"Main Place Saint Helena Bay". Census 2011.
"Archived copy".
''St Helena Bay.'' CapeWestCoast.org. http://www.capewestcoast.org/regions/town.php?town_id=29
"Dictionary of Southern African Place Names (Public Domain)". Human Science Research Council.
"St Helena Bay".
Op Pad in Suid-Afrika. BPJ Erasmus 1995. {{ISBN. 1-86842-026-4
(16 March 2011). "Vasco da Gama's expedition reaches St Helena Bay". sahistory.org.za.
History of South Africa, 1486 – 1691, G.M Theal, London 1888.
"capewestcoastpeninsula.co.za".
"HTML REDIRECT".
''Alternative To Immigration.'' Mypropetry.co.za http://www.myproperty.co.za/news/131/alternative-to-immigration.aspx
"Sandy Point".
''Bay of many bays.'' http://capewestcoastpeninsula.co.za/sthelenabay/
"Archived copy".
"St. Helena Bay Tourism and Accommodation: Visitor Information Centre".
''St Helenabaai Seefees 2012.'' Absolutebeach.co.za. http://www.absolutebeach.co.za/blog/st-helenabaai-seefees-2012/
''Things to Do in St Helena Bay.'' Safarinow. http://www.safarinow.com/things-to-do/st-helena-bay/default.aspx
''Events: St Helenabaai Seefees.'' Weslander.co.za. http://www.weslander.co.za/events/view.aspx?eventid=2358
"South African Property | Infoprop Group".
Sjiek, A. 13 April 2012. ''Hildegardt en Kuba''. http://www.trouinspirasie.co.za/blog/regte-troues/hildegardt-en-kuba-antiek-sjiek/
''Celebrity Wedding: Hildegardt Whites & Kuba Silkiewicz – Shelly Point Hotel & Spa – St Helena Bay.'' Be-Dazzled.co.za. http://be-dazzled1.blogspot.com/2012/03/celebrity-wedding-hildegardt-whites.html
''Kuba & Hildegardt: 4 February 2012.'' blankcanvasblogs. http://blankcanvasblogs.wordpress.com/2012/05/07/kuba-hildegardt-4-february-2012/
"Ladies Breakfast – Bonita from 7de Laan".

Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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