Past Master: Louis Michel Thibault ex-mercenary whose heritage enriched the Cape

摘要

Who was the frst properly trained engineerto practise in South Africa? Tere is littlein the history of the Dutch occupation tosuggest that the minimal infrastructurethey provided was carried out by competentofcers. Van Riebeeck may indeed havebuilt a primitive jetty and Wagenaar a watertank, but these no doubt were constructedby handy employees of the Company whosucceeded by common sense rather thanby formal training. Likewise Hendrikvan Oldendaal, Simon van der Stel’s headgardener, is sometimes touted as the frstTown Engineer of Cape Town on thegrounds that he constructed a “canal” tocut o? water from the mountain to directit away from the Grand Parade. Te Dutchwere avid canal builders and imposed theirhomeland expertise on their colonies –Columbo, Batavia and New York all wereblessed with canal systems, but again, thesewere no doubt constructed by workmenwho had learnt their trade in the polders.Undoubtedly Cape Town Castle wasdesigned and set out by competent militaryengineers, but there is no record of theirhaving stayed in the country