The Woodhead dam on Table Mountain, Cape Town,South Africa

摘要

Cape Town was first settled in 1652 as a provision station for the Dutch East India Company, which needed to replenish its ships with fresh water and vegetables for the journey onward to India. Table Bay is not a particularly safe harbour, and from this viewpoint it would have been preferable to locate the settlement at Saldanha Bay, some 100 km to the north. The overriding consideration, however, was a supply of fresh water that, lacking in Saldanha, was plentiful at the foot of Table Mountain. Van Riebeeck, commander of the outpost, built a primitive jetty at a point where a clear stream that he called the 'Varsche' (Fresh) River, entered the bay. For many years this stream was the main source of water for settlers and seafarers, but it gradually became polluted. Potable water then had to be fetched directly from springs at the foot of Table Mountain.