Press Release From The Hout Bay Heritage Trust.

1795 Cannon fires on 15^th Sept to commemorate the "Battle of Hout Bay".

On the 15th Sept 1795 the Cape was immersed in gloom. British troops remained encamped at Wynberg following an uneasy truce reached with the retreating Dutch forces after the previous day’s reluctant battle. Widespread despondency was contrasted with defiance which was illustrated on that day by the spirited defence of Hout Bay by the "Cape Artillery".

A squadron of four British warships had previously left their anchorage in Simon’s Bay on a mission to Table Bay, probably unaware of the truce, and around noon they arrived off Hout Bay. The suspicion was that the bay was defended, but the cleverly concealed locations and strength of the batteries were unknown and the possibility that Hout Bay was the soft underbelly of Cape Town had to be confirmed. The Royal Navy’s Cmdr John Blankett despatched the 16 gun Frigate "Echo" with the 64gun America at ready in support. More than twenty 18 and 24 pounder guns opened up from East Fort and West Fort, and after a token return of fire, the "Echo" quickly turned tail, having completed its mission, and withdrew from what the locals refer to as the "Battle of Hout Bay", albeit brief.

On Saturday 15^th September this year, the Hout Bay Heritage Trust, a founder Member of the S.A.National Trust, hosted their annual "Cannon Race" in collaboration with the Hout Bay Harriers, starting at 09:00 at West Fort. After the race, at about 11:00, one of the East Fort Guns, which has been smartly refurbished, was fired once more on the 206^th anniversary of the 1795 "Battle". It also marked the commencement of a project to restore the Historic East Fort as a tourism destination in partnership with the Cape Peninsula National Park and the SA Heritage Resources Agency. To find out more about this exciting project look at:-

www.zsd.co.za/~houtbay/military/efort1.htm

or contact Dave Cowley on 7902008 or 082 292 7140