Digging operations along Orange Street in central Cape Town were brought to an unexpected halt on Tuesday, 3 September when Council workers found a cannon that lay buried in the path of the trench that was being dug to install electrical cables.
The cannon was found at the corner of Orange Street and Grey’s Pass outside the 15 on Orange hotel .
The unexpected discovery has drawn the attention of history buffs from far and wide, and further information regarding the origin of the cannon is being sought.
On Sunday, 9 September the City’s Environmental and Heritage Management Branch obtained a permit to move the cannon on behalf of the Electricity Department from Heritage Western Cape.
The City’s archaeologist, Harriet Clift, supervised the transfer from Orange Street to a storage site in the Company’s Garden.
The Electricity Department’s Ndabeni team ably assisted with the move and the relocation was completed in a matter of minutes. The cannon will soon be sent for cleaning and further examination.
An initial assessment was conducted by Gerry De Vries, the chairman of the Cannon Association of South Africa.
“It is definitely a Swedish cast gun, probably at Finspang foundry, for either the VOC or the Amsterdam Admiralty. From its size, it looks to be a 12- or 18-pounder,” says De Vries.
“There was no gun battery near Orange Street. The reason that the cannon was found there is most likely that when it became obsolete it was erected vertically on the street corner as a bollard to prevent ox wagons from cutting corners and scattering pedestrians,” he said.
De Vries estimates that the cannon was cast around 1750 and was most likely used to defend the coastal areas of Cape Town.
Additional confirmation is being sought that the cannon was, in fact, used as described above. Clift is leading the hunt for old photographs of the corner of Orange Street and Grey’s Pass which may show the ‘cannon as bollard’.
“A map of Cape Town dating to 1862 shows a wall or fence with what may be bollards equally spaced along the Orange Street extent. It is tempting to assume that our cannon is one of those, but we still need to find more evidence,” says Clift.
Members of the public are invited to assist with this search if they have any old photos which are of relevance.
The City’s Heritage Department is considering a proposal to install the cannon as part of the new tea garden play area located in the Company’s Garden as a touch display for younger children. An interpretive display with additional information is also envisioned. There are a number of other cannons on display within the Garden precinct and the adjacent Government Avenue.
