Jeffreys Bay’s history is made up of surfers, fishermen, seashells and holiday makers. The town doesn’t really have a lot of historical sites or monuments, but between the Kouga Municipality and the Jeffreysbaai Dorp van Drome project, a lot of stories are starting to be told through heritage sites being created. One of these is the Historical Fishermen Cemetery, tucked away on Duine Street in Pellsrus.
The little cemetery is one of the oldest graveyards in Jeffreys Bay and is the historic resting place of some of the early fishermen and families of the town. Not a lot of the original grave stones are still visible, with the oldest one dating to 1937. Sadly the original graveyard book was lost, but historians have been gathered information about the site and the people who were laid to rest here.
The land used to be part of the Klein Seekoeirivier farm owned by Jacobus Nicolaas Swart, whose son, Petrus Lafras Swart, made the land available for the community.
Fishing played a very big part in the early history of the town, with fishermen bravely venturing into the ocean on row boats in the early days to provide for their families. Many of these brave souls perished in the tumultuous waters, their legacy living on through the stories passed down by their descendants. Most of these fishermen were buried in this cemetery.
In 2022, the Kouga Municipality funded an upgrade of the cemetery that included the erection of 155 symbolic white concrete crosses, paving the walkway and adding an information board.
Unfortunately, the gate was locked when I visited, so I didn’t get to go inside and had to snap a couple of pictures through the fence. There’s also not a lot of information available online about the cemetery, but I’ve shared everything I’ve been able to find. Maybe I’ll stumble on a bit more in due course.
