Milnerton is a seaside suburb on

Table Bay Table Bay (Afrikaans: ''Tafelbaai'') is a natural bay on the Atlantic Ocean overlooked by Cape Town (founded 1652 by Van Riebeeck) and is at the northern end of the Cape Peninsula, which stretches south to the Cape of Good Hope. It was named b ...

and is located north of central

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

. It is located 11 kilometres to the north of the city's centre.

Suburbs

Suburbs/

neighbourhoods A neighbourhood (British English, Irish English, Australian English and Canadian English) or neighborhood (American English; American and British English spelling differences, see spelling differences) is a geographically localised community ...

of the greater Milnerton area include: * Bothasig *

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

* Century City *

Edgemead Edgemead is one of the Northern Suburbs of Cape Town. It is one of several garden cities of South Africa, the first being Pinelands in the southern suburbs. Edgemead is mainly residential, and as the name 'garden city' suggests, is noted for it ...

* Joe Slovo Park * Lagoon Beach * Marconi Beam * Metro Industrial Township * Milnerton Ridge * Montague Gardens * Monte Vista * Paarden Eiland * Phoenix * Plattekloof Glen * Rugby * Sanddrift * Summer Greens * Sunset Beach * Sunset Links * Tijgerhof * Woodbridge Island

Milnerton lagoon

One of the most identifiable features of Milnerton is its

lagoon A lagoon is a shallow body of water separated from a larger body of water by a narrow landform, such as reefs, barrier islands, barrier peninsulas, or isthmuses. Lagoons are commonly divided into ''coastal lagoons'' (or ''barrier lagoons'') ...

, formed where the Diep River enters the sea, with palm trees adorning the lagoon banks.

Woodbridge Island

Woodbridge Island is not actually an island, but rather the area south of Milnerton Golf Club on the peninsula separating the lagoon from the ocean. Two bridges join Woodbridge Island to the mainland of Milnerton proper. The wooden

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

is now a

national heritage site A national heritage site is a heritage site having a value that has been registered by a governmental agency as being of national importance to the cultural heritage or history of that country. Usually such sites are listed in a heritage registe ...

, the bridge went through an upgrade phase and has since been reopened to the public. A newer bridge allows cars to cross to the island. The

Milnerton Lighthouse The Milnerton Lighthouse, commissioned on 1960-03-10, is located on Table Bay shore in Milnerton, South Africa. Its red sector covers Robben Island. See also * List of lighthouses in South Africa This is a list of lighthouses in South Afri ...

is also a popular landmark found on the island. The beach is a popular recreational area, especially over weekends and public holidays.

Milnerton beach

Milnerton's beach is well known for its view of Table Mountain and is a popular surfing spot. The water is generally cold as a result of the Benguela current that flows along Africa's western shore. The beach is also managed by Milnerton Surf Lifesaving Club, who help to prevent drownings on the beach and surrounding area. Every Wednesday during summer the surfski and stand up paddlers use the SE winds and race the Downwind Dash series to Big Bay beach.

Nature reserves

Milnerton is the location of two

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

s which are owned and managed by the City of Cape Town. The Table Bay Nature Reserve Milnerton Racecourse Section is situated inside the race tracks of the old Milnerton Racecourse.

Coat of arms

Milnerton had its own municipality from 1955 to 1996. The town council assumed a coat of arms, designed by

Cornelis Pama Cornelis Pama (1916 - 1994) was a Dutch bookseller, publisher, heraldist and genealogist, who spent the second half of his life in South Africa. He was born in Rotterdam. During World War II, when the Netherlands were under German occupation, he ...

, in October 1963,Western Cape Archives : Milnerton Municipal Minutes (16 October 1963). and registered it with the Cape Provincial Administration in February 1966Cape of Good Hope ''Official Gazette'' 3332 (18 February 1966). and at the

Bureau of Heraldry Bureau ( ) may refer to: Agencies and organizations *Government agency *Public administration * News bureau, an office for gathering or distributing news, generally for a given geographical location * Bureau (European Parliament), the administrat ...

in February 1968.http://www.national.archsrch.gov.za The arms were : ''Per chevron ploye Or with two horse-shoe Gules, and barry wavy of eight Azure and Argent'' (i.e. the shield was divided by a curved chevron-shaped line, the upper part displaying two red horseshoes on a gold background and the lower part having eight silver and blue stripes with wavy edges). The crest was a red demi-horse and the motto ''Per mare per terram''.

References

Milnerton.info
Accessed 28 April 2006.

External links

Milnerton.org - Latest news and information about MilnertonLive web cam views onto the Milnerton Lagoon and Cape TownMilnerton Central Residents Association
{{Cape Town, communities Suburbs of Cape Town