Strand (, ) is a seaside resort town in the

Western Cape The Western Cape ( ; , ) is a provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the List of South African provinces by area, fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , an ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. It forms part of the Eastern Suburbs of the

City of Cape Town Metropolitan Municipality The City of Cape Town (; ) is a metropolitan municipality that forms the local government of Cape Town and surrounding areas. As of 2022 it has a population of 4,772,846. History Cape Town first received local self-government in 1839, wit ...

, situated on the north-eastern edge of

False Bay False Bay (Afrikaans: ''Valsbaai'') is a body of water in the Atlantic Ocean between the mountainous Cape Peninsula and the Hottentots Holland Mountains in the extreme south-west of South Africa. The mouth of the bay faces south and is demarc ...

and near the foot of the Helderberg Mountains. Its geographical position is between

Somerset West Somerset West () is a town in the Western Cape, South Africa. Organisationally and administratively it is included in the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality (South Africa), metropolitan municipality Eastern Suburbs zone (formerly called ...

and Gordon's Bay, and is about 50 km southeast of

Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

City Bowl. Strand has a population of approximately 50,000. Strand's main attraction is the beach; 5 km of white sandy beach off False Bay. Strand is often referred to as ''The Strand'' (Afrikaans: ''Die Strand''), which is the old name of the town. The vehicle registration code for Strand is ''CEY'' and the postal code for street addresses is 7140.

History

Strand was established as a holiday and fishing resort in 1714. Before being known as Strand, the settlement was known as Mostert's Bay. In 1970, during the

Apartheid Apartheid ( , especially South African English: , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...

era, all black, coloured and Asian people were forcefully removed when the town was classified as a white-only resort. Included in the communities forced to leave at this time were the descendants of

Cape Malay Cape Malays (, in Arabic Afrikaans, Arabic script) also known as Cape Muslims or Malays, are a Muslim community or ethnic group in South Africa. They are the descendants of enslaved and free Muslims from different parts of the world, specifi ...

slaves, who had escaped from Cape Town over 100 years earlier. They lost their homes, but their mosque still stands today. Strand is administered by the City of Cape Town Metropolitan Municipality. It is in close proximity to the inland town of

. Recent expansion and development of both towns has resulted in the two now being adjacent to each other, with shopping malls and residential complexes creating the connections. The unofficial divide between the two towns is the national road which bisects them, the N2. Strand forms part of the Helderberg Basin, along with Somerset West and Gordon's Bay. Strand offers white-sand beaches and views of the

Cape Peninsula The Cape Peninsula () of South Africa is a generally mountainous peninsula that juts out into the Atlantic Ocean at the south-western extremity of the African continent. At the southern end of the peninsula are Cape Point and the Cape of Good ...

. During the summer, tourists from other parts of South Africa, including

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...

, and abroad, come to enjoy the seaside offerings.

Tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...

has been a major source of local income since 1950, when the town was popular with visitors from the north of the country, and was home to many retired veterans of the

Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic an ...

. There is a train service from Strand to the CBD of Cape Town. Strand also used to accommodate one of the largest dynamite factories in

, owned by the

AECI Aeci (or Aetius) (died 1010), Bishop of Barcelona from 995, was a warrior-prelate in the age of the Peace and Truce of God. Besides military endeavours, mainly ''reconquista'' (the re-conquest of Islamic territory), his episcopate was taken up wit ...

group. This area is being redeveloped into a large new mixed-use urban development, Paardevlei, and current tenants include Cheetah Outreach.

Tourism

The main beach in the Strand, Melkbaai Beach, is a safe bathing area. Facilities on or nearby this beach include Waterworld with a supertube and mini-golf and Harmony Park which includes a tidal pool. Water sports may be conducted from various points along the beachfront. Strand has a wide variety of organised sport including a

golf course A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a teeing ground, tee box, a #Fairway and rough, fairway, the #Fairway and rough, rough and other hazard (golf), hazards, and ...

, tennis courts, rugby fields, squash clubs, jukskei, and water sports like

surfing Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer (or two in tandem surfing), uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wave of water, which usually carries the surfer towards the shore. Waves suita ...

sailing Sailing employs the wind—acting on sails, wingsails or kites—to propel a craft on the surface of the ''water'' (sailing ship, sailboat, raft, Windsurfing, windsurfer, or Kitesurfing, kitesurfer), on ''ice'' (iceboat) or on ''land'' (Land sa ...

power boat A motorboat or powerboat is a boat that is exclusively powered by an engine; faster examples may be called "speedboats". Some motorboats are fitted with inboard engines, others have an outboard motor installed on the rear, containing the intern ...

ing, paddle skiing and board sailing. The Charles Morkel rugby stadium is home to the Helderberg Rugby Club. " The Pipe" is a part of the beach marked off for surfers and is known for its big waves. Strand also has an Olympic-sized indoor pool which is centrally heated and is open all year round. The coast between the Lourens River mouth and Gordon's Bay is popular with beach fishermen and rock anglers.

Surfing

Surfing Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer (or two in tandem surfing), uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wave of water, which usually carries the surfer towards the shore. Waves suita ...

is a popular water sport in Strand, despite the possibility of sharks. These spots are reportedly much easier and safer to surf than other offshore surf spots on the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

side of the

, owing to the protection that

offers.

Central business district

The town has a

business district Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or buying and selling products (such as goods and services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for profit." A business entity is not necessar ...

attracting customers from the surrounding basin. The CBD offers

bank A bank is a financial institution that accepts Deposit account, deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital m ...

s, numerous

shopping malls A shopping mall (or simply mall) is a large indoor shopping center, usually anchored by department stores. The term ''mall'' originally meant a pedestrian promenade with shops along it, but in the late 1960s, it began to be used as a generi ...

restaurants A restaurant is an establishment that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in app ...

, and

supermarkets A supermarket is a self-service Retail#Types of outlets, shop offering a wide variety of food, Drink, beverages and Household goods, household products, organized into sections. Strictly speaking, a supermarket is larger and has a wider selecti ...

. Friedman & Cohen is the largest single shop in the CBD and serves as a major attraction for residents and visitors. The major shopping malls in the area include the Dorpsmeent Centre, Somerset Mall. The latter is not in the CBD, but outside the town, on the border of Somerset West, next to the N2 road. Strand's central business district is entirely surrounded by Strand North and Strand South. Strand Beach Road is divided into three sections - the Golden Mile (also known as Melkbaai) is located between Lourens River and Hibernian Towers (cnr. Beach Road and Sarel Cilliers Road), the central part of Beach Road stretches between Sarel Cilliers Road and the Pavilion complex, whilst the Platinum Mile is located along Blakes Beach and between Odeon Towers and the Ocean View Hotel.

Industry

Strand has its industrial areas, mostly spread along the south side of the N2, including Gants Plaza, Broadlands, and a development near Paardevlei. More recently, Gants Plaza has increasingly been accommodating non-industrial businesses, including the local newspaper, the District Mail / Distrikspos. In winter there may be a low inversion layer covering the town, resulting in some degree of pollution. This is rarely seen, however, because of the prevalent winds that keep Strand's skies clean.

Education

The town has primary, secondary and tertiary

education Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...

facilities, and many ECD facilities of varying quality. As of 2007, there are 19

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...

and

private schools A private school or independent school is a school not administered or funded by the government, unlike a public school. Private schools are schools that are not dependent upon national or local government to finance their financial endowme ...

. Primary schools * Dr. G.J. Joubert * Hendrik Louw Primary School * Laerskool Lochnerhof * Loreto Primary School (Strand) * Strand Muslim Primary School High schools * False Bay High School * Gordon Hoërskool * Hoërskool Strand *

Hottentots-Holland The Hottentots Holland Mountains are part of the Cape Fold Belt in the Western Cape, South Africa. The mountain range forms a barrier between the Cape Town metropolitan area and the southern Overberg coast. The range is primarily composed o ...

* Khanyolwethu Secondary * Madrasatyr Rajaa Sekondêr * Rusthof Sekondêr * Simanyene Secondary * Strand Sekondêr * Hoërskool Valsbaai * Mills Street Art School Tertiary institutions * Boland College

List of suburbs

* Chris Nissen Park * Die Bos * Goedehoop * Harbour Island * Lourensrivier * Lwandle * Melkbaai * Mostert's Bay * Rusthof *Southfork * Strand-Noord * Strandvale * Suider Strand * Twin Palms * Weltevreden

Coats of arms

The Strand was a municipality from 1897 to 1996. During that period, it used two coats of arms. Municipal (1) — The first coat of arms was assumed on 24 February 1927.Western Cape Archives : Strand Municipal Minutes (24 February 1927). The shield was divided in two by a vertical line, and displayed a golden sun on a blue background, and a fish on a background of wavy silver and blue stripes; across the top of the shield was a golden stripe bearing three red towers. An anchor was placed behind the shield. The motto was ''Inspirata floruit''. Municipal (2) — In March 1955, the council approved a new version of the arms, by Ivan Mitford-Barberton. It registered them with the Cape Provincial Administration in August 1955Cape of Good Hope ''Official Gazette'' 2771 (19 August 1955). and at the Bureau of Heraldry in October 1993.https://archive.today/20120629122538/http://www.national.archsrch.gov.za/sm300cv/smws/sm300dl The new shield of arms was: ''Per fess, Azure and barry wavy Argent and Azure, on a fess Gules, between in chief a demi-sun issuant and in base a fish naiant, three towers, Or''. In layman's terms, the shield was now divided into three horizontal bands, displaying (1) a golden demi-sun on a blue background, (2) three gold towers on a red background, and (3) a golden fish on a background of wavy silver and blue stripes. A crest consisting of a red anchor on a golden mural crown was added. The motto remained the same.

Notes

External links

The Strand websitePhoto of busy Strand beach''The District Mail'', regional newspaperThe Strand site
{{Authority control Suburbs of Cape Town Populated places established in 1714 1714 establishments in the Dutch Empire