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Gordon's Bay () is a harbour 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 ...
province of
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. It is included in the
City of Cape Town The City of Cape Town (; ) is a Metropolitan municipality (South Africa), metropolitan municipality that forms the metropolitan municipality (South Africa), local government of Cape Town and surrounding areas. As of 2022 it has a population of ...
metropolitan municipality A metropolitan municipality is a municipality established to serve a metropolitan area. Canada In generic terms and in practical application within Canada, a metropolitan municipality is an urban local government with partial or complete consol ...
Eastern Suburbs region (formerly called Helderberg Basin). It is situated on the shores of Gordon's Bay in the northeastern corner of False Bay about 58 km from
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 ...
to the south of the N2 national road and is named after Robert Jacob Gordon (1743–1795), the Dutch explorer of Scottish descent. Gordon's Bay is the smallest of three towns in the Helderberg region (
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 ...
, Strand and Gordon's Bay), so named after the Helderberg Mountain which is part of the Hottentots-Holland Mountains which border the locality on two sides. Gordon's Bay was originally named "Fish Hoek", many years before the town of the same name, located on the western side of False Bay, was founded. Evidence of this can be seen on the outside wall of the local
Post Office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post o ...
. Gordon's Bay consists of the old village, situated around the old harbour and Bikini Beach, the mountainside on the lower slopes of the Hottentots-Holland mountains overlooking False Bay, and the low-lying suburbs close to the main beach, making up the most recent expansion of the town. The older part of Gordon's Bay includes the South African Naval College, a junior officer training center adjacent to the old
harbour A harbor (American English), or harbour (Commonwealth English; see American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, spelling differences), is a sheltered body of water where ships, boats, and barges can be Mooring, moored. The t ...
and yacht marina. Above the harbour on the mountainside is an emblem of a giant anchor and the letters "GB" assembled from painted stones which stands for General Botha, the name of the earlier training base, SATS ''General Botha'', which was also the original name of the naval station in the town. The Steenbras Dam, one 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 ...
's suppliers of drinking water, is located behind the mountain above the town. Gordon's Bay has a
blue flag beach The Blue Flag is a certification by the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) that a beach, marina, or sustainable boating tourism operator meets its standards. The Blue Flag is a trademark owned by FEE, which is a Not-for-profit organi ...
, Bikini Beach, to the south of the harbour, which is generally popular, particularly with students from the
University of Cape Town The University of Cape Town (UCT) (, ) is a public university, public research university in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university status in 1918, making it the oldest univer ...
and
Stellenbosch University Stellenbosch University (SU) (, ) is a public research university situated in Stellenbosch, a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Stellenbosch is the oldest university in South Africa and the oldest extant university in Sub-Sahara ...
. The beach is funded by the
City of Cape Town The City of Cape Town (; ) is a Metropolitan municipality (South Africa), metropolitan municipality that forms the metropolitan municipality (South Africa), local government of Cape Town and surrounding areas. As of 2022 it has a population of ...
to properly maintain facilities that include public showers, changing rooms, bathrooms and a grassy promenade. The beach is considered safe and is regularly patrolled by a seasonal security guard.


Coat of arms

Gordon's Bay was a municipality from 1961 to 1996. The town council assumed a coat of arms, designed by Schalk Pienaar, in July 1962,Western Cape Archives : Gordon's Bay Municipal Minutes (25 July 1962). and registered it with the Cape Provincial Administration in November 1962Cape of Good Hope ''Official Gazette'' 3161 (23 November 1962). and at the Bureau of Heraldry in November 1988.http://www.national.archsrch.gov.za The arms were : ''Per chevron, the chief barry wavy Argent and Azure and the base Vert, in chief two anchors and in base a protea slipped and leaved, Or''. In layman's terms, the shield was divided in two by a chevron-shaped line, the upper half displaying two golden anchors on a background of silver and blue wavy stripes, and the lower half a golden protea flower on a green background. The crest was a yacht in full sail, and the motto ''Sol et salubritas''.


See also

* Ports and harbours in South Africa * Steenbras Dam * List of reservoirs and dams in South Africa


Schools

The town does not have much educational opportunities, except for a couple daycares, and two primary schools, Gordon's Bay Primary School and Temperance Town Primary School. The town has no high school. Many children will either have to homeschool or attend other secondary institutions such as Hoërskool Strand, Parel Vallei High School, and Hottentots Holland High School.


References


External links


Gordon's Bay Primary School - Facebook

Gordon's Bay Directory

Gordon's Bay Primary School - Website
{{Authority control Suburbs of Cape Town