The Battle of Muizenberg was a small yet significant military engagement in the history of South Africa. It took place near Muizenberg in 1795 and resulted in British control of the Cape of Good Hope. The H.M.S. Rattlesnake, H.M.S. Sphynx and H.M.S. Echo were ships that fought in the battle.

In 1795, the new Batavian Republic was established in the Netherlands by a group of French-backed revolutionaries known as the Patriots. The coup was a result of ten year Patriot revolutions which saw William V, Prince of Orange, flee to Britain. As a result of this change, Holland was no longer a pro- British state. Britain had long resented Holland’s’ trade with French and American revolutionaries.

 At this stage the Cape of Good Hope was in the control of the Dutch East India Company and as a result of the change of power in the Netherlands, Britain had now lost a strategic ally, and with it access to the Cape. The Cape port was an ideal stop over point between Europe and the Far East and as such Britain realised it had to take control of the Cape to retain access to India. Lord Baring, the Chairman of the British East India Company, persuaded the British Government to intervene with a military force.

 

The Dutch East India Company (otherwise known as the VOC: Vereenigde Ost-Indische Compagne) had occupied the Cape since 1652. The VOC had very little interest in using the Cape as a fully fledged colony as they were principally concerned with replenishing ships en route to Asia. They were thus no match for the might of the British Royal Navy.

A fleet of nine Royal Navy ships was sent to the Cape under command of Vice-Admiral Elphinstone: HMS Monarch (His/Her Majesty’s Ship, 74 guns); HMS Victorious (74 guns); HMS Arrogant (74 guns); HMS America (64 guns); HMS Ruby (64 guns); HMS Stately (64 guns); HMS Sphynx (24 guns); HMS Echo (16 guns) and HMS Rattlesnake (16guns). The fleet left Britain on the 1st of March, and reached Simon’s Bay in early June 1795.

During this time Simon’s Bay was used as the official winter port as heavy weather in Table Bay made mooring difficult. As Steenberg Farm (known then as Swaaneweide) was one day’s journey between Simon’s Bay and Cape Town, the farm was often used as board and lodging for the fleet of ships.

After failed negotiations between Elphinstone and the Dutch Governor Sluysken, the British took control of Simon’s Town on the 14 June. 350 royal marines and 450 infantrymen were used to gain control before the Dutch could scorch the town. After the Dutch retreated to their fort just outside of Muizenberg, the British formed two more battalions of 500 men each. They were commanded by commander Temple Hardy of the Echo and commander John William Spranger of the Rattlesnake. This brought the total number of British soldiers to 1800 men, whereas the dutch were only 300 men strong.

At noon on the 7^th of August the British marched towards Muizenberg supported by the America and Stately and the smaller Echo and Rattlesnake from the sea. Because the Dutch fort was built so close to the sea, it was within range of the ships guns. The warships anchored close to the rocks and in half an hour fired 800 cannon balls at the defenders. Carronades were also mounted on the ships’ launches, to serve as close artillery. After a heavy naval barrage the Dutch were forced to abandon their posts before the infantry could even arrive. The column of British soldiers and troops then overran the position. By 14:00 the Dutch had retreated around the corner to Zandvlei.

The fighting continued for weeks, but the British eventually pushed the Dutch back to Wynberg Hill. On the 14th of September 1795 a fresh assault with reinforcements was made on the Dutch. On 16 September 1795 the Dutch finally surrendered the Cape to Britain. Few men died during the campaign on either side. Of the 35 British dead only 8 died of wounds received in action, the balance were deaths due to disease.

The British occupied the Cape temporarily before the Batavian government reclaimed it in 1804. However in 1806 the British reclaimed the Cape after the Battle of Blaauwberg. English became the language of the Cape and the British used the Cape as a springboard for their colonial expansion into Africa.

 

The old rule of thumb in South African winemaking circles is that by the time the Easter weekend rolls around, the winemakers should have harvested all their grapes, fermented them dry and transferred them to barrel and cleaned the cellar – and then gone fishing!

“I haven’t had an Easter weekend off since I joined Steenberg!” said winemaker JD Pretorius – and 2011 is going to be no different. “Why ruin a perfectly good working record?” he quipped.

Steenberg Shiraz was harvested during the first week in April and three blocks of Merlot were still happily ripening on the vine and only came off during the second week of the month. “The Merlot will be the last thing into the cellar – and that should only finish fermenting at the end of the month or possibly in early May. So, yeah, Easter will be a working weekend for us but perhaps there will be some chocolate eggs to sweeten the deal.”

 

Getting the Shiraz to the cellar was a bit of a nightmare with more than one mechanical breakdown presenting a challenge. Firstly the harvester developed a fault and then something went wrong with one of the grape hoppers. “I’m ready to leopard crawl over the finish line…” JD joked. Scattered about his office are bottles of multi-vitamin pills and health tonics which attest to the necessity for being able to keep going when energy levels flag after two to three months of action.

While it’s still too early to pronounce on the overall quality JD is happy with what’s in tank and barrel. “We’re about 30% to 40% up on last year,” Pretorius said. This state of affairs is not because of a bumper crop but rather because the past three years have been down. “2008, 2009 and 2010 were smaller crops – so 2011 is actually our ‘normal’ harvest and is back to the sort of levels that we last had in 2006 and 2007 which is good.’

“Semillon is more than double what it was last year and it’s looking really beautiful!” he said.

 

You would have been forgiven for thinking that winter had arrived earlier than usual on Monday morning as countless flakes of ash fell from the sky at Steenberg. The entire Constantia Valley was engulfed with smoke as routine prescribed burning was done at the Tokai Lower Plantation and Core Fynbos Conservation Site, a Part of the Table Mountain National Park (TMNP).

 

Prescribed burning is a key practice by most environmental managers undertaken primarily to ensure the survival of many threatened fynbos species as well as to eradicate dangerous fuel loads such as dead branches and logs. The prescribed burning being done in Tokai is under the authority of a permit issued by the City of Cape Town*.

 

Whilst the ash-fall can be an irritation for Constantia residents the advantage is that the fire will stimulate indigenous seeds and bulbs to germinate, allowing fynbos to flourish in the valley as it once did. 

Last Tuesday the TMNP used their dedicated helicopter to dump water as a precautionary measure to control the prescribed burning. The helicopter uses the dam at Steenberg Estate as it is the closest water source.

 

“We gave them permission to use our dam when necessary”, explained Farm Manager Johann de Swardt. “Our dam is small with a capacity of 102 000 cubic metres so if the water level is too low we can’t allow the helicopters to use it because they might damage our suction pipes”.

 

The smoke and ash can also interfere with the vines, resulting in what JD Pretorius calls ‘smoke taint’. JD noted, “Luckily we had harvested all of our fruit before the prescribed burning began, or else it could have been a bit tricky”.  

 

*Rob Erasmus, Wildfire investigator, Enviro Wildfire Services, www.saweatherobserver.blogspot.com

 

Chef Brad Ball is like a puppy dog with two tails! He and his kitchen team are delighted that the cool weather and first rains have arrived.

“With the rains come the mushrooms – and there are some fantastic mushrooms around that will make their way onto our new Autumn menu,” Ball said this week. “Changing the menu has been a real thrill this time around. We’re all hugely excited by the new items we’ve got on offer.”

 

Ball said that just as the summer menu launched in November last year had reflected a return to traditional bistro basics the winter menu would be the same. “Last year we didn’t have things like Boeuf Bourguignon or fricassée, for example, and we’re going to have both. The Boeuf Bourguignon I’m making with a beef shortrib but taking the meat off the bone. And for the fricassée I’ll be using some fantastic petit poussin from Stellenbosch.”

It’s hard for this passionate chef not to wax lyrical about his ingredients – and set everyone else to drooling just describing a few of the dishes. Fillet steak with mushroom ragout, for example. “And if anyone orders it without having a glass of Steenberg Nebbiolo they should be shot! It’s an unbelievable food and wine match.”

Ball noted that pies have become trendy and in typical fashion he’s putting his own spin on it… Not for him the humble steak pie. No. It’ll be a quail pithivier (Pithivier is a fancy word for pie!) “I’m going to debone and confit the quail and make like a coarse paté. There’ll be a bit of duck liver in there too… and then I’ll use puff pastry for the casing.” He described it as “like a big ravioli but using pastry instead of pasta”.

And for those with a sweet tooth there are items such as pineapple tarte tatin or salted caramel rice pudding. “Obviously we’ve got to strike a balance because there are some things on the menu that our patrons love – like the asparagus gratin. That sells incredibly well because it’s such a light but delicious dish.”

 

Something else quite unique – and extremely limited – will be his Friday Steenburgers. “We started it last week and it was a hit. Eight of the burgers were ordered by women, which surprised me.”

Every Friday the kitchen will prepare just 10 burgers – and they will be available on a ‘first come, first served’ basis. “If someone feels strongly enough about it they can phone and reserve one!” Ball said.

Don’t expect them to be like anything else you’ve experienced. The kitchen’s been experimenting with them for some time. The patty is 100% Chalmar beef sirloin that’s trimmed with all fat and sinew removed, minced up with pork back fat and cooked to perfection. “I’ve spent months perfecting this – making sure the meat to fat ratio is right, making the right burger bun… it musn’t be too chewy or too soft. And I can confidently say it’s the best, juiciest burger anywhere!” Expect to find little touches like foie gras or truffle oil added to make it even more special.

Just remember there are only 10 available…