The breakwater was established in 1860 making the construction of the Alfred Basin, the first basin of the modern harbour, possible. It forms part of the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront.

The work on the first breakwater was carried out by convict labourers. It seems that convicts were employed, in preference to other workers, to keep cost down and complete the work quickly.

Old Cape Town Breakwater (photo: Danie van der Merwe, Creative Commons license)

Cape Town Breakwater (photo: Danie van der Merwe, Creative Commons license)

Coordinates:

• Decimal degrees: -33.898933 (Latitude) 18.430013 (Longitude)
• Degrees, Minutes & Seconds: S33 53 56 (Latitude) E18 25 48 (Longitude)
• GPS: S 33 53.936 (Latitude) E 18 25.801 (Longitude)
• UTM: 34S 262356 (X) 6246076 (Y)
• Above sea level: 0 ft / 0 m

Address:

Breakwater Boulevard, Victoria & Alfred Waterfront, Cape Town

... also in the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront.

Sources:

• Van der Merwe, D. 2007. Breakwater, Waterfront, Cape Town; Historic Breakwater Wall, Cape Town Waterfront. http://www.flickr.com/photos/dvdmerwe/ (accessed 28 February 2013).
• Worden, N. 1994. Unwrapping History at the Cape Town Waterfront. The Public Historian 16:33-50.