Melkbosstrand
Encyclopedia
Melkbosstrand is a coastal village
and beach
with just over 17000 inhabitants, located on the South West Coast of South Africa
, 35 km north of Cape Town
.
Named after the species of Euphorbiaceae
bushes which grow on the dunes and give off a milky latex like substance, it is commonly referred to simply as Melkbos. The town and its 7 km stretch of white sand beach is situated on the Atlantic coast with the Blouberg mountain to the east. The beach is popular with surfers. It is notable for being one of the landing points for the South Africa-Far East
and South Atlantic/West Africa submarine cable systems.
Melkbosstrand falls under the City of Cape Town
metropolitan municipality
, and its nearest neighbouring towns are Bloubergstrand
and Atlantis
.
Melkbosstrand owes much of its present day infrastructure to two significant South African apartheid government developments in the late seventies. The first, Koeberg nuclear power station
, constructed with the help of the British and French some 6 km north of Melkbosstrand, necessitated the creation of high quality housing for the foreign contractors. The second, the government subsidized creation of Atlantis Diesel Engines
(ADE), a joint venture between the British Perkins-Elmer and German Daimler AG, to bypass international sanctions imposed by United Nations Security Council Resolution 418
. Although ADE was in the industrial park of Atlantis, some 50 km north of Cape Town, subsidized housing was established in Melkbosstrand to help attract and retain the many German, British, and even South African, engineers, managers, and technicians. These houses, both for Koeberg and ADE, have long since been sold off to the public.
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
and beach
Beach
A beach is a geological landform along the shoreline of an ocean, sea, lake or river. It usually consists of loose particles which are often composed of rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles or cobblestones...
with just over 17000 inhabitants, located on the South West Coast of South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, 35 km north of Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
.
Named after the species of Euphorbiaceae
Euphorbiaceae
Euphorbiaceae, the Spurge family are a large family of flowering plants with 300 genera and around 7,500 species. Most are herbs, but some, especially in the tropics, are also shrubs or trees. Some are succulent and resemble cacti....
bushes which grow on the dunes and give off a milky latex like substance, it is commonly referred to simply as Melkbos. The town and its 7 km stretch of white sand beach is situated on the Atlantic coast with the Blouberg mountain to the east. The beach is popular with surfers. It is notable for being one of the landing points for the South Africa-Far East
SAFE (cable system)
The South Africa Far East cable is an optical fiber submarine communications cable linking Melkbosstrand, South Africa to Penang, Malaysia.It was commissioned in 2002 and built by Tyco Submarine Systems of the USA with an initial capacity of 10 Gigabits per second, which is upgradeable to 130...
and South Atlantic/West Africa submarine cable systems.
Melkbosstrand falls under the City of Cape Town
City of Cape Town
The City of Cape Town is the metropolitan municipality which governs the city of Cape Town, South Africa and its suburbs and exurbs. As of 2007, it had a population of 3,497,097....
metropolitan municipality
Metropolitan municipality
A metropolitan municipality is a type of municipality established in some countries to serve a metropolitan area.-Canada:In generic terms, and in practical application within Canada, a metropolitan municipality is an urban local government; or at least a suburban government flanked by urban and/or...
, and its nearest neighbouring towns are Bloubergstrand
Bloubergstrand, Cape Town
Bloubergstrand is in the locality of Cape Town along the shores of Table Bay, about 25 km to the north of Cape Town city centre. Its name Bloubergstrand in Afrikaans literally means "blue mountain beach" derived from Blaauwberg, a nearby mountain. Bloubergstrand is mainly residential and attracts...
and Atlantis
Atlantis, Western Cape
Atlantis is a town in Western Cape, South Africa, roughly 40 km from Cape Town. It has approximately 210,000 residents. The city suffers under high levels of poverty and unemployment...
.
Melkbosstrand owes much of its present day infrastructure to two significant South African apartheid government developments in the late seventies. The first, Koeberg nuclear power station
Koeberg nuclear power station
Koeberg nuclear power station is the only nuclear power station in South Africa and the entire African continent. It is located 30 km north of Cape Town, near Melkbosstrand on the west coast of South Africa. Koeberg is owned and operated by the country's only national electricity supplier, Eskom...
, constructed with the help of the British and French some 6 km north of Melkbosstrand, necessitated the creation of high quality housing for the foreign contractors. The second, the government subsidized creation of Atlantis Diesel Engines
Atlantis Diesel Engines
Atlantis Diesel Engines was a South African manufacturer of diesel engines and vehicle components, notably for the military. Engine manufacture ended in 1999...
(ADE), a joint venture between the British Perkins-Elmer and German Daimler AG, to bypass international sanctions imposed by United Nations Security Council Resolution 418
United Nations Security Council Resolution 418
United Nations Security Council Resolution 418, adopted unanimously on 4 November 1977, imposed a mandatory arms embargo against apartheid South Africa. This resolution differed from the earlier Resolution 282, which was only voluntary...
. Although ADE was in the industrial park of Atlantis, some 50 km north of Cape Town, subsidized housing was established in Melkbosstrand to help attract and retain the many German, British, and even South African, engineers, managers, and technicians. These houses, both for Koeberg and ADE, have long since been sold off to the public.