Swakopmund Mole | History Swakopmund Mole
SWAKOPMUND NAMIBIA HISTORY THE MOLE: Swakopmund had no natural harbour, so the ships had to anchor about one kilometre from the
SWAKOPMUND NAMIBIA HISTORY THE MOLE: Swakopmund had no natural harbour, so the ships had to anchor about one kilometre from the shoreline. Cargo was off- loaded onto rafts or special…
Swakopmund Mole - a history
Commissioned in 1903 this structure still offers a safe harbour and swimming area
Swakopmund had no natural harbour, so the ships had to anchor about one kilometre from the shoreline. Cargo was off- loaded onto rafts or special surf boats designed to negotiate the heavy seas. The Kroo tribesmen had used a similar method on the Liberian coast for many years, and teams of these skilled boatmen were brought in under contract to Swakopmund to ‘work the surf.’ At the height of activity the Woermann Line employed nearly 600 of these men.
The general movements of all settlers within the colony was known. Native workers employed within the Swakopmund Magisterial District were issued with a numbered stamped brass identity token which had to be carried at all times. These tokens are now collector items.
Rafts were built onto which livestock, horses, or heavy cargo could be loaded and then towed to the shoreline. This method of off loading was found effective and continued even after the jetty had been constructed. Between 1904 and 1906, 11,065 horses were landed this way, and by the outbreak of the Great War 31,000 horses and 34,000 mules had been moved through the port of Swakopmund .
On 2nd September 1899 the first of these blocks was laid at the site where the Mole was to be constructed. A point near to where Kurt von Francois had previously placed his beacons near the high dune at Swakopmund .
The old Lighthouse and Customs Shed from the Mole
The Swakopmund Mole Harbour was officially opened by Governor Friedrich von Lindequist on 12 Feb 1903 and was the cause for great celebrations. A set of rail tracks on which ran three steam cranes ran the length of the Mole. Tugs would tow the rafts into the safety of the harbour basin where protected from the high surf the loads could be lifted by crane to safety.
A lesson from the sea was awaiting. The south to north drifting of the Benguela current caused major silting along the south side of the breakwater and then extended out to sea. A sandbank formed and the entrance into the basin began to silt up and by July 1904 the tugs and rafts could only enter the harbour at high tide.
The Herero uprising of January 1904 helped to exacerbate the problem, for the extra military supplies that were needed increased shipping to where at times up to twenty vessels would be laid at anchor in the Swakopmund 'roadway' awaiting offloading. The port authorities were working 24/7 in an attempt to alleviate the situation and the available dredging equipment proved to be inadequate. It was decided that a landing jetty should be built on the South side of the Mole. Within a year landing service at the Mole were suspended in favour of the newly built wooden jetty.
Today, The Mole with its sheltered beach, surrounding parks, palmed walk ways, hotels, shops, restaurants, swimming pool and museum is one of the focal points and attractions of Swakopmund .
Acknowledgements and further reading: A1, H5, H8, H11, M3, P2
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