BREEDERIVER

Malagas is a settlement on the Western bank of the Breede River in the Overberg District of the Western Cape, approximately 30 kilometres south-east of Swellendam, accessible along a gravel road that turns off the N2 National road just west of Swellendam, which eventually leads to the mouth of the Breede River at Cape Infanta. Access is also possible via Bredasdorp.

The name Malagas is probably an adaptation of the Portuguse mangas de velludo, “velvet sleeves”, referring to the cape gannet with its black-tipped wings. Malagas is described as a place of exceptional beauty and peacefulness and the southern bank of the River is lined with idyllic homes, framed by the Potberg Mountain range, many with their own jetty. Tidal action reaches 55km up-river and fishing kabeljou, grunter, leervis and steenbras is any fisherman’s delight. The river is renowned as the best estuary fishing location in the country.

Malagas is a bird-watching paradise and African Fish Eagle, Cape Vulture, White Stork, Sunbird and Blue Crane are commonly sighted. The famous Whale Trail begins in the Potberg area and ends in De Hoop. The pontoon ferry at Malagas operates from sunrise to sunset. It is the only vehicular crossing to the Eastern bank in the area for further access to the Breede River mouth at Witsand.

photo taken by Erika Calitz

History shows that Malagas was established during the mid-1800’s, when land was subdivided into 421 riverside plots, in the belief that buyers would purchase the land for farming as shipping traffic on the river between Malagas and the coastal ports hopefully expanded. A hotel, post office, warehouse and customs house were established on the plots close to the ferry. In 1855, a church was built, the stone for which was quarried locally and transported to the site by ox-wagon. The church is still used for services in Malagas to this day. Malagas became an important social and commercial centre where ships would land incoming building materials, passengers and consumables and ship wool, hides, timber and wheat to Port Beaufort at the mouth of the river for trans-shipment, or directly to Cape Town or ports further afield. Numerous small coasters were engaged in this trade, a number of which were owned by the Barry and Nephews Company. The first arrival at Malagas of the ship, SS Kadie, the pride of the Barry fleet, was greeted with firing cannons and waving of flags. She was a nimble 158-ton screw steam assisted sailing ship, custom built to navigate the Breede River, on Clyde in Scotland in 1859 by Archibald Denny of Dumbarton.

She was the first steamer to grace the banks of the Breede River this far inland. The subsequent total loss through stranding of the Kadie on a treacherous sandbar at the river mouth on the 17th December 1865 was the beginning of the end for the ailing Barry firm and for Malagas. Although small coasters continued irregularly to visit Malagas, the spirit to progress had vanished. The eventual failure in the late 1880’s of the Barry’s empire heralded the beginning of a twenty year decline in the importance of Malagas as a commercial port and the age of prosperity was over.

Few realise the importance briefly played during the 1800’s by a number of South African rivers in the development of their immediate hinterland. Today East London’s Buffalo River is the country’s only river port. Port Alfred on the Kowie enjoyed only a brief life as a commercial port. The Breede river “ports” of Port Beaufort and Malagas fared only marginally less poorly. Following the loss of Barry’s purpose-built and costly steamer “Kadie” at the Breede mouth in 1865 she was not replaced, for improvements in inland communications, the development of Mossel Bay and the gradual silting-up of the of the entrance bar combined to bring about the decline of sea traffic to the Breede. Introduction in 1908 by the Cape Government of its contentious sea-competitive railway rates aggravated the situation. A number of attempts were made during the early 1900’s to reintroduce shipping service on the Breede but all were uneconomic and short-lived. The last ship to berth at Malagas was the steam coaster “Chub” in 1936. Today Port Beaufort and Port Alfred number among the country’s forgotten ports.

A reminder of our river’s past maritime shipping connection is the tanker “Breede”. She is owned by Unicorn Shipping , the tanker operating arm of JSE-listed Grindrod Ltd. This ship, along with her five identical sisters, was built in 2009/10. They operate internationally in the clean oil products and chemical trades. All carry names of South African rivers, the Berg, Kei, Kowie and Umgeni rivers’ giving their names to the other sisters.