Cape Town – Malgas residents in Swellendam are fighting tooth-and-nail to save a 100-year-old hand-drawn pontoon ferry after they learnt that it was being decommissioned to be replaced with a motorised one.
Resident Debi Taylor said the community was not happy with the decision as they treasured the pontoon.
“The hand-drawn pontoon that crosses the Breede River outside the town of Swellendam has been in operation for over 100 years.
"The provincial government has made the decision to replace this historic pontoon with an unsightly motorised monstrosity. This decision was made without consultation with the local public or the local heritage society.
"The new structure is already on site and that is how we the locals became aware of it,” Taylor said.
A petition to save the pontoon was initiated by resident Nicholas Myburgh, which had 3115 signatures by yesterday.
“It is probably the oldest, and only manually operated cross-river ferry in all of South Africa. Here in the Overberg, it is as part of our heritage as biltong, red wine, or a weekend braai. It is also an important tourist attraction and underlines the uniqueness of our region.
“The unilateral termination of the historic and unique Malgas ferry amounts to the destruction of an important heritage resource and damages the tourism potential of the entire Overberg,” Myburgh said.
The provincial Department of Transport and Public Works and the Overberg District Municipality did not respond to requests for comment yesterday.
In an email correspondence with Taylor, seen by the Cape Times, the department said the pontoon had reached the stage where maintenance was not economical or cost-effective.
It also said it had met with the SA Heritage Resources Agency (SAHRA) on July 26, which had noted certain requirements had to be met and satisfied before the pontoon could be decommissioned.
While this process was in progress, the department said it did not mean that the new pontoon could not be used while the historic one was pulled/decommissioned.