Creating a Memory Wall

We all have a "memory wall", perhaps in a traditional photo album, perhaps on our phones and various digital devices. Or perhaps only in our minds.
A place where we keep the treasured pictures that chart our lives and the lives of those we love.



But how about a memory wall for a whole town? Visible to all who pass through?

This is what the small seaside town of Simon's Town, setting for my novel The Girl from Simon's Bay, has done. The Memory Wall has been created to convey the town's colourful and dramatic history since it was established over two hundred years ago as a tiny community serving sailing ships anchored in Simon's Bay. A series of laminated "posters" has been hung on a section of the wall that surrounds the old dockyard explaining the origins and development of the area. You can stroll along and read about the early days of the Royal Navy in Simon's Town, its role as a crucial naval base during the second World War, the history of the churches in town, the various communities that grew up on the mountainside, the devastating evictions during the apartheid era and the path to the modern navy that now fills the harbour. It's heartening to see how many visitors do indeed spend time along the Memory Wall, gaining insights into the origin of the town and its seafaring heritage.

Wherever we call home, it's right to remember where we've come from, even if the memories are sometimes hard to process. Can we learn from what has gone before and not repeat the mistakes of the past? Hopefully so... in this case with the help of illustrated history lessons lining the harbour wall of a small town close to the southern tip of Africa.