The Legacy of Jacob Daniels, the water tower and Kommetjie
The decommissioned water tower in Kommetjie and the role of a long-time resident, Jacob Daniels, is among the topics of interest that will be explored during a heritage walking tour on Saturday 19 September.
“This water tower was built by Mr Jacob Daniels (1900-1983) who lived here in Kommetjie with his family until they were forced to move in 1972 under the Group Areas Act.”
These words are painted on the western side of the crumbling concrete water tower in honour of Jacob Daniels and his long-standing role as a farmer and water bailiff in the community.
The street where Daniels and his family lived before their forced removal to Ocean View is named after him. However, only his first name is honoured in Jacob Ave, lacking the full surname dignity accorded to other pioneers in the village.
In 2023, as a symbol of memory supported by the KRRA Social Fabric Group, local artist Chip Snaddon used the water tower — a vital component of Kommetjie’s 1960s infrastructure — as a canvas for an iconic elephant mural and the commemorative text.
The structure has since become a symbolic catalyst for remembrance, building on the sparse accounts documenting the Daniels family's role in Kommetjie’s development during apartheid.
Jacob Daniels is mentioned briefly in the 2002 book A Century of Kommetjie, and also The Story of Kommetjie coffee table book:
Jacob Daniels (1900-1983)
“Jacob Daniels moved to Kommetjie with Jan de Villiers, who farmed vegetables along the Bokramspruit. He was employed by Kommetjie Estates as the local water bailiff, to maintain the windmills and later the electric pump which supplied Kommetjie’s reticulated water. He built a house in Jacob Ave. He grew his vegetables where the Fisherman’s Cove development now stands, and also became the beach supervisor from the Bokramspruit to Klein Slangkop and beyond. Later, under the Group Areas Act, he and his family had to move to Ocean View.”
These snippets are now being supplemented by research and oral histories. During Heritage Day commemorations last year, the Wag ‘n Bietjie bench project was unveiled, paying tribute to three dispossessed families – the Jacobs, Allens and the Franckes - who were forcibly removed after Kommetjie was declared a Whites-only area.
A District Six Museum podcast records testimonies from two of Daniels’ three surviving daughters, Johanna Williams and Louisa Layters. Louisa describes the family’s link to the water supply: “We had no taps, no running water. We had the fountain. My mother {Louisa} did her washing there. As children, we would go with daddy to the reservoir {the water tower}, there was a building where you could lock the door. Inside was electricity; we would switch on the water, and at night would switch it off. There was a ladder to see how far the water was.”
A KRRA article based on an interview with the late John Daniels and Johanna Williams details how their father helped build Kommetjie's first gravel road (Benning Drive), located underground water, dug five wells, erected and maintained windmills and pumps, laid pipes, and helped build the water tower. Though he bought three adjacent plots, he never received the title deeds. As his children married, he built each a small house on the spare plots.
An accomplished agriculturist, Jacob Daniels ran a large vegetable garden that supplied neighbouring establishments, owned three horses, a cart, a wagon, and later a Studebaker. “At night if a midwife was needed in the village and the cars wouldn't start, Mr Daniels would light his lanterns and drive his horse-cart to Noordhoek to fetch Miss August the midwife.”
Decades later, family members received a small sum as part of the restitution process, though this could never compensate for the pain and suffering of their loss.
In a memoir titled “My Bitter-Sweet Memories,” Louisa Layters recalled childhood pleasures: “My mother used to char twice a week at the Kommetjie Hotel. As children we played at Long Beach and climbed the sand dunes. We went for long walks to the shipwreck, Kakapo, and spent hours on the rocks taking off mussels and all sorts of seafood for the pot. We also used to hike up the mountain to a place called Cobra Camp where the military cannons were kept and the remains are still there today.”
She also recalled apartheid's exclusions: “We were never allowed to swim in the Kom or in the pool, or walk on the walls as it was reserved for 'Whites Only'. There also was a dairy where everyone had to bring their own bottle for milk. Us Coloureds had to wait until last as it was based on Whites first, and not first-come, first-served.”
Louisa’s son, Rowan Layters, appreciated that these memories are finally being documented. While growing up in Ocean View, his mother pointed out the tower and house when passing through Kommetjie.
Layters said: “But we didn’t understand what it all meant. Because of the hurt of being forcibly removed, my mom and her siblings didn’t want to share stories about Kommetjie. When they had afternoon tea together, they would ask us to leave the room, tears would be shed by our aunts … it was an emotional time, it wasn’t something they spoke of freely.
“We are only now realising all the great work that my grandfather did for the community. His contributions went beyond being a water bailiff. He helped build the foundations of the Kommetjie that we see today."
Recent memorial initiatives have helped his mother open up. During Heritage Month in September and ahead of her 85th birthday next month, the family stopped at the water tower to reflect on their roots in Kommetjie and take a few photos with her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
“I am grateful that my mom speaks more about the history now," Layters said. "They were almost unspoken truths as we were growing up. Despite the pain associated with the family’s history, we are grateful to those who continue to ensure these stories are not forgotten ... to ensure future generations can understand the contributions made by families such as ours. It has been a healing process for her.”
He expressed concern about the fragile, dilapidated state of the water tower. “It would be great to preserve it; it has quite a rich history,” he said.
See details for the free Kommetjie Heritage Gathering below, and, for planning purposes, you can book here.
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