A LITTLE RIVER WITH A BIG IMPACT

continued

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BRIDGING THE KNYSNA RIVER

Knysna has been a commercial centre from the early 1800's but any approach by land was hampered by the many deep crags and rivers of the Garden Route. For travellers during the Colonial period, the most efficient method of transport to or from the Southern Cape was by sea, and construction began on the first road from George via Knysna to Port Elizabeth only in the 1860's - although the work was so slow that it took until 1885 for the road to reach as far east as Humansdorp.

This first road crossed the Knysna River at Old Drift and became impassable when the River was in flood. Earliest attempts at bridging the River were unsuccessful - a wooden bridge built in 1895 became unsafe within only ten years, and an iron bridge built in 1915 was washed away within six months. It was therefore only with the opening of the Red Bridge, at the foot of Phantom Pass, that Knysna finally had a safe and permanent land connection to the outside world.

The present day White Bridge became the main crossing point for vehicles when the N2 (or National Road) was built in the 1940's. The White Bridge was widened when the N2 was upgraded in the mid-80's.

AN EARLY SHIP YARD AND A REMARKABLE DISCOVERY

The first shipyard in Knysna was built in 1820 in the region of what is now the Waterfront - but two fires razed it to the ground, and the project was abandoned in 1824 before even a single craft was built.

In 1826 George Rex - 'the founder of Knysna' - erected a slipway at Westford on the banks of the Knysna River. Here he completed Knysna's first ship: the 139 ton, 73-foot Knysna, a brig - or two-masted square- rigger - which sailed on her maiden voyage in 1831 and continued in service until 1844, when she was wrecked off the coast of Britain.

The slipway was abandoned after the launch, but a chance discovery in 1946 lead to the recovery of some of the stinkwood beams with which it had been built. The timber was still in excellent condition, and most of it was used to build the triangular-shaped table and fifteen chairs which now stand in Knysna's council chambers. Some of the material was used to make two scale models of the Knysna - one of which now stands in the reception area of the Municipal Offices.

The other is displayed in the Ann Bryant Gallery in East London.

PROTECT THE CATCHMENT - PROTECT THE LAGOON

The way in which we use the land in the catchment area has an immediate and forceful impact on water quality in the Knysna River and will ultimately influence the sustainability of the Knysna Lagoon.

Of particular concern is the introduction of silt to the estuarine environment. Siltation is caused when monoculture - growing single-species crops on large pieces of land - plantation forestry, the construction of gravel roads or overgrazing strip the land of its natural cover and leave it open and vulnerable to soil erosion.

Silt suffocates the flora on the Lagoon floor and increases turbidity (the number of particles in the water), which reduces light penetration, decreasing plant production and excluding visual feeders. If siltation is allowed to continue unchecked, the result would be a 'dead' body of water - which would be tragic for an estuary which is "biologically the richest" in the Cape.

But all is not doom and gloom - because with careful land-use planning and eco-sensitive development, we can ensure the continued health of the Knysna Lagoon.