SIMONSTOWN

Afrikaans Simonstad, town and naval base, Western Cape province, South Africa. It is located on the eastern side of the Cape Peninsula, on False Bay of the Atlantic Ocean, 25 miles (40 km) south of Cape Town. Named for Governor Simon van der Stel, it was a Dutch naval anchorage from 1741, and its harbour served as a refuge for merchant ships and whalers. In 1814 it became headquarters of the British South Atlantic Naval Squadron, and in 1957 the jurisdiction of the naval facilities was transferred to South Africa. The port, whose operations were considerably expanded in the 1970s, is South Africa's principal naval base. An adjacent surveillance and communications centre (opened in 1973) tracks much of the South Atlantic and South Indian oceans. The town of Simonstown is compressed between mountains and the sea. Its historical landmarks include the original naval cemetery, the Residency (1776), Admiralty House (1814), and St. Francis of Assisi Church (1814, rebuilt 1834), the first English church in South Africa. The town's harbour is also a haven for deep-sea pleasure craft. Pop. (1985) 4,373.