Ysterplaat, Cape Town

Ysterplaat is an old Northern Suburb of Cape Town and home to an Airforce Base, School's and a Museum; amongst many Churches and a nearby Synagogue. This Area is situated very near the City of Cape Town. It is very close to the neighbouring Suburbs of: 'Brooklyn, Paarden Island, Maitland, Milnerton and Century City.' It is not known precisely known when aviators started using Ysterplaat as a landing field. However in the Municipal Census of 1810, it is listed that on the 31st December 1810, Willem Caesar and a widow; ''Priem'' with her two children are residents at: 'd`Yzere Plaat'. This was a hay Farm belonging to a Mr. J. P. Eksteen and that they owned two draft oxen. Some time later as Cape Town expanded, the Area then became known as Maitland Common and according to the Title Deeds for AFB Ysterplaat, that some of the property eventually belonged to Sir de Villiers Graaf. An initiative by the Cape Town City Council to provide a Municipal Airport for the Town. This led to what we know today as: 'Air Force Base Ysterplaat'. The name of the farm, and subsequently the name of the Base, translated into English as “Iron Plate”. It is suspected that from as early as 1915 civilian pilots were using the grass Airfield. An Airport Managers House was erected in 1917 and occupied by Mr FAN Duk who worked for Aero Services as a pilot and manager of the Airport. The building is now occupied by the AFB Ysterplaat Transport Section. Next to it was erected; 'the 1920 Hangar'. This was subsequently moved to the Airforce Museum, in Ysterplaat The SA Air Force's relationship goes way back to when the airforce started what was then known as the SAAF Diamond Mail Service in 1925. At the request of the Department of Mines, the SAAF instituted regular mail flights between Maitland and Alexander Bay. 'Union Airways', started by a Major A.M. Miller, began operating a scheduled airmail service which used Brooklyn as its Cape Town terminus from 1927 for about two years before the operations were moved to Wingfield.