Pringle Bay, named after Rear Admiral Thomas Pringle in 1797, is famous for its rocky shores and the cave, “Drostersgat”, which was used by prisoners and runaway slaves as a hide-away in the 18th century.
During the 1930′s land in the Hangklip area between the Palmiet River and the Rooiels River was acquired by three business partners, Harold Porter, Arthur Youldon and Jack Clarence. They called it the Hangklip Beach Estates and divided the area into three townships, namely Betty’s Bay, Pringle Bay and Rooiels and sold off plots to interested parties. Until the Second World War, when the coastal road from Gordon’s Bay (named Clarence Drive after Jack Clarence) was built to service the radar stations at Stony Point and at Hangklip, this area had been accessed via Sir Lowry’s Pass and Kleinmond with a pontoon crossing the Palmiet River.
Pringle Bay was also influenced by the Second World War. A radar station was first built in 1942 and used to monitor shipping. There were two radar screens, one called Hangklip, behind the Hangklip Hotel and the other one was called Silversands, looking out over the later lighthouse site. Silversands radar station was ‘manned’ by women and the Hangklip Hotel was built as barracks for the technicians and watchers.
Pringle Bay Village
A lifestyle
