Hermanus’ Iconic Hotels and the Luyt family’s history

The present-day Hermanus area was originally a summer grazing area for livestock in the early 19th century. It was frequented by shepherds, who could live off the fish caught at Walker Bay. By mid-century, a small fishing village named Hermanuspietersfontein existed, named after Hermanus PIETERS, who found the spring in Westcliff in the 1830s. By the late 1850s, there were five fisherman’s families in the area. With the rapidly increasing influx of people, several hotels were opened. The first was Walter McFARLANE’s fishing cottage, which later became the Victoria Hotel. In 1892, Walter converted his original home into a double-storey hotel. It burnt down in 1954 and was rebuilt and renamed the Astoria Hotel. Today it is the Astoria Village shopping centre.

In 1896, a sanatorium was built by General Jan SMUTS’ brother-in-law, Dr Joshua HOFFMAN, and his brother Willem. Dr Hoffman had his consulting rooms in the sanatorium for local patients. He treated local and foreign tuberculosis patients who benefitted from the claim that Hermanus’ “champagne air” helped recovery. In 1930, the sanatorium was converted into a hotel by David ALLEN and named Windsor Hotel. Alex LUYT owned the hotel from 1940 to 1958.

In 1902, Walter McFARLANE (1845-1924) and his brother-in-law Valentine John BEYERS (1844-1918) bought land from Willem Hendrik Theunissen HOFFMAN and established the Marine Hotel. They were also joint owners of the Victoria Hotel. The Marine had 21 rooms and no running water or electricity in the bedrooms. There were two flush toilets on each floor. Visitors from Cape Town took a three-day ox-wagon ride to reach the hotel.

In 1915, the partnership between Walter and Valentine ended; Valentine retained ownership of the Marine, while Walter took over the Victoria. Valentine was a businessman and did not intend to manage the hotel himself. He appointed Pieter Johannes “PJ” LUYT as manager. Pieter was born in Cape Town in 1876. He married Margaret “Dollie” McVane Jenkins BEYERS, the daughter of Valentine BEYERS, in 1899. Although Pieter had briefly managed a hotel earlier in his career, in 1902 he was working as an insurance agent for the Southern Life Assurance Company in Potchefstroom. He had never seen Hermanus before he arrived in 1903.

The hotel cooks baked their own bread until it was railed in from Cape Town. Cakes and biscuits were also baked in the hotel kitchen. Fruit and vegetables were bought from local farmers, and extra supplies came by rail from Cape Town. Provisions were ordered in bulk.

In 1908, Pieter bought the Riviera Hotel from the POOLE family and appointed his brother Henry to manage it. Jack POOLE built the Riviera Hotel in 1904. He was an English immigrant who had married one of the granddaughters of Walter McFARLANE. The hotel stood close to Riviera Beach, now known as Grotto Beach. It was extended in 1917. The hotel was destroyed by fire in 1949 and rebuilt in 1952. Hermanus hotels suffered from frequent fires. The two that did not experience a serious fire are the two hotels that survive today: the Marine and the Windsor. All the others suffered damage or destruction from fire: The Bay View (1940); Riviera (1944); Cliff Lodge (1944); Victoria (1953); Central (1953); Seahurst (1956); Birkenhead (1969); and Royal (1981). Thatched roofs had a lot to do with this.

Henry managed the Riviera Hotel until 1934. A horse-drawn cart travelled between the two hotels twice daily. In 1920, the Marine’s own electricity plant was installed, and a bus service between the Marine and the Riviera started. Guests travelled free of charge. The bus also took canned milk, mail, parcels, and provisions to the Riviera. The Riviera became a timeshare in the 1980s and a share-block property in the 1990s. After closing in 1999, it was demolished to make way for a townhouse complex.

In 1913, 12 extra bedrooms were added to the Marine. There was still no running water or electricity in any of the rooms. Two bathrooms and two flush toilets were also added on each floor. Guests were provided with a jug of fresh drinking water each day in their rooms and a jug of hot water for ablutions in the mornings and evenings.

Within five years, Pieter was able to lease the hotel from his father-in-law and later bought it outright for £5 000.00 and free lodging for Valentine for the rest of his life. He had four children with Margaret before she died in 1914. In 1915 he married Susanna “Joey” VAN RHYN (1896-1985), a teacher at Klipskool in Hermanus.

In 1918, a ballroom with a sprung floor was imported from Europe for the Marine, and more bedrooms were added, as well as a bathroom block and a larger kitchen. In 1920, the local electrician, Swannie SWANEPOEL, installed the hotel’s own electricity plant. A tidal pool at the foot of the cliffs in front of the Marine was opened in 1924. Another wing was added to the hotel in 1930.

In the 1920s and 1930s, the hotel hosted grand affairs in its ballroom for the wealthy and famous. Among them was Sir William HOY, who stayed at the hotel annually for many years. In 1923, Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone, stayed there. Other well-known guests included Sir Patrick and Lady Duncan; Edward, Prince of Wales; Sir de Villiers GRAAFF; and C Louis LEIPOLDT. The artist Vladimir Grigoryevich TRETCHIKOFF visited The Marine Hotel with his wife and daughter in 1950 and 1951.

Pieter built his family a home in 1922 and called it Schoongezicht. It was on the corner of Main Road across from the hotel. Joey opened a florist shop in the Fisherman’s Cottage on the grounds. Schoongezicht was the family home from 1922 to 1985. Schoongezicht was sold in 1987, as the P.J. Luyt Testamentary Trust owned it, and under Pieter’s will, Joey had the use of it for her lifetime. It was demolished soon after being sold. The Birkenhead Apartments were built on the site. Often, when important guests visited Hermanus, the family would move out of Schoongezicht and into the hotel so that the guests could stay in Schoongezicht. When Prince Arthur of Connaught, a grandson of Queen Victoria and at the time the Governor-General of South Africa, visited Hermanus in 1923 to open the newly revived golf club, he stayed at Schoongezicht. A formal dance was held at the Marine Hotel that evening. The Earl of Athlone and Princess Alice first visited Hermanus in 1924 and again several times in the 1930s. After her husband’s death in 1957, Princess Alice visited South Africa six times between 1972 and 1981. She visited Hermanus several times while staying for prolonged periods with friends in Elgin, Stellenbosch, and Caledon.

The popularity of hotel holidays in the first decades of the 20th century saw several hotels built in Hermanus, including the Royal in 1900, the Marine in 1902, the Riviera in 1904, Bay View in 1921, Windsor in 1930, Ocean View in the 1940s, and Birkenhead in 1952. These hotel holidays were usually at least two weeks at a time. All meals and morning and afternoon tea were included in the tariff. The hotel offered daily programmes for adults and children, and it made all arrangements for activities outside its grounds. Dinners were usually formal black-tie affairs. The hotel offered party games, concerts, and other forms of entertainment in the evenings. The hotel usually had its own library.

Pieter died in January 1940. On the day of his funeral, all businesses were closed in Hermanus, and all flags hung at half-mast. Three lorries, piled high with wreaths, followed the hearse. The funeral procession was so long that cars were still leaving the St Peter’s church when the hearse had already reached the cemetery. Joey sold the Riviera Hotel in 1941. She renamed the Marine to Luyt’s Marine and managed it with the help of her daughters and Miss HODGKIN.

During World War II necessities were severely rationed or not available. The menus had to feature two meatless days a week. On another two days, only pork could be served. Sugar was rationed, and white flour was unobtainable. Allied troops arrived in Hermanus while on leave from ships that transported them to and from battlefields. Some were South Africans or foreign troops permanently stationed in the country, such as the Royal Air Force personnel from the Catalina flying boat station on the Bot River Estuary. The hotel kept some rooms permanently vacant for soldiers who had no way of booking in advance. Other servicemen slept in the billiard room, in the family’s own private sitting room, and in the sitting rooms of guests who had booked and paid for suites.

In 1947, Joey sold the hotel to Continental Hotels and Restaurants Pty Ltd. They appointed Eric Constantine COLBECK as manager. His wife helped him in his duties. Eric was born in Dewsbury, Yorkshire, in 1913. He married Lillian Margaret “Sally” BISHOP in 1939. He died in 2009 in Johnsonville, New Zealand. After his time at the Marine, he went to Wellington, New Zealand, in 1956 and played an important role in the hotel industry. He was the first general manager of the state-owned Tourist Hotel Corporation, where he imported skilled hotel managers and chefs. He started courses for doormen, housemaids and housekeepers, as well as barmen and waiters. He wrote several manuals for staff and management to understand guest requirements and etiquette, which were published in the book Wishes Anticipated. He retired in 1978.

In the 1950s, the hotel group purchased and demolished several cottages to the east of the Marine Hotel to build additional bedrooms.

In 1967, Swiss-born Werner HINDER of Cape Town’s Arthur’s Seat Hotel bought the Marine. Extensive alterations were undertaken, including the construction of a new wing, the San Marino. A modern block of rooms, a restaurant and an outdoor swimming pool were added. In 1968, the hotel became known as Hinder’s Marine. The manager at the time was Hans MÄJLMAN.

By 1970, the Marine was run down. Two of Pieter’s daughters, Berdine and Paddy, returned and attempted to get the hotel back on track. A succession of incompetent managers was appointed by the absent owner. Berdine kept a diary of the hotel’s life from 1971 to 1973.

By 1980, the dilapidated hotel, being run as a boarding house, was bought by David RAWDON for the reported sum of R210 000. He closed it for renovations, reopening in 1985. In 1986, the average price per night of a sea-facing suite for two people was R80 (room only). The hotel’s breakfast menu consisted of fresh fruit, fruit juice, bread, eggs, gammon, sausage, fried tomato and fried potato, toast, tea and coffee – all for R5!

In 1997, David sold the Marine to Elizabeth (Liz) MCGRATH for about R15 million. The last Rawdon Sunday lunch was held on 22 February 1998. David died in 2010 at the age of 85. Liz spent eight months restoring the oldest hotel in Hermanus, and the second-oldest building in town, to her vision. The Marine was reopened in October 1998 as a five-star hotel.

THE LUYT FAMILY

Pieter Johannes LUYT was born on 26 July 1876 in Cape Town, the son of Hendrik de Jongh LUYT and Petronella Wilhelmina ZOUTENDYK. He died on 18 January 1940 at Schoongezicht (stomach cancer). His first marriage was to Margaret “Dollie” McVane Jenkins BEYERS on March 7, 1899, in the school chapel in Houw Hoek.

Margaret was born on 25 September 1876, in Houw Hoek, the daughter of Valentine John BEYERS and Jessie (Jean) Monarch McFARLANE. She died on 18 June 1914 in Hermanus (cancer of the uterus).

Pieter and Margaret’s children:

1) Henry Valentine Colenso LUYT was born on 26 December 1899. He died on June 5, 1938. He married Edna Florence Elizabeth ELDER (1905–1969) on 30 October 1926 in Mowbray, Cape Town. They had one child, Peter John Irvine LUYT (1928–1995). In 1916, Henry left school and joined the Royal Air Corps in England to fight in World War I. After completing his training, he flew a couple of sorties over the German lines for about a month before being shot down. He crash-landed in Belgium and survived. After the war, he became involved in the family’s hotels. He used to drive a fast, loud car, referred to by the family as “Red Peril.” He had a circle of friends who owned private aircraft. His father persuaded him not to fly again. During the 1920s, his friends regularly flew to Hermanus over the summer season, landing on Grotto Beach and taking holidaymakers for flips over Walker Bay and the mountains. When Amy JOHNSON, the international aviatrix, visited Hermanus in 1932, she stayed at the Marine Hotel. That year, Amy had set the record for a solo flight from London to Cape Town. She stayed with Hendry HERMAN and his wife in Cape Town. They took Amy to Hermanus, where Henry and Amy spent hours talking about aeroplanes. When Henry died, his father was grief-stricken and gave up most of his business and community interests.

2) Jessie Petronella Annie Stuart LUYT was born on 13 February 1903. She died on October 8, 1957, at Kromrivier, Grabouw District. She married Jacobus Abraham de Villiers GROENEWALD (1906-1977) on 17 September 1930 in Cape Town.

3) Cornelia Petronella (Nellie) LUYT was born on 24 May 1905. She died on October 8, 1994, in Hermanus. She married James Scaife SHAW in 1928.

4) Margaret Winifred LUYT was born on June 8, 1909. She died on 09 November 1990 in Scotland. She married Thomas SMITH (1913-1989). They lived in Uganda in 1940.

Pieter’s second marriage was to Susanna “Joey” VAN RHYN (1896-1985) on 07 July 1915 in Vanrhynsdorp. Susanna was born on May 3, 1894, in Vanrhynsdorp, the daughter of Gerhardus Hendrik Josias Petrus VAN RHYN and Aletta Barendina ROUX. She died on 10 September 1985. Her family was affluent and politically influential.

Pieter and Susanna’s children:

1) Aletta Barendina (Berdine) LUYT was born on 17 May 1916. She died on 23 July 1980 in Hermanus. She married Edward Frederick ZION. She married Philip SPOONER. She had a guest house in Oranjezicht, Cape Town, in the 1960s. After she got divorced, her sister Geraldine bought the guest house.

2) Petrusa (Paddy) Johanna LUYT was born on 21 November 1917. She died on March 8, 1990, in Hermanus. She married Leonard Hamish GIBSON (1896-1964).

3) Geraldine Rowena LUYT was born on 29 May 1919. She died on 15 May 1980 in Hermanus. She married Julian Carlmeir WALLACH (1906–1998). They divorced in 1951. She married Alfred Furness THIRLWAY (1915–1985) on 19 September 1952 in Cape Town. After she got a brain tumour, she divorced, and the guest house was sold. She rented a house in Cape Town and ran it as a boarding house.

4) Joy Van Rhyn LUYT was born on July 8, 1922. She died on 18 July 1998. She married Leonard Price BOYCE (1919-1996) on 06 November 1943 in Cape Town. She lived in Kenya in the 1980s.

5) Constance (Connie) Marie LUYT was born on 14 July 1924. She died on June 9, 2004, in Cape Town. She married Peter Ashley BLYTH (1920–2005) on 31 August 1946 in Cape Town. They divorced in 1964. She married John Collard DE VRIES. They divorced in 1973.

Joey carried on living at Schoongezicht, with Mrs Clare “Tay” TAYLOR, a housekeeper who had worked at the Marine Hotel from 1904 to 1910. Clara was born in Yorkshire. She and her husband immigrated to South Africa before the Anglo-Boer War to work for James LOGAN at Matjiesfontein. Mr Taylor ran the restaurant at the Railway Station, and Clare worked as a housekeeper at the hotel. After a few years, they moved to Vryburg and then to Mafeking. After the siege of Mafeking, they trekked by ox-wagon to Kimberley, where they ran the station restaurant. Next they decided to go to Rhodesia. They became ill on the train from food poisoning and, on arrival at Bulawayo, were taken to hospital. When Clare recovered, she was told that her husband had died. Grief-stricken, she returned to Cape Town and was employed by Pieter and Joey as a housekeeper.

In retirement, Joey enjoyed embroidery and crocheting. She attended the United Church in Hermanus and supported Boy’s Town and the Rudolf Steiner School. In 1959, she went to London for a year to act as hostess to the South African ambassador, Dr Johannes Albertus VAN RIJN. In the 1960s, Joey rented out Schoongezicht and lived in Cape Town for a few years. In 1970, Joey dictated her story to her daughter Berdine. It covered the years 1915 to 1940. It was published as In Those Days: The Story of Joey van Rhyn Luyt at the Marine Hotel, Hermanus. Berdine typed about 200 pages and distributed copies among the family members. In 2014, it was published as a book. Berdine’s writings were published as books: A diary of the years 1942-1947, Luyt’s Marine: A diary of the years 1942-1947, and Werner Hinder’s White Elephant: a diary concerned with the hilarious happenings at the Marine Hotel during the years 1971-1973.

In the early 1900s two of Pieter’s brothers, Henry and Alewyn, left the Cape to work in the Transvaal gold mines. In 1913, Alewyn (1887-1977) was involved in an underground explosion and became blind. After hospitalisation in the Transvaal, he spent two years at the School for the Blind in Worcester, where he learnt to use a hand-knitting machine which produced men’s socks. Pieter trained Henry in hotel management, and he managed the Riviera Hotel. He later went on to manage two other hotels in Hermanus.

In March 1916, Alewyn moved in with Pieter and Joey, taking his knitting machine with him. He spent the days knitting on the stoep of the cottage next to the Marine Hotel. Olive Vera CREWS (1899-1948) arrived in Hermanus as governess to the LUYT children. Alewyn heard her playing the piano, and soon after her job was changed from governess to assisting Alewyn in his day-to-day living. They married in 1916 and had two children. As Alewyn’s knitting business outgrew the cottage, a house was built at 185 Main Road, and a large room was added for his business, Luyt’s Knitting Industry. At one stage, Alewyn employed 10 full-time staff and imported industrial knitting machines from the UK. He also sold via mail order. During World War II, the business did well with military orders. Olive died in 1948, and Alwyn carried on with the business. He closed it in the 1960s and left Hermanus to live with his daughter Edith’s family in Pinelands. He died in 1977.

The Birkenhead Hotel was another LUYT venture. After selling the Esplanade and Windsor hotels, Pieter’s brother, Henry (Hendrik), and his son, John Rene de Jongh LUYT, bought the VON BLOMMESTEIN property in 1951. Henry had made a success of the Riviera Hotel and had subsequently bought and renovated the Esplanade Hotel. He was managing it profitably with his son John. They built and furnished a luxury hotel incorporating the old house, which cost £90,000. The hotel was opened on 24 October 1952 with Nettie LUYT and two of her sons as managers. By 1955, the company that was created for the project had to be liquidated. The Paarl Board of Executors auctioned the hotel with an asking price of £90 000. The best offer received was £30 000. The DE KOCK brothers from Rhodesia privately purchased the hotel in early 1956. They appointed Jack CARSTENS and his wife as the hotel managers. The Carstens built up a reputation for their catering. A fire in 1968 destroyed one wing of the hotel, yet it underwent rapid restoration. In December 1968, the hotel was sold to Eric LE ROUX and Andrew NORMAN. It remained popular throughout the 1970s, until a syndicate bought the property. They intended to convert the hotel into a holiday sectional title scheme. By the time they had demolished the hotel, the market for such projects had fallen, and the development never took place. The site was vacant until two private houses were built in the 1990s. The houses were re-incorporated into the present Birkenhead House Hotel.