In 1648 when the Dutch ship the Haarlem, was driven ashore at Bloubergstrand, the crew managed to salvage the cargo and the ships stores which contained vegetable seed. Anticipating a long wait to be rescued, they sowed the seed and were soon able to reap crops which supplemented the food they had been bartering from the Hottentots.
Six months later, they were rescued and two of the survivors, Leendert Janz and Nicolaas Proot submitted a report to the Dutch East India Company stressing the advantages that could be derived from a refreshment station at the Cape.
The report was accepted and Commander Jan Van Riebeek set sail from the Netherlands in 1651 and arrived in Table Bay in 1652
From Van Riebeek's diary, we learn that master gardener, Hendrik Boom, prepared the first ground for sowing of seed on the 29th of April 1652
Today, The Company's Garden is home to magnificent stands of both indigenous and exotic vegetation

The architecture of the Bo-Kaap is the successful blending of the Cape Dutch and British traditions. The use of classical forms and details, similarly proportioned doors and windows and the technique of covering all walls with lime plaster and lime wash allow the houses to blend into an overall pleasing picture
The ancestors of the Cape Muslims residing in the Bo-Kaap, arrived in the Cape from approximately 1658 onwards as slaves, political exiles and convicts from Africa, Madagascar, Ceylon and Indonesia. These people shared two bonds - most of them were Muslims before they arrived and they shared a common language, Malay or Malay-Portuguese. This led to the misnomer implying that most Muslims came from Malaysia and should therefore be referred to as Malays. The "Cape Malays" prefer to be known as Cape Muslims.
Among the Indonesian slaves were excellent craftsmen who developed into a sophisticated group and were skilled and sought-after joiners, bricklayers, shoemakers, tailors and cooks.
These highly sought-after skills played an integral part in the development of Cape Town.