Simon’s Town is situated on the Western side of False Bay, which is a marine ecosystem world-renowned for its marine biodiversity. With the remaking of our 'Early History Room', The Simon's Town Museum aimed to showcase the diversity of marine plants and animals occurring in False Bay. These include, sponges, sea anemones, sea slugs and a myriad of small animals to our huge Southern Right Whales, Humpbacks and White Sharks – and everything in between. Our reefs, kelp forests and even shipwrecks offer shelter to a wealth of marine life forms, unrivalled anywhere in the world. For this reason, world famous marine biologist, Dr Sylvia Earle chose False Bay as one of South Africa’s ‘Hope Spots’ in 2014. She emphasised the need to create awareness of the threats faced by marine life in False Bay and to grow public support for the protection of this most unique marine ecosystem.

It goes without saying that the richness and diversity of species is also to be found in our terrestrial Fynbos biome too. Based on the environmental and cultural diversity of Simon’s Town, we embarked on rethinking how to ‘contain’ while simultaneously display the historical nuances that characterise the landscape, both marine and terrestrial.

The sources of nourishment that the marine and terrestrial biodiversity offered, was the allure of the bay to indigenous khoi, the Dutch East India Company, and later the British Royal Navy. From deposits of lime from midden mounds created by the indigenous khoi, to the whaling hooks attached to boulders in Simon’s Town; the historical traces of the migration of people through Simon’s Town can be read in the landscape.  The themes that are explored in the new exhibition include:

• Fauna and Flora
• Marine Biodversity (including fishing and whaling)
• Nourishment and Healing
• Indigenous Khoi
• Geological formation of the bay.
• Social histories of the environment

The exhibition and expo was made possible by a number of organisations, groups and individuals.