The iconic “Glencairn” sign on the mountainside has been saved thanks to the 1st Fish Hoek sea scouts.
The rocks that have been on the mountainside since 2013 were in the line of fire from contractors excavating the mountainside as part of a new luxury residential estate behind the historic Glencairn Hotel.
Glencairn resident Greta Jacques said she had initially come up with the idea of the rocks on the mountain and just rolled with it.
At the time, she said, she had been involved with the hotel, and along with her father-in-law and a group of community members they had managed to make the sign that would later become much loved by locals.
She said she could not remember who had painted it initially, but Glencairn resident Dane Cherry had maintained and painted the rocks for the past five years.
The rocks had last been painted in December 2023.
1st Fish Hoek sea scout Troy van Eck said he often helped out at the Glen Road Community Market and had heard residents talk about the rocks being destroyed.
He said he had then decided to recreate the sign higher up on the mountain as part of his service project for first-class advancement.
“The rocks are very precious to the community, and it sounded like a wonderful initiative with sentimental value,” Troy said.
He said he had then contacted the contractor and had put together a team of scouts for the job.
The team constructed a new sign, from scratch, higher up on the mountainside on Friday January 24. Troy said it had taken them three hours to do.
1st Fish Hoek Sea Scouts troop scouter Peter Nielsen said it was amazing what 16 young energetic scouts could do.
He said some of the scouts had been sent to the bottom of the mountainside to take photos to make sure the rocks were in the right position.
“We looked at the original scale and made do with the area we had available,” he said.
Troy said he was proud of what they had achieved.
A few days later, a local cleaning service company painted the rocks and a local hardware store donated the paint.
The original sign has since been destroyed by an excavator.
