50 Years On: The Marina da Gama Story

50 YEARS ON: THE MARINA DA GAMA STORY

This book tells the story of how a pioneering vision transformed an uninhabitable, windswept sandscape between Prince George Drive and Lakeside into one of South Africa’s most beautiful and vibrant waterside communities.

Co-authored by Gerald Rosenthal, the project’s original civil engineer, and local resident Patrick McKenna, the book traces the Marina’s development from an idea conceived during a 1968 reconnaissance flight over Zandvlei to Anglo American’s withdrawal from the project in 1975, and the emergence of the Marina community.

Along the way, the book recounts the three great engineering challenges the team faced: taming the wind, managing the water, and building the canal banks.

The book also features interviews with the visionaries responsible for bringing the Marina to life, including founding architect and urban planner David Jack, who later masterminded Cape Town’s iconic V&A Waterfront.

The 80-page, full-colour hardback publication is illustrated with rare vintage images, advertising material, and construction plans drawn from the Marina’s extensive archive.