Gansbaai and it's origin

Gansbaai is named after the Egyptian geese, home to many of them. Samson Dyers who lived on the Island that bears his name used it as a base to store his seal skins during 1807 to 1840. In 1881 Johannes Cornelis settled in Gansbaai to fish.

Cornelis Wessels is claimed to be the first, settled on this coastal stretch of the farm "Strandfontein" (Fountain on the beach). The center point was the freshwater fountain next to the present harbor which provided the small but successful community with drinking water. This fountain was home to wild geese and soon the place was known as "Gansgat" (goose-hole), later changed into the more respectable Gansbaai (Goose bay).