In 1671 the ship "Isselsteijn" anchored in False Bay to take in provisions. In search of a suitable harbour for Company ships, Simon van der Stel made a survey of the peninsula's coastline in1687 and isolated the bay which he considered had been the one at which the "Isselsteijn" had anchored as the most suitable and called Simon's Bay.
In 1742 the Lords LVII ordered that buildings be erected in False Bay for storing anchors, ropes and other provisions for ships which would anchor in the bay annually between mid-May and mid-August. After Baron van Imhoff personally visited False Bay in 1743, he instructed that a storehouse, a hospital and living quarters for officials be erected in Simon's Bay. Sergeant J Plas (Blas) was appointed as Post Holder and in 1745 promoted to Signal Bearer to give greater authority to the position.
Since the duties connected with the position concerned mainly the supply of ships provisions and therefore comprised largely clerical rather than military duties, the title Standard Bearer and Post Holder was altered in 1762 to Sub-Purchaser and Post Holder.
In 1785 the Sub-Purchaser and Post Holder, C Brand, was appointed to the Court of Justice although he was unable to attend the meetings and in February 1786 he was promoted to Purchaser and Post Holder.
To remove doubt as to the importance of the position, especially from foreign nations, and to grant it greater authority, Brand's title changed to Resident and Post Holder in May 1786, which it remained until the First British Occupation in 1795.
In April 1796 the town, already known as Simon's Town, was occupied by British forces and the commanding officer, apart from his duties as military commandant, was also made responsible for the general welfare of the district.
In 1799 Simon's Town was declared a ward under a sole wardmaster as an aid to the military commandant in preserving the peace. The wardmaster was chiefly responsible for compiling lists of inhabitants, their occupations and especially strangers in the ward. Suspicious persons were to be reported to the commanding officer and murders, thefts, etc to the fiscal. He was also responsible for the supervision of roads and the abattoir.
During the Batavian administration the military commandant and wardmaster were still responsible for the military and civil supervision of the area.
After the Second British Occupation in 1806 Major Tucker was appointed Commandant and wardmaster Roselt Adjunct-Fiscal. The Commandant was to assist the Adjunct-Fiscal in preserving the peace and interfere as little as possible except in cases of obvious neglect of duty or corruption which had to be reported to the Governor. He was also to assist in receiving public revenue and report to the Governor concerning shipping and ships' passengers and roads and buildings.
In 1814 the area south of the line from Muizenberg to Noordhoek was ceded to the Cape district and the district of Simon's Town, under a Government Resident, established. The Resident had the same powers as a landdrost and had to report to the commandant. The district consisted of two field-cornetcies and Simon's Town itself was divided into two wards, each under a wardmaster with the same duties as the wardmasters in Cape Town. The solemnisation of marriages and trial of criminal and civil cases of the district were still, however, the responsibility of the various courts in Cape Town. In 1824 two heemrade were appointed. Together with the Resident they formed a matrimonial court as well as a court for trying cases, making Simon's Town a full-fledged magistracy.
With the revision of the judicial system in 1827 the court of the Resident and Heemrade at Simon's Town was abolished and a magistrate appointed. No civil commissioner was appointed and for fiscal purposes the district fell under the Civil Commissioner of Cape Town. The resident magistrate would form a matrimonial court together with his clerk.
In 1834 the court and office of the Resident Magistrate of Simon's Town was abolished and the district incorporated with the district of Cape Town. A police court under a justice of the peace still functioned in Simon's Town but only in cases punishable by not more than thirty-nine strokes, fourteen days imprisonment or forty shillings fine and complaints in minor criminal cases.
In 1848 the court of the resident magistrate for the district of Simon's Town was re-established. Fiscal independence was only granted in 1879 when Simon's Town was declared a separate division.
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