Who was Cranko Road in Cape Town named for?
When I was told that that there is a Cranko Road in Cape Town, I followed some leads back to a ship’s master, Johannes Karel Krankoor. In 1652 he arrived from the Netherlands in his ship that was part of the fleet, led by Jan van Reebeek on behalf of the Dutch East India Company. They sailed to the strategically valuable harbour at the southern tip of Africa. Krankoor was granted land, and he built a home in District Six, the Cape Town suburb now called Observatory. He married his seamstress, Dorothea, and changed his name to Cranko, ostensibly to avoid matrimonial repercussions from Holland! The road where he and Dorthea lived was named after him – and Cranko Road remains to this day.
Can anyone verify this story? I have put the facts together from reliable sources, but any further information would be welcome!
