81 original photographs; 6 half photographs; laid down onto both sides of 4 cards. The cards measure: 76cm x 53cm. Photographs are of various sizes, most of which are arranged to form panoramas.

The dates spanning from 1881 - 1891.

The V&A Waterfront is built on the original harbour established by Jan van Riebeeck in 1654, with the breakwater construction starting in 1860 under Prince Alfred (hence the "Alfred" in V&A).

The use of convict labour can be seen. The original prison was built in 1859 for convicts from Britain at the suggestion of John Montagu who was the colonial secretary to the Cape of Good Hope from 1843 to 1852. They were transported to The Cape to work on the construction of the breakwater which would allow the harbour which is now the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront to be built. The remains of a treadmill on which prisoners were punished can still be seen.

In June 1858, serious winter storms, which were a common occurrence, wrecked over 30 vessels. Therefore, Lloyds of London refused to cover ships spending the winter in Table Bay. On a sunny day in September 17, 1860 Midshipman HRH Prince Alfred, Queen Victoria's second son, tipped the first load of stone to start construction of the breakwater for Cape Town's first harbour to make it a safe haven all year round for passing ships.

In November 1988, Victoria and Alfred Waterfront (Pty) Ltd was established as a wholly owned subsidiary by Transnet Ltd.

R25,000