The area was originally a flat coastal plain to the fore of Signal Hill and included several dunes. Earlier maps also describe the area as the site of a “hottentot village”. The inhabitants are believed to have been descendants of the Khoisan and they would have farmed on Green Point Common before the arrival of European settlers. The Common became a grazing area for the Dutch East India Company and the area was then known as “Waterplaats” (waterfront) by Dutch settlers. The Dutch made an unsuccessful attempt to construct a mole into Table Bay to protect the anchorage. This was funded through tax levies and the work was completed by slaves, convicts and employees of the Dutch East India Company. However, the mole was battered and destroyed by Atlantic Sea storms.[