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1488
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used as a "pantry," to feed sailors on passing ships.
also used as a postbox—letters were left under a stone.
used as a prison for miscreant sailors.
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1652-->1806
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continued to be used as a pantry.
became increasingly important as a prison, mainly for Cape residents, both black and white, on criminal sentences and for political prisoners from the East Indies.
natural resources on the island began to be mined, such as limestone, shells, stone, and slate.
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after 1806
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used as a prison, under British control, housing soldiers under sentences of transportation or banishment; Cape residents—who were considered particularly dangerous—on criminal sentences; and political prisoners from the frontiers of Britain's growing colony.
the island was sometimes used to house quarantine cases, to prevent the spread of smallpox and measles within the colony.
used as well to house some insane people.
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1846
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prison closed
prisoners sent to mainland convict stations to do hard labour.
old prison buildings converted to a hospital, the General Infirmary, by the colonial government. The General Infirmary was split into three sections: chronically sick, lunatics and lepers.
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1931
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lepers left island
the island stood empty, until the outbreak of World War II.
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1939
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troops sent to the island to guard the entrance to Table Bay.
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1945
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garrison reduced.
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1946
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a coastal artillery school began operating from the the island.
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1951
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the SA Marine Corps controlled the island
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1955
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the SA Navy took charge of the "SAS Robbeneiland".
island was taken over by Department of Prisons.
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1961-->1991
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island became a maximum security prison, housing prisoners considered the most threatening to the Apartheid government.
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1991
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presently a museum.
run by the Department of Arts and Culture.
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