Jeffreys Bay is named after Captain Jeffreys who sailed his cargo ship up and down the East Coast of South Africa on trading expeditions in the 1840's. During one of these trips an epidemic of scurvy broke out aboard his ship. He was forced to land his vessel and soon he realized the potential of the place where he had landed and built a primitive port on what is now the main beach. He erected the first house, a huge double-story mansion that was always known as "The White House" in 1850 and his family became the first White family to settle in the town.In 1852 Captain Jeffrey bought erf numbers 1,2,9 and 10 for a total of 79 British pounds.The Reilly family were a prominent family who first came to Jeffreys Bay in 1928 and Ken Reilly explained that, "Much of the building material for this house actually came from the timbers of Captain Jeffrey's ship." Mr Reilly showed me an original carved balustrade from the White House, together with the original ship's barometer, now 150 years old. Cheron Kraak was the owner of the Billabong franchise in South Africa from its inception as well as the Country Feeling clothing industry for over thirty years Cheron has a long and fascinating history. She became known as the "unofficial mayoress of Jeffreys Bay" and has won numerous awards, such as the Eastern Cape's Woman of Distinction in 2004. She was hailed the Kouga Business Person Of the Year in 2005 and again in 2006. Her Billabong Clothing company was awarded the Khuza award as the "Best Brand Communicator" in the teen market in 2006. Cheron Kraak owned some 16 shops through South Africa and Billabong goods are sold through some 3,000 shops worldwide. In 2007 she handed back the franchise to Billabong Australia.What is interesting is the way in which Cheron started her empire with nothing. By sheer hard work and determination she built up an awesome clothing empire that generates and co-ordinates the famous Billabong Surfing contests every year at Super Tubes.Jeffreys Bay also hosts the yearly Billabong Pro -32 of the world's top ranked professional surfers visits Jeffreys Bay yearly during July for the R3 million Billabong Pro J-Bay, Africa's only stop on the ASP World Tour.
Contact: Susan Van Tonder 083 565 2160

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