During a great storm in Table Bay in 1865, 19 ships were stranded. Amongst the many schooners was the Kehrwieder, the ship of Captain Johann Heinrich Ferdinand Parow. After being stranded, Captain Parow settled down in the Cape of Good Hope and married Johanna Wilhelmina Timmerman, the daughter of the family that helped Captain Parow after being stranded on the Cape coast.
Parow quickly realised the potential value of the Tyger Valley area north of Cape Town and that the area held great opportunities for cattle trade. Captain Parow soon moved inland to this area and started selling ground in the area which is today known as Parow, which built up a great deal of wealth for the Captain.
Parow died on 4 December 1910, in his house in Cassibelle, Maitland. His wife, JW Timmerman, died ten years prior. They did not have any children.
Captain Parow's telescope is in the Town Hall of Parow.
