title: Selborne Graving Dock
text: # Selborne Graving Dock
  
  The Selborne Graving Dock is a dry dock in Simon's Town, South Africa. It is situated within the Naval Base Simon's Town. It is named for William Palmer, 2nd Earl of Selborne, the High Commissioner for Southern Africa at the time of construction.
  
  ## History
  
  On 27 July 1900; 123 years ago (1900-07-27), a tender for the construction of a yard was awarded to Sir John Jackson Ltd. The construction used Portland cement from England, as well as granite blocks from Norway. The foundation stone was laid on 15 November 1906 (1906-November-15), and the dry dock was opened on 3 November 1910; 112 years ago (1910-11-03), by the Duke of Connaught.
  
  The Dockyard (including the dry dock) was handed to South Africa in 1957, as part of the Simonstown Agreement.
  
  ## Images
  
  * Construction in 1906
  * The ships crests painted on the wall
  * The dock split to allow two ships to enter
  