the name "mouille" comes from the french word for an anchoring ground. in the early 18th century ships were often swept ashore in table bay and the then governor decided that a breakwater (mouille in french) was needed to protect vessels at anchor. work began in 1743. all farmers who delivered their goods to the city were required to load up their wagons with stones, drive out to mouille point and offload. slaves and convicts were used to build the breakwater but after three years of labour and high seas, just 100m had been built and the project was abandoned. in 1781 the french arrived and built a battery near the unfinished mouille, naming it mouille point battery.