|
 St Francis goes back a long way…In 1575 a Portuguese sailor named
the village after St Francis the Patron Saint of sailors. A lighthouse
was built in 1878 due to the treacherous reef at the point, and is now
a national monument.
In 1954 Leighton Hulett purchased the land on which St Francis Bay,
Santareme and Port St Francis now stand. It was not suitable for
farming so he established a primitive fishing camp for visitors. Some
years later, he exchanged a house and some land for a further 179
hectares of land on the Kromme River and visualised adding a Marina to
the fishing village. This dream became a reality when he dredged a
canal system and strict building codes were introduced, allowing only
white walls and either thatched or high pitched tiled roofs. These are
still adhered to today throughout the village.
 Santareme, a couple of minutes drive from the village, derives its
name from the hometown of the Portuguese sailor, Manuel de Perestrelo
and its own building codes stipulate red tiled roofs creating a
Mediterranean theme.
Today the village boasts an ever increasing number of local
businesses, local administrative offices and excellent sporting
facilities.
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