Strand was established as a holiday and fishing resort in 1714. Before being known as Strand, the settlement was known as Mostert's Bay. In 1970, during the notorious Apartheid era, all black, coloured and Asian people were forcefully removed when the town was classified as a white-only resort. Included in the communities forced to leave at this time were the descendants of Cape Malay slaves, who had escaped from Cape Town over 100 years earlier. They lost their homes, but their mosque still stands today.