Volume 3 is now available at R380 per book. In Port Elizabeth contact Fogarty’s or Alan Montgomery at 084 981 8491 and in Joburg contact Dean McCleland at 082 801 5446
Port Elizabeth of Yore: Volume 3-The Winds of Change
Port Elizabeth of Yore – Volume 2
Volume 2 – Unchartered Territory is now available
Port Elizabeth of Yore : Volume 1 – Defying the Odds – Now Available
This volume is available as follows: Soft cover = R 320, hard cover now discounted to R390 plus shipment costs to SA destinations at R100. Copies of the book can be collected in Port Elizabeth from Alan Montgomery at 084 368 1304. It can also be purchased from Fogarty’s. Alternatively contact me, Dean McCleland at deanm@orangedotdesigns.co.za or 082 801 5446.
As Port Elizabeth celebrated its bicentenary in April 2020, this event has to be celebrated for not only was it the birth of a new town, but it was also home to many of our ancestors. This four-volume set of books records those birth pangs and well as the people and events which over the next 150 years made Port Elizabeth what it is today.
Comments on the back cover
Initially Port Elizabeth was only earmarked as a landing place for the British settlers and not as their destination. Yet in the thirty-year period from 1820 to 1850, contrary to expectations it experienced a tremendous growth spurt. So prodigious in fact was its expansion that it even overtook Cape Town in terms of the volume of exports.
This is the story of the people and events that form the basis of this incredible journey.
This book forms part of a four-volume series which takes the reader on the fascinating odyssey from the original inhabitants – the Khoi – through the town’s development into an entrepôt, wool processor and exporter to its pinnacle as the Detroit of South Africa.
Port Elizabeth of Yore: Why did Piet Retief purchase Strandfontein?
Historically Piet Retief’s connection with Port Elizabeth and importance as a resident has been wholly misstated. Perhaps due to English dominance of the town, a vision of Retief arose to counterbalance the contemporary narrative. Apart from owning the farm Strandfontein in Summerstrand and several plots in the centre of the hamlet, Retief never actually took up residence in the area.
As Prof. Terblanche concludes in his article entitled “Die feite oor the omstrede Piet Retief” dated 10 March 2009, “Die idilliese prentjie wat mense dus het van Retief wat op sy plaaswoning se stoep gesit en oor Algoabaai getuur het, is eenvodig nie waar nie.”
Main picture:
Continue readingA Quick SMAC: Twitter Teetering on X-Tinction
Elon Musk, the boykie from Pretoria made good, seemed to be a man with the Midas touch. Since buying Twitter he now seems to rather have a touch of madness. From the get go, he was not only all over the place, he was all over the planet, if not, all over space. He has managed to alienate just about everyone with x-twiteratti looking more like a bunch of Angry Birds.
His unprecedented success has led to excessive arrogance and hubris where he is no longer content to be the smartest man in the room, but the smartest man on the planet (and Mars as well) and is prepared to use up some of his considerable fortune and go down in flames trying to prove this.
He thought that by bringing the X-factor to Twitter he would be creating yet another success story. Instead, X, formerly known as Twitter, has joined the busted flushes like Artist, formerly known as Prince and Ye, formerly known as Kanye. Soon everyone will be calling him Prick, formerly known as Musk.
In his latest act of self-destruction, when major advertisers suspended their accounts due to his support of an anti-semitic post, his response on public TV to the was to explete, “Go f**k yourself!”
Port Elizabeth of Yore: Louis John Poulter – WW1 Soldier
On the 4th of August 1914 the world was at war. The Allied powers which included Great Britain were ranged against the Central Powers and South Africa was called upon to assist in the effort by invading the territory adjacent to her borders, German South West Africa.
Unlike WW2 when citizen force units were activated and war service was performed in them, during WW1 men served directly in the Union Defence Force. One such unit was the 7th Dismounted Rifles known as the Southern Rifles in which a Walmer resident Louis John Poulter would serve.
Main picture: The Southern Rifles
Continue readingPort Elizabeth of Yore: Marshall’s Tearoom in Main Street
William Barton Marshall established Marshall’s & Co in Main Street while J. Garlick purchased the building and established his business which was identical to Marshall’s, adjacent to Marshall’s. The Tearoom in Marshall’s was totally revamped and became two tearooms, one being self-service and one a conventional tearoom. This would have happened circa 1970 being the same time when the escalator was installed and the old lifts with the iron gates replaced
Main picture: Marshall’s Tearoom
Continue readingPort Elizabeth of Yore: The oldest Golf Club
During 1890, the first golf club was formed in Port Elizabeth. A preliminary meeting was held in the Algoa House Hotel on 29 August, and the first rounds were played on 27 September. The first President was Sir Frederick Blaine and the site chosen for the course was on the North End flats. In 1902 the new course and club-house on the Cape Road flats were opened.
Main picture: Golf Links of the Port Elizabeth Golf Club
Fairway used as extemporised runway
In November 1817, Major Allister Miller made the first flight from Cape Town to Port Elizabeth, landing on the P.E. Golf Club course. His plane was a BE 2E biplane with a 100 hp Austin engine. His arrival was most eagerly awaited by people from all around the district, who assembled to see the plane arrive. An imperfect landing and the crowds waiting on the golf course caused Miller to strike a bunker and damage the propeller (now in the possession of the Golf Club) of the biplane. The purpose of Miller’s flights around the country was to recruit men for the Royal Flying Corps (later the RAF). This was his second recruiting drive and some 8000 applicants volunteered themselves for selection.
Conveniently situated in the heart of the city, along Westview Drive, Mill Park, the long-standing Port Elizabeth Golf Club offers an outstanding golf course and first class facilities. Having been in existence for over 100 years, it is steeped in tradition and is known to locals as “The Hill”. The length of the Course is 6117 Meters with 18 holes / Par 72.
It is rated as being amongst the top 100 golf club in South Africa and is also the 2nd oldest Golf Course in South Africa.
Sources
Port Elizabeth: A Social Chronicle to the end of 1945 by Margaret Harradine (1996, E H Walton (Packaging (Pty) Ltd, Port Elizabeth, on behalf of the Historical Society of Port Elizabeth).
https://www.nmbt.co.za/listing/pe_golf_club.html#anchor-experience
(Not) A SMAC in the Face #60: Braking Brad
Normally SMAC’s contribution to the world is a combination of being irreverent, zany, cynical and acerbic, and so the overarching title, A SMAC in the Face, is appropriate.
But just to prove that SMAC can also be nice, normal and straightforward, this SMAC is a tribute to an up-and-coming SA sports star and all-round nice guy, Brad Binder. He has been living on the edge in that insane sport of motorbike racing at the highest level where his uncompromising approach to cornering naturally led to the title – Braking Brad. Hopefully it will also lead to a world title soon.
Continue readingPort Elizabeth of Yore: Why 1967 was critical for No. 7’s future
Fragility defines any process of change. And so it was in the process of restoring No. 7 Castle Hill and saving it from being demolished instead of restoration. It was certain key players whose strong beliefs and convictions which determined the positive outcome of this process. Why was this change fraught with pitfalls that could have snared the process and trapped it until its lifeblood was drained?
1967 was that crucial year.
Main picture: Castle Hill painted by H Fancourt White in 1850
Continue readingPort Elizabeth of Yore: Crash of Impala Mark 1 in 1982
The Impalas based in Port Elizabeth after 1975 formed part of 6th Squadron which over its operational life had been disbanded several times. On 5 July 1952 the squadron was reformed as a citizen force unit, flying Harvards from Port Elizabeth but was again disbanded in 1959. It was resurrected in May 1961, again flying Harvards; from 1973 to 1976 the squadron flew a single Cessna 185. In March 1975 it began receiving Impala Mk Is which remained as the operational aircraft until the unit’s final disbandment in October 1990.
Prior to the crash of Impala Mark 1 serial number 550 in 1982, Port Elizabeth had only experienced two crashes by SAAF aircraft subsequent to WW2; being a Ventura Bomber on the 4th December 1959 and a Sabre on the 15th July 1960.
Main picture: Impala Mk 1
Continue readingPort Elizabeth of Yore: List of PE’s Firsts
At its establishment, Port Elizabeth was known for its pioneering and enterprising spirit. It was this ethos which drove the development of the town. Then it was the discovery of gold and diamonds in the north which diverted this spirit to the Transvaal as it steadily gained the ascendancy.
Main picture: Johannes Molikoe was appointed snake handler on 1 August 1918 and retired in August 1947. He died aged 83.
Continue readingPort Elizabeth of Yore: Life at Humewood in the 1920s, 30s & 40s
Humewood was a late starter, a slow developer. The focus of the residents of Port Elizabeth was northwards and westwards as the town laid down its industrial roots in North End and its commercial roots in the Main and Strand Street areas. By the 1920s, Humewood had gained a reputation as Port Elizabeth’s playground centred on Humewood Beach and Happy Valley.
Main picture: 1926 photos from the Humewood collection of Sava Michaelides. By then beach attire converted from a formal suit and tie to more relaxed beach wear and informal clothing
Continue reading