A different view on current affairs & history
The beginning of Trump’s second Presidency has been without precedent. It has been characterised by extreme chaos as he has been all over the place like a demented squirrel on tik. He has declared economic war on everyone (except his secret bff, Putin), threatened to own Panama, Greenland, Canada and Gaza and he is busy taking a chainsaw to the Federal system courtesy of his point man and ‘Tech Support’, Elon Musk.
South African society is plagued by the wealth gap between black and white inherited from the old days. SMAC has nervously dipped his toe into these dangerous waters and reveals that “blacks are good, whites are bad” is just a useful trope for the ANC and it is actually their policies which have made it worse.
George William Smith was the doyen of local architects and Government Surveyors, and a senior partner in the well-known firm of Smith Sons and Dewar.
Main picture: George William Smith
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In a series of articles, Norman Smith, the son of HB Smith, records events of his life in Port Elizabeth. In this one, he records what life was like in early Mill Park shortly after it became the suburb in the country. This is a lightly redacted copy of that article.
Main picture: 18 Woodeville Avenue, Mill Park
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From 1819 onwards Korsten played an ever-larger role in the shipping trade of the Cape Colony. At one time or another, Korsten owned no less than 13 coasting schooners and cutters of various sizes, 12 of which ultimately came to grief. In the process, Korsten gained the reputation as the largest boat owner in the Cape colony.
As can be imagined, most of these vessels were the smallest size of ocean going vessels as they were merely used for servicing customers along the Cape coast. As such they probably weighed no more than between 80 and 140 tons. Whether the Helena, a 500-ton ship which Korsten owned while living in Cape Town and on which his family went on holiday to England in 1809 is included in the total of 13 vessels which Korsten owned over his life, is unknown.
Main picture: A schooner of the early 1800s
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Just over a century ago, the name Bunton was well known in Port Elizabeth as John’s father and grandfather in their day were both owners of the Grand Hotel in Belmont Terrace. When John’s father, Henry, changed careers in 1927 and went farming in the Selbourne district near Kirkwood, the name Bunton would never again resonate with the residents of Port Elizabeth.
John would attest to serve in the artillery. Later his younger brother, Peter, would join him in the same unit. It was during the opening stages of the battle of El Alamein on the 13th July 1942 that John would be mortally wounded, and Peter, who served in the same unit, would see his brother for the last time as he was stretchered away never to be seen again by him.
Such is the madness and futility of war.
Main picture: John Bunton in North Africa
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Hammelberg was a Dutch lawyer who emigrated to South Africa in 1851 and lived here until 1871 taking a leading part in the affairs of the Orange Free State. This blog covers the 10 days during December 1861 when he visited Port Elizabeth.
Main picture:
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Recollections of the town by visitors especially in its early days, provides an indelible record of how they viewed the town but more importantly, how it operated. Some of the descriptors relate to the residents’ industriousness and the consequential hustle and bustle whereas others refer to the stark bareness of the hill especially prior to the planting of trees.
These recollections of John Campbell, a surveyor, and passenger aboard the Eastern Province who visited the town from the 25th February 1862 to the 17th March 1862, adds a fresh layer of depth to the understanding of this bustling town.
Main picture: The first breakwater around 1866
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