The Sundays River is the Eastern boundary of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan area and is situated right next to the Addo Elephant National Park’s southern boundary. The Khoisan people originally named this river Nukakamma (Grassy Water) because the river’s banks are always green and grassy despite the arid terrain that it runs through. It is said to be the fastest flowing river in the country.
For many years, travellers to Grahamstown had to cross the river using a pont. Ultimately the need for a bridge was acknowledged.
Main picture: The Mackay Bridge
The Sunday’s River
The source of the 250 kilometre long Sundays River is in the Compassberg Mountains near Nieu-Bethesda. The river then flows in a general south-south-easterly direction, passing the town Graaff-Reinet in the Karoo before winding its way through the Zuurberg Mountains and then past Kirkwood and Addo in the fertile Sundays River Valley. It empties into the Indian Ocean at Algoa Bay after running through the village of Colchester, 40km east of the city of Port Elizabeth.
Mouth of the Sunday’s River
The saga of the ferry
Not surprisingly, the initial river crossing had to be at a drift, the closest one being situated at Addo. Faced with the prospect of a circuitous route, there was a clamour for a more direct route to Grahamstown and the Albany District. The solution was to be ferried across on a punt. The original punt operated from a spot in close proximity to the location where the current bridge is located. It was leased from the Uitenhage Divisional Council at an annual rental of £300. This ferry service operated well for many years until the lessees became insolvent. The “lease of the waterway” as it was referred to, was then sold at a public auction to a Mr. Meterlekamp for an annual rental of £300.
Much like present day South Africa, where many changes are fought tooth and nail, so was the hand-over of the ferry to the new lessee, Mr Meterlekamp. When the previous lessee refused to give possession to the new owners, a law suit ensued. As the old owners refused to back down and surrender the ferry, the case was referred to the Supreme Court. Finally an order compelling them to surrender the waterway to the new lessee was granted.
As if matters could not get any worse, the former owners were dead set on opposing every step of the operations and hand over. The date and time of the removal of the old ferry and the new one being taken across the river was set down for 2 p.m. on Wednesday 29th September 1869. Overseeing the proceedings at the river was the Attorney, Mr. D’Urban Dyason. According to Dyason’s description of the events, this transition culminated in a “bun fight.” The former lessee refused to move their punt or to allow it to be touched. As it occupied the docking area, the new punt could effectively not be used. In desperation, the assistance of the road party was procured. They operated both as a guard and a shield as the old ferry was unmoored and moved to a location further down the river.
To top it all, the previous owners did not now relent. As the new punt was readied for its first voyage, the former lessee and his men charged down upon the new ferry and attempted to sever the mooring ropes. In the ensuing fracas, they were repelled by the road party who attempted to duck their opponents in the water. As the melee proceeded, the new punt swung its midstream with a few passengers on board. By traversing the Sunday’s River, legal possession of the passage was deemed to have been established.
Regardless of losing legal possession of the lease, trouble spluttered and brewed for many months thereafter. It was only when Meterlekamp instituted yet a further law suit which resulted in the former lessees being ordered to pay £500 for rental of the ferry (sic) and costs of the law suit, that matters drew to a close.
The Reeds operate a Pont
The following episode is contained in a manuscipt on the life story of William James Reed and James Samuel Reed written to commemorate the stories of the Settlers. The original is held by the Cory Library at the Rhodes University. In general I have retained the original script but have converted it into a more unedrstandable and modeern form. In addition I had elaborated on places and events as the reader might not be aware of their significance.
On the birth of his eldest son William James Reed, Samuel Reed was the manager of the very small hotel in Jetty Street called the Pier Hotel but was later renamed the Palmerston as it expanded. It was called the Pier Hotel as it was a block away from the North Jetty. Samuel worked at his “trade” as he referred to his occupation, for 10 years. Simultaneously he was involved in a butchering trade wih his partners being his brothers George and James Williams. In 1849 James Williams was listed as a cabinet maker in Queens Street.
Together they also chartered vessels taking stock horses and bullocks to Mauritius in exchange for their products being principally sugar.In their endeavors, they did extremely well financially. Samuel’s brother, George, was the buyer of livestock and William was the bookkeeper. That meant that when the chartered boat was loaded, Samuel had to remove his apron and sail to Mauritius.
A great job was to catch the wild oxen and put them on board the ship using slings. Ultimately the family dissolved the partnership, and Samuel started auctioneering. By 1861 he had sold all of what were called the Hospital Lands. These properties lay mainly between Bird and Pearson Streets. They had been granted by Sir George Grey in 1858 to the town with the intention that they could sell them to provide funds for the erection of the hospital on Richmond Hill. Hence the name Hospital Lands had nothing to do with the location of the first bespoke hospital in the town.
Prior to the opening of the Mackay Bridge on the Sunday’s River in 1895, passengers and vehicles were taken across the river by means of a pont. J.S. Reed held the lease from 1859 to 1869. James Reed then purchased the Sunday’s River punt property from Capper for £4750 and Thornhill for £3500. [There are two Thornhills; the farm settled by Christopher near Bathurst in 1820 and the village of Thornhill just beyond the Van Staden’s Pass, named after Christopher, son of Christopher] After occupying the Punt Property for 10 years, the Uitenhage Council sued Samuel Reed to deliver up the right of way and remove his Punt. He duly refused to relinquish what he had legally acquired from Thomas Capper (b 1811) son of Thomas Capper senior, of George Smith’s party. The case was heard in the Supreme Court. When Reed lost the case, Capper was already dead, and as such he had no redress which caused him to surrender the property. His son W.J .Reed then made an offer with the principal creditor W R Metlerkamp through Mr. J S Kirkwood in which he had to repay an outstanding amount and Reed’s estate was released from insolvency. [James Somers Kirkwood (d.1888) had arrived in Port Elizabeth in 1855 and was a well-known auctioneer and was elected as Town Councillor in 1860 and M.L.A from 1876 to 1880]. Their property across the Baakens River bridge [he is presumably referring to South End] was sold and realized only £600 which was ample to repay the debt. ·
The Great Storm
In due course, the new ferry became known as the old ferry when the new ferry sank in 1874, having been washed down the Sunday’s River during a great storm, and had to be replaced by a new ferry.
Early in 1875, the Government informed the Uitenhage Divisional Council that a new pontoon would be delivered to replace the sunken ferry. This huge contraption, 100 ft long and 16 ft wide, was shipped by steamer from Cape Town. Akin to a jigsaw puzzle, all the teak pieces together with their metal sheaths were numbered so as to facilitate its correct assembly on site. The official launching ceremony was performed on Friday 21st May 1875 by Mr. Gie, the Acting-Chairman of the Uitenhage Divisional Council. It was christened the C.A. Smith.
Far be it from me to comment whether the pontoon was jinxed but two months later when the river rose rapidly, the pontoon broke its moorings and drifted down to the mouth. On the following morning, it was found high and dry on the beach at the mouth.
The Council appointed a sub-committee to inspect the scene of the disaster and to report back. At the crossing, they found the superintendent and his assistants knee deep in mud attempting to get a heavy passenger cart onto a small pontoon. The Committee than rowed the six miles down the river to the spot where the pontoon lay beached. Upon inspection, the abandoned all hope of refloating it. Instead they recommended that it be dismantled.
In their report they attributed three reasons for its loss:
- The treacherous nature of the river
- The enormous length and height of the pontoon
- The omission of the superintendent to ensure that the pontoon was securely tied up for the night.
In the meanwhile, traffic across the river was brought to a complete standstill.
A bridge is the solution
A battle of twenty years was now commenced to compel the Government to construct a proper bridge over the Sunday’s River. Through the sterling and persistent efforts of John Mackay M.L.A., the Government conceded to this request. Construction was duly commenced during February 1884 and the bridge was duly opened on Tuesday 5th March 1895. The official opening was performed by Mrs A.H. Garcia, wife of the Civil Commissioner of Uitenhage. In the presence of a huge crowd of dignitaries and members of the local community, the bridge was christened the Mackay Bridge in honour of the main proponent and supporter of its construction.
The bridge had been erected at a cost of £ 14 000, half of which was paid by the Government and half by the Uitenhage Divisional Council. The bridge was constructed entirely of steel and iron from Sheffield in England and was 700 ft in length. This type of bridge is called a steel Pratt Truss road bridge which has diagonals that slope down towards the centre of the span of the bridge. The approach from the west side is a 2 mile straight and level road and the deck of the bridge was made of wood.
As if the previous disasters were insufficient, disaster was to befall the bridge as well. The area experienced a disastrous flood on over the period 31st December 1931 and 1st January 1932 during which the bridge was completely submerged. As a consequence, the centre of the bridge collapsed. To meet the urgent needs of a replacement bridge, a temporary wooden bridge costing £ 1,075 was constructed at this location.
The construction of a replacement Mackay bridge, costing £ 25 000, was expedited. It was officially opened by the Administrator of the Cape, J.H. Conradie, on the 5th July 1938 and the wooden bridge was then dismantled.
After the construction of the new bridge over the Sunday’s River on the N2 highway, the Mackay Bridge was formally closed to traffic even though it is still standing and is still accessible on foot.
Sources
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sundays_River
https://www.artefacts.co.za/main/Buildings/bldgframes.php?bldgid=13303
A Century of Progress. The Story of the Divisional Council of Port Elizabeth. 1856 – 1956 by J.J. Redgrave M.A. (1956, Nasionale Koerante Beperk, Port Elizabeth)