Port Elizabeth of Yore: Memoirs of James Alexander on the 1835 Frontier War

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 0 Comment

Having obtained a commission from the Royal Geographical Society to explore and investigate Africa west of Delagoa Bay, James Edward Alexander was thrust into the Kafkaesque world of the 1835 Frontier War for which he might not have purchased front row seats, but they were not the cheap seats from which the action is barely visible. Port Elizabeth itself might not have been engulfed in the war but the hordes of African warriors knocked on its front door, the Sundays River.

This blog details the defensive lines constructed, military plans drawn up and other martial actions undertaken

Main picture: Port Elizabeth’s Defence Lines during the 1835 Frontier War

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Port Elizabeth of Yore: Cape Recife Lighthouse-Protection from Thunderbolt Reef

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 5 Comments

The entrance to Algoa Bay from the west was treacherous with  Thunderbolt Reef being especially hazardous. In spite of the authorities being cognisant of these dangers, for decades no progress could be made in convincing the Cape Government to erect a lighthouse at Cape Recife.

However, the struggle was finally successful, and that saga is covered by this blog. 

Main picture: Cape Recife Lighthouse

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