Port Elizabeth of Yore: The First-Recorded Shark Attack

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 0 Comment

Perhaps the reason why so few shark attacks occurred during the 1800s was due to the fact that most people were unable to swim. Hence when they attempted to swim, it was in the shallow water. On the other hand drownings were commonplace as they were unaware of dangerous conditions such as rip tides and life savers were unknown.

This blog covers the shark attack on the 28th January 1886 off the South Jetty in which young William Rodwell lost his leg.

Main picture: Bathing House at the mouth of the Baakens River

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Collegiate School: The War Years

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 0 Comment

It was not only during the six long years of WW2 that the “routine and normal” had all but disappeared, but also thereafter, with its continuing shortages and years of hardship. What the war years did engender, was a sense of connectedness, solidarity and responsibility. It was this civic mindedness which drove the community to surmount these challenges. 

How did those years, fraught with possible dangers, or loss of a brother, father or even uncle in the crucible of war up north, as it was euphemistically referred to, affect one school at the heart of the community in Port Elizabeth?

 Main picture: Senior Collegiate Girls School, Bird Street, May 1924

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Collegiate School: Reminiscences of the First Pupils

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 0 Comment

None of the early records have escaped the ravages of times. Fortunately for history, this bleak situation has been somewhat mitigated by the first pupils recalling the first years. 

With the assistance of these reminiscences, one can obtain an intimate view of what it was like to be one of the initial batch of pupils 144 years ago in 1874. 

In this blog, four founding pupils will share their experiences.

Main picture: Miss Virginia Lavinia Isitt, Headmistress from 1874 to 1886

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Port Elizabeth of Yore: The Birth of the Collegiate School

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 0 Comment

By the 1870s the stark fact was that the girls in Port Elizabeth were receiving a second-rate education at the various private seminaries with their untrained and unqualified teachers. With the demand for quality education glaringly obvious, the residents called into question the lack of a sound establishment under a competent and qualified staff of cultured ladies. The residents’ hopes were realised when on Friday 19th September 1873, a notice appeared in the local newspaper announcing the establishment of a girls’ school.

This would culminate in the birth of the prestigious girls’ school: Collegiate. Like all such endeavours, it would not emerge fully formed as it development would proceed through numerous iterations.

Main picture: No. 15 Western Road with its white front wall and white bay window, the original Collegiate School (looking up Whitlock Street).

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