Port Elizabeth of Yore:  1835 – Under a Dark Cloud with several bright rays

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 0 Comment

Port Elizabeth commenced the year on a bright optimistic note with the appointment of Henry Green Dunsterville as Harbour Master and Port Captain with effect from the 1st January 1835. This appointment was only confirmed on the 7th June. Immediately after this announcement, the imminent threat of a Xhosa invasion of the town set the town on edge. This was followed in late September by a disastrous storm which resulted in the loss of several vessels in the Bay.

Among the bright rays which barely penetrated the dark, dank clouds was the appointment of the town’s first civilian doctor. Another spark was an extended stay of the Cape Governor during which the residents were able to address their frustrations about the lack of a lighthouse at Cape Receife.  

Main picture: A blustery day in the Bay

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Norman Lovemore: Reminiscences about a Life Well-Lived

By Dean McCleland in Other Family Histories 0 Comment

As his life wound down but before the candle of his life guttered and fizzled out, Norman Lovemore “decided to amuse myself by rambling amongst the many memories which haunt [ed him]”. In 1982 in the twilight of his life, he set out on a new adventure, a journey to record the highways and byways of his interesting life for posterity. The only detours that he made was to knowingly exclude those parts of this journey of which he was ashamed.   

In using Norman Lovemore’s transcribed reminiscences, I have largely retained the original script but have detoured to improve readability and have often converted the first person into the third person. I have also taken the liberty to improve his grammar and vocabulary where required. In all other respects I have been faithful to Norman’s original text.

Main picture: Norman Lovemore as a pilot in the Royal Flying Corps during WW1

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Port Elizabeth of Yore: Cecil Rhodes and the Countess of Carnarvon

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 1 Comment

The Countess of Carnarvon possessed neither pretensions of royalty nor naval majesty. Instead, it was a small screw steamer of 100 tons, which operated in Algoa Bay. In his inimitable way of paying scant regard to treaties and morality, Cecil John Rhodes conjured up a masterstroke to acquire land illegally on the Pungwe River in Gazaland, Portuguese East Africa using this nondescript vessel as a gunrunner. 

If this scheme was illegal and immoral, Cecil John Rhodes did not understand the basis of what was unlawful. Would this outrageous scheme finally blot his copybook? 

Main picture: The Countess of Carnarvon, probably painted in Genoa after her completion

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