Port Elizabeth of Yore: Rivalries and Competing Visions

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 0 Comment

Systems, towns, people and religions do not operate in a vacuum. Rivalries and competing visions form the cornerstone of civilisation, and so it was for the infant town of Port Elizabeth. Competing interests without the best interests of this struggling Bay at heart, sought to create an environment advantageous to themselves. One of these competing visions was the most suitable location of the proposed harbour on the Eastern Province coast.

This contestation, which forms the focus of this blog, could rather have been titled “The Tale of Two Harbours” but as I have already dealt extensively with development of PE’s harbour, the focus now will predominantly be on the Kowie Harbour..

Main picture: Kowie River with sailing boats of yore

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Port Elizabeth of Yore: St Croix as an Isolation “Hospital”

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 0 Comment

In his book, East to the Isles, Colin Urquhart, details the history of the islands in Algoa Bay. Amongst the numerous stories of death, destruction, progress, and growth, Urquhart narrates the saga of the Canadian brig, RLT of 444 tons en route from Mauritius to Europe. This event commenced on the 23rd of December 1891 when the RLT’s master, Captain W Thompson, informed the Harbour Master, Captain Young that he suspected that 10 passengers and crew were infected with smallpox.

To say that the town erupted in consternation would be an understatement.

Main picture:   St. Croix Island seen from the nearest landfall at Hougham Park, just east of the Coega harbour development.

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Port Elizabeth of Yore: From Temporary Jetty to Focal Point – The North Jetty

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 0 Comment

The erection of the North Jetty was the second attempt at constructing a jetty in Algoa Bay. The first one had been unceremoniously destroyed in a ferocious gale on the 26th August 1843 when three ships were driven through it. Until the construction of the South and the Dom Pedro jetties almost 30 years later, this small extemporised jetty would serve as the focal point of the harbour.

As it turned out, this temporary jetty would fulfil the starring role as the main jetty until the Charl Malan Quay was built, some 63 years later.

Main picture: An early view of the North Jetty probably from the 1870s

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Port Elizabeth of Yore: Effect of the Krakatoa Explosion on the Tides

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 0 Comment

If Krakatoa was not amongst the top three greatest volcanic explosions of all time, I do not know what could have been. On a pure loss of life comparison basis, Krakatoa only resulted in 36,000 deaths versus 230,000 for the Indian Ocean tsunami on 26th December 2004. Certainly, the effect of Krakatoa was felt was as far afield as Port Elizabeth and South America.

Even though its effect on Port Elizabeth was not very significant, in one person’s life it was very important but not life threatening. 

Main picture: Contemporary map of Krakatoa

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Port Elizabeth of Yore: The Donkin Lighthouse – The Light on the Hill

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 3 Comments

Because they are in such close proximity to one another, I have often considered this lighthouse and the adjacent pyramid as being contemporary structures. Nothing could be further from the truth. This blog, largely based on the 1986 thesis by Jon Inggs, provides the historical detail from the conceptualisation to the erection of the Donkin Lighthouse.

The combination of the pyramid and the lighthouse symbolises Port Elizabeth and is so integral to Port Elizabeth that it could be considered as its trademark. The unique combination very nearly never came into existence as the Harbour Master, Mr H.G. Simpson favoured dismantling the pyramid and using its stone to construct the lighthouse.

Main picture: Signal Ball at Donkin Lighthouse in 1860s

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