Port Elizabeth of Yore: The Untimely Demise of the First Jetty

When the elements defeat ingenuity and determination

The first practical scheme to improve Port Elizabeth’s harbour facilities was mooted barely ten years after the arrival of the 1820 Settlers. This reflects the stunning growth of Port Elizabeth as a harbour. Notwithstanding the determination of the local residents, politics and other considerations would intrude to prevent the hopes and aspirations of this dream being realised.

Nine years after being mooted in 1831, construction of the First Jetty commenced in 1840. The maxim, “The past we inherit and the future we create,” was now validated. This blog covers the cycle of this project from its initial conceptualisation to its unfortunate, untimely and unexpected destruction in 1843.

Main picture: The first jetty

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Port Elizabeth of Yore: The Paddle Steamer Phoenix-Transition from Sail to Steam

By any measure, sea travel in the age of sail was tedious being of long duration and of indeterminate time span. Furthermore it was dangerous. Relying on a variable sporadic factor such as wind would forever impede progress. For instance, the travelling time from Britain to the Cape by sailing ship varied between 65 and 85 days. The development of steam power in the early eighteenth century would take over a century before it was utilised for the propulsion of ships. Initially the propulsion was by means of side paddles and later on rear paddles and finally screw propulsion.

Ushering in the age of steam for Port Elizabeth would be the steamer named “Hope” which was not noted for its longevity. Two years after being commissioned, it was wrecked in heavy fog at Cape St. Francis. A replacement was urgently required. This would be the 240 ton paddle steamer, the “Phoenix”.  

Main picture: The paddle steamer Phoenix

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Port Elizabeth of Yore: A Port without a Harbour

Needless to say, but when the 1820 Settlers arrived at Port Elizabeth, there was nothing awaiting them, not even a harbour. In fact, the sum total of the population of Port Elizabeth in 1819 was 35 souls, mainly men. Yet despite exponential growth in population and port activities, Port Elizabeth did not possess a proper harbour for the first 110 years of its existence.

How did the town handle the veritable flood of imports and exports until the first permanent  jetty was constructed in 1870 and the first quay in the 1930s?

 Main picture: Settlers landing in unstable flat bottomed boats

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Mosenthals: A Metaphor for the Fortunes of Port Elizabeth

For more than half a century Mosenthals was the most prominent and probably the largest enterprise in Port Elizabeth. Even my family has a connection to this once dominant company. Firstly, my maternal grandfather was a wool sorter and later my mother was a typist in their employ. For me, the firm Mosenthals epitomises both the growth and subsequent decline of Port Elizabeth, but also the trajectory of South Africa’s industrial, agricultural, and commercial growth. 

Let us trace the journey that Mosenthals, Port Elizabeth and South Africa took. 

 Main picture: The original offices of Mosenthals in Port Elizabeth

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