Port Elizabeth of Yore: St. John the Baptist Anglican Church

The suburb now known as Walmer; Port Elizabeth was originally a farm known as Welbedacht. It was loaned to a Johannes Potgieter in 1776 and subsequently granted to a Antonie Michael Muller[1] (B c 1770 married Aletta Maria Potgieter c 1782, died 21 January 1843, Uitenhage who was from Holland). On 24 May 1852, a portion of the farm that was granted to Anthonie Michael Muller in 1815, was divided in one morgan erven by his sons into a township called Walmer. The sons got into financial difficulties, and they decided to sell the farm in lots. Whilst it is not definitely known, a Mr D. MacDonald a Government surveyor probably gave the name. The auctioneers responsible for the sale went bankrupt immediately after the sale and the Muller brothers suffered financial loss thereby although some of the money was recovered in subsequent lawsuits. In 1860, the local newspaper the EP Herald reported tigers (leopards) in the Walmer area. In 1899, Walmer became a municipality. Walmer was named after Walmer Castle, the death place of the First Duke of Wellington 1769-1852.He is buried under the dome of St Pauls Cathedral by the side of another famous Englishman Lord Nelson.

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Port Elizabeth of Yore: The First Sources of Water

As David Raymer points out in his excellent book on the water supply to Port Elizabeth entitled ‘Streams of Life’, “until 1880 the greatest problem [that] the settlement of Port Elizabeth faced was the question of a dependable and adequate supply of fresh water for the residents”.

This blog covers the first attempt to address this challenge.

Main picture: One of the original wells in Port Elizabeth

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Allister Miller: A Aviation Pioneer and his Connection with Port Elizabeth

Allister Miller was not only a war hero but he was instrumental in the creation of a civilian aviation industry in South Africa. By all objective measures, he can claim to be the father of this industry. Due to his record breaking flight from Cape Town to Port Elizabeth, he was accorded recognition in Port Elizabeth by naming the street past the airport, Allister Miller Drive.

Lieutenant-Colonel Allister Miller DSO OBE (1892–1951) was a South African aviation pioneer, who contributed significantly to both military and civil aviation in his country during the first half of the 20th century.

But what did Allister Miller actually do to receive this acclamation?

The original caption on the photograph: The end of an historic flight, Rio de Janeiro II, piloted by Major (later Lieut.-Col) Allister Miller, the pioneer of South African civil aviation, lies upended in a bunker on the old 17th fairway of the Port Elizabeth Golf Club on Wednesday, 7th November 1917. Major Miller, accompanied by Sgt-Mechanic Way, took off from Young’s Field Cape Town. Five hours, 18 minutes later flying at an average speed of 70 m.p.h., the plane touched down at the P.E. Golf Club – the first plane ever to land in the City. An estimated 5,000 people were waiting at the Club to witness the arrival, but they pressed so close when the plane touched down that Major Miller was forced to crash his craft into a fairway bunker to avoid the over-eager spectators. His action prevented what could have been a major tragedy. The only damage to the plane, fortunately, was a broken propeller which was presented to the Club as a memento of an historic occasion.

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