Port Elizabeth of Yore: Frederick Korsten-Sealing their Fate

Within several years of the first permit for the slaughter of seals in Algoa Bay being issued, the seal population on St Croix island was exterminated. Steadily the seals on adjacent islands followed their fate until it was only the seals resident on Black Rocks near Bird Island which remained. This colony would be the only one to survive and even today it is the only island or outcrop populated with a colony of seals.

This is the story of the slaughter of the Algoa Bay seal population until it collapsed, except on Black Rock, never to regenerate. The only plausible explanation for this is that the waters around the Black Rock outcrop were too treacherous for the seal hunters to ply their trade there. In fact, the seas are so treacherous that many seals die in their endeavours to reach their patch of rock.

Main picture:  Islands and outcrops on which seals used to reside

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Port Elizabeth of Yore: The Unbelievable Secret of Dr James Barry

Amongst the parade of dignitaries making the pilgrimage to Frederick Korsten’s country estate 5 miles from Port Elizabeth, was Dr James Barry, one of the most highly respected surgeons of his day. He had risen from hospital assistant to become the top-ranking doctor in the British Army and was known as a zealous reformer who had served in garrisons from South Africa to Jamaica. Accompanying him on his visit to Frederick Korsten at Cradock Place was the governor Lord Charles Somerset.

Barry’s secret life would almost certainly have been taken to his grave if the hospital staff had obeyed his last wish that he be buried in his night clothes. This would have hidden the fact that Dr. James Barry was in fact a female.

How had this been possible?

Main picture:   Dr James Barry

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Port Elizabeth of Today: The Future of No. 7 Castle Hill

Perhaps I should have titled this blog “Quo Vadis” or maybe something more apocalyptic such as the End of No. 7. Whatever it should be will never encompass my dread more for its future. When I left PE on 11th February 1980 to seek my fame & (mis) fortune in the City of Gold, the future of No. 7 was sanguine. For the most part, its future now, like many other historical buildings, is precarious at best. 

Why do I anticipate such a gloomy future?

Main picture: Painting of Port Elizabeth by W.A. Harriers showing No 7 Castle Hill at the crescent [or is that the brow] of the hill

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Evaluation of the Rev. Francis McCleland

The objective of any biography is to obtain an understanding of what motivates that person and how they handle situations, especially the troublesome ones. Essentially what one attempts to do, is to understand what makes a person tick. Even in the best cases, vital pieces of evidence are missing, hidden behind the veil of their private lives. Just ask a divorced person for a resume of their ex-spouse and compare the response with what is publicly known about the person. The mask will slip, and the real person will be revealed. So it is with Francis McCleland except that Francis’ obnoxious actions towards third parties became common knowledge and were not restricted to one person. Being so egregious, the other parties took public umbrage at Francis’ actions and hence his personality – or at least  to the putrescent bits.

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Port Elizabeth of Yore: Sir Rufane Shaw Donkin

Sir Rufane Shaw Donkin was the point man for the British Empire in the Cape of Good Hope at the time of the arrival of the 1820 British Settlers. In his letters, Donkin reveals himself to be a kindly man unlike the cold autocrat that was Lord Charles Somerset. Furthermore, they reflect a desire to assist the colonists. In fact, he was not prepared to sacrifice principles for his own advancement. For these reasons, the Settlers were most fortunate in having him rather than Somerset in charge at this momentous period in the affairs of the Cape.

Main picture: Sir Rufane Shaw Donkin

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Port Elizabeth of Yore: The Lovemores and Bushy Park

The area known as Bushy Park is today inextricably linked to the Lovemore clan. Yet it might not always have been so. In fact Henry Lovemore was not the initial owner of this land. Lt Cornelius Bolton Alcock was and it was known as Klaas’s Kraal. Even Cornelius was not the initial applicant for this land.

 This blog is the story of those early days of Bushy Park. 

Main picture:  Hunting at Bushy Park

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Port Elizabeth of Yore: The Road through Target Kloof and its Predecessors

Due to the Baakens River Valley, Port Elizabeth is effectively cleaved into two. Instead of having to take a circuitous route around via South End or use a track from Gubb’s Location, during 1896 it was decided at a Town Council meeting that the Divisional Council’s proposed plan to build a road through Target Kloof from Port Elizabeth to Walmer be approved.

This blog covers the history of the various tracks and roads linking these two towns.

Main picture: The original proper road across the Baakens River was merely called New Road. Also note the footbridge on the left of the road. It was probably used by pedestrian traffic when the river was in spate and water flowed over the road. The hill in the background is where Wellington Park is situated today. Wellington Park is a small Municipal open space on the edge of the Baakens Valley at the corner of Main Road and 5th Avenue. It used to consist of two sports fields that were voluntarily maintained by the nearby Clarendon Primary School.

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