Port Elizabeth of Yore: The Zwartkopswagendrift

The hallmark of the half century prior to the arrival of the British Settlers in 1820 was the steady encroachment of the Dutch farmers commonly from the west. In spite of every effort on the part of the Cape Governors to prevent the Trekboers from spreading eastwards, this ineluctable movement did not abate.

This blog covers the settling of this peripatetic people in the Zwartkops Valley and especially around the Zwartkopswagendrift which was the principal crossing point on the road east or north.

Main picture: Trekboers crossing the Karoo by Charles Davidson Bell

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Port Elizabeth of Yore: Bridges Over Troubled Water

River crossings for the early traveller were always time consuming and sometimes even hazardous if they were dependent upon the tides such as the drift across the Zwartkops was. Perhaps that explains the Divisional Council’s decision to place this crossing on its first to-do list after its establishment.  

This covers the trials and tribulations of the history of the Zwartkops River crossing from the use of the drift, to the pont and ultimately the various bridges and ultimately their effect on the ecosystem. 

Main picture: The Wylde Bridge across the Swartkops River. This bridge replaced the Rawson Bridge

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