Of all the houses in early Port Elizabeth, only No. 7 Castle Hill has been sketched or painted over the ages. The reason is obvious. Initially it was the fact that it was owned by the Rev. Francis McCleland, the first clergyman at St Mary’s church but for later painters it was that fact that the dwelling occupied a prominent position on the hill.

Early pictures of Port Elizabeth in which No. 7 Castle Hill can be identified are helpful, but as Mrs Trehaeven, the curator notes in an article in Looking Back, that these sketches seem to present conflicting evidence. One must bear in mind that the aim of the artist was generally to present a panoramic view. He would not be much concerned with details of specific buildings. What the artist failed to appreciate was that future generations would only have these sketches and drawings as their reference work.

Main picture: No. 7 Castle Hill [supplied by Angela Hidden nee Smith]

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Both Amsterdam Hoek and the Amsterdam Flats near Zwartkops are named after the Dutch warship turned troopship Amsterdam. After being badly damaged in a storm in order to save the crew and passengers, the captain elected to run her aground halfway between the Coega and Zwartkops Rivers on the 16^th December 1817.

This would be the proverbial race against time. Notwithstanding all of the pumps working flat-out and the crew manually bailing out the water, the rate of water removal was lower than the rate of ingress. Slowing their rate of movement was the loss of masts and sails. Furthermore with the internal water rising, the vessel became unresponsive while the onboard water sloshed left and then right, making the ship unstable. Adding to the water internally were huge waves which broke over the floundering vessel.       

This is the story of that desperate race against the sea largely extracted from the book The Bay of Lost Cargoes being a record of the Shipwrecks of Algoa Bay by Warren F. Morris

Main picture: Captain Hermanus Hofmeijer of the Amsterdam

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In writing a historical piece, at worst one is confronted by a set of facts that reveal little of the real person, their motivations and their personality. At best, only glimpses of the inner person will be exposed usually insufficient to no more than titillate.

The release of the book entitled Pepysian Perceptions of the Cape 1798 to 1828 has led to a numerous long-held assumptions being debunked in spite of previously being cast as immutable and indelible.

The blog will cover the extraordinary life of Samuel Eusebius Hudson as well as pealing back invalid assumptions of life in Port Elizabeth from 1810 to 1825.

Main picture:   Sketch of Samuel Eusebius Hudson by Lady Ann Barnard                                 

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