Dean McCleland, Author at The Casual Observer

Port Elizabeth of Yore: The Impetus for the Separatist League

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 21 December 2019 7 Comments

Almost ab initio, the Cape Colony was cleaved into two after the arrival of the 1820 Settlers. The Eastern Province separatism originated as early as 1823. The initial resentment which inspired separatism arose due to the British settlers’ demands for a greater military presence on the frontier. Within thirty years, this resentment was driven by a different set of concerns as the two regions differed in their demographics and their politics. However, the west-east division was not absolute until it was built into the structures of the Cape’s legislature with all the English majority areas being demarcated as being part of the Eastern Province. This was a prelude to the formation of the Eastern Province Separatist League which demanded greater autonomy for the Eastern Province as a separate Colony with its own capital.

Main picture: In 1854, the Cape Colony was split into 2 provinces comprising 22 districts

My Draaifontein Great Grandmother: Mary Ann Beckley

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 3 December 2019 0 Comment

Normally women during this era were hidden from the purview of subsequent generations. Whether they are remembered – if they are recalled at all – is through the deeds of their husband and not for what they achieved themselves. But Polly – Mary Ann’s sobriquet – was different. She survives not through some outrageous deed but rather her wistful letters and poignant poetry.

Main picture:Joseph James and Mary Ann Beckley with their youngest daughter Grace on the front verandah at Draaifontein.

Port Elizabeth of Yore: The Liberty Ship – the Anne Hutchinson

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 3 December 2019 0 Comment

WW2 was fought across the oceans of the world. As such the seas off Port Elizabeth were not immune from the depredations of the scourge of the seas: the U-Boat. One such vessel that was sunk off the Eastern Cape coast was the Liberty Ship, the Anne Hutchinson.

The American Liberty ship Anne Hutchinson SS was torpedoed and shelled on October 26th, 1942, by German submarine U-504. Her stern portion up to No. 4 hatch was blown off. The forepart was towed into Algoa Bay on October 31st. Three lives were lost. While near the harbour, the bow portion which had survived intact, attempted to “escape” by drifting down to Plettenberg Bay.

Main picture: Anne Hutchinson after being torpedoed

History of the Wood’s Family in Schoenmakerskop

By Dean McCleland in Other Family Histories 2 December 2019 2 Comments

Humans understand facts by categorising them in multiple ways. The most utilised method is a three way distinction. In reality this method, whilst providing simple solutions, most are completely incorrect as it does not allow for nuances as life is a shade of grey and not black or white. Hence incorrect conclusions are derived. Despite these reservations in this blog I have used the classification the Good, the Bad and the Extraordinary. According to this methodology, Clarence Wood can be classified as extraordinary.

Do you concur?

Note that the Woods referred to are not Ashley and Doreen Woods of number 36, but rather Clarence Wood of number 44.

This is the Wood’s story as recounted by Rosemary MacGeoghegan [nee Wood] with additional information provided by sundry other people.

Main picture: William, Elize and Harry Wood in South End in 1864

Port Elizabeth of Yore: The Draaifontein Farmhouse in which my Gran was raised

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 28 November 2019 0 Comment

Three of the Rev Francis McCleland’s grandsons all married Beckley girls who were raised in a unprepossessing house on the hill along Draaifontein Road which still exists today.

Whether this house was built in 1803, as is now supposed, or in 1815 when Capt. Francis Evatt was granted this property, is irrelevant in the oldest extant house stakes. On either count, no. 7 Castle Hill is the lame donkey to the virile horse. Yet few people are aware of this building’s historical significance.

Main picture: Photo of the Title Deeds taken by Tony Beckley

Port Elizabeth of Yore: The Wild and Cantankerous Seaview

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 10 November 2019 2 Comments

For me, Seaview has always been the embodiment of a wild, eccentric and cantankerous old man. One moment it could be placid and charming and yet the next moment it displayed its obstreperous wilful nature. To make peace with such a character, one had to make peace with its mood swings

The focal point of Seaview has always been the hotel which sadly has recently been demolished. Naturally Seaview is much more than its hotel. It is a township located on a rugged stretch of coastline unsuited for swimming but with its own wild beguiling charm.

Main picture: The interesting thing about this picture is that it is pre-1934. They started construction on the hotel in 1934 from the right of the hotel as you looked at it with the ocean behind you. The giant Norfolk pines are not yet even visible, the two structures that are visible are on what would become hotel land.

Port Elizabeth of Yore: John Parkin – from Humble Beginnings to Property Magnet

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 8 November 2019 7 Comments

John Parkin was the leader of an 1820 Settler Party which arrived aboard the Weymouth on the 15^th May 1820. A carpenter and wheelwright by training, John Parkin resided at Lower North Street, Exeter, Devon.

Shortly after settling at the area designated for the Devon party at Kariega, John Parkin relocated his family to Port Elizabeth where he acquired a huge farm, eponymously known as the Baaken’s River Farm. By the time of his death in 1856, the Parkins were one of the wealthiest families in town.

Main picture: John Parkin of Baakens River Farm

Port Elizabeth of Yore: Destruction of St. Mary’s Church by Fire in 1895

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 7 November 2019 0 Comment

The destruction of the St. Mary’s Church was devastating for the community in Port Elizabeth. Not only was it the first church to be erected in the town but it was also the focal point of many activities in the town as well as being the mother church for all the sibling Anglican churches.

If there was any beneficial effect of its destruction is that it afforded the congregants an opportunity to transform a non-ecclesiastical oblong building devoid of architectural merit into a building befitting its status and not just a building fit for purpose.

Main picture: St Mary’s church the morning after the fire

Port Elizabeth of Yore: What Happened to the Bell of the Chapman?

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 6 November 2019 2 Comments

One of the seminal events in the history of the Eastern Cape and ultimately South Africa, was the arrival of the British Settlers in 1820. Notwithstanding their importance and impact upon the trajectory of South Africa, no artifact of that landing is extant.

If an artifact were still surviving, should it not have pride of place at the Bayworld Museum? If such an
artifact is indeed extant, where is it located?

Main picture: The Chapman’s Bell is housed at the Centurion Bowling Club, Lyttleton Manor Centurion [Photo taken by D.F. McCleland]

Port Elizabeth of Yore: Expeditions by Carl Thunberg in the 1770s

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 3 November 2019 0 Comment

Preceding the arrival of the Dutch farmers in Algoa Bay, intrepid adventurers and naturalists were exploring the area. Amongst this band of hardy individuals was a Swedish naturalist, Carl Peter Thunberg, an apostle of Carl Linnaeus, a Swedish botanist, zoologist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming organisms. Due to Thunberg’s discoveries in the Cape Colony, he has been awarded the sobriquet of “the father of South African botany”.

Of all the observations made by Thunberg during his three-year stay at the Cape Colony, two of them resonate with me but for vastly divergent reasons. This is the story of Thunberg’s brief sojourn in the wilderness that was Port Elizabeth in the 1770s.

Main picture: Carl Peter Thunberg in later life

The Opinion Pieces are an eclectic bunch on current affairs & history often with a human interest aspect. The Movie/DVDs reviews are mainly on documentaries with a smattering of movie reviews.

Author: Dean McCleland