A different view on current affairs & history
From the outset, Park Drive was envisaged as having large erven so as to accommodate “villa sites”. Many of the initial homes could be classified as mansions owned by the haute monde but the succeeding generations could either no longer afford such luxurious accommodation or they cashed in their inheritance.
In the manner, the original inhabitants of Sundridge strode the same path: from manor house to nursing home.
Main picture: The original Sundridge mansion at 58 Park Drive
Not all vessels lost in Algoa Bay up till 1847 were as a result of high winds and rough seas. HMS Thunderbolt was one of those exceptions. This is the saga of that catastrophe and how this treacherous reef off Cape Recife obtained its name.
Main picture: HMS Thunderbolt en route to beaching at the mouth of the Baakens River
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The Horse Memorial has been a feature of Port Elizabeth since the 11th February 1905 yet very few people are aware of the story of why the citizens deemed it necessary to erect it.
This blog sets this to rights as told by Tennyson S. Bodill
Main picture: The Horse Remount Depot in North End during the Boer War catered for over 30 000 horses
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Knockfierna (Hill of Fairies or Truth) was originally built in 1899 as an opulent grand Victorian Mansion by John Daverin, from Ireland, who was a successful Wool Merchant. John and his wife, Clothilda, brought up their seven children in the grand style befitting this era. It was then owned by Harry James Harraway and then Raymond Whitworth Hutchinson before becoming St. George’s Preparatory School.
This is the story of this mansion and its first three owners as told by Tennyson S. Bodill.
Main picture: Knockfierna circa 1900
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Among many of unique aspects of Port Elizabeth, is the fact that the location of many schools has varied over the years as many have been relocated. One such school which followed this trend was the Grey Junior School.
Main picture: The first home of the Grey Junior School at the corner of Belmont Terrace and Western Road
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A natural feature of Port Elizabeth since time immemorial was a band of drift sands stretching from Gulchways near Schoenmakerskop across the bush to Algoa Bay between Shark River and Bird Road.
To protect the town, in the 1870s it was decided to prevent the sands’ possible movement over the town by planting bushes and trees over the sand dunes. This process took 30 years. Apart from remnants of these dunes, none of this natural feature remains except the sandy soil. The consequences of tampering with nature always results in unintended consequences. In a separate blog I have addressed those negative effects on the ecological system.
This blog has been based upon an excellent article by Ivor Markman which was published in the Herald on Monday 20th July 2009
Main picture: Mule train used to deposit refuse on the drift sands
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Many of the visitors to Port Elizabeth in its formative years paint a deeply unflattering picture of the hamlet as being dull and dreary or more depressingly as “a parcel of miserable huts huddled together on the seashore”. By the 1860s that situation was being cast aside by numerous events amongst which was the opening of St. George’s Park and the erection of the majestic Town Hall.
This blog is based almost exclusively upon an unpublished article by Tennyson S. Bodill on this event entitled Narrative of the Park on the Hill.
Main picture: The Pearson Conservatory in 1888
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Ford had a long association with Port Elizabeth until its relocation to Mamelodi, Pretoria after Ford’s disinvestment from South Africa during 1985. From its humble origins in its first factory located in an ex-woolstore in Grahamstown Road in November 1923, it was subsequently relocated to Harrower Road and then to Neave Township.
Main picture: This was the first factory of Ford Motor Company in Port Elizabeth in Grahamstown Road
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The wide sandy beaches that once spread from the North Jetty, next to the landing beach, and continued all the way past the mouth of the Papenkuils River have long since been destroyed by progress. In this case its nemesis was the dual events being the advent of the railways and the harbour works. In essence, the desecration of this natural wonder was due to two man-made causes. The hinderance in the flow of sand due to the harbour works, resulting in the erosion of the beach, allowed the railways authorities to obtain the right to use these once pristine beaches for the laying of additional railway tracks. This option suited their purposes as it was cheaper than the expropriation of buildings close to the shore on which to lay these tracks.
In old reports the curve of the Bay towards North End is often referred to as the “bight”, an Old English word.
Main picture North Beach, North End 1927
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This incident has long since been forgotten by the residents of Port Elizabeth, yet it is often raised in discussions related to tax matters. In particular it is the term “in the production of income”. It is used extensively in tax law to determine what expenses are allowable as deductions. When doing so, the issue raised in the case of this runaway tram is pondered about.
This is the human story behind that tax case.
Main picture: The scene at the foot of Russell Road when a runaway train collided with the Masonic Hotel
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