Port Elizabeth of Yore: The Explosives’ Jetty at the Creek

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 0 Comment

At the risk of overstatement, dynamite was characterised as being extremely volatile in prior centuries. Just like Johannesburg, where the explosives factory was established at Modderfontein which was originally located far outside the municipal boundaries, so it was in the rest of South Africa. This blog deals with how Port Elizabeth dealt with this risk or in modern parlance, its Risk Mitigation Strategy, during the 19th century.

Main picture: Overhead ropeway to transport the explosives from the landing stage to the magazines of the various importing companies

Continue reading

Port Elizabeth of Yore: Fraud begets disgrace for a prominent family

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 2 Comments

Francis Henry Carpenter might not have been at the pinnacle of mid-nineteenth century society, but he certainly was in the upper echelons of the nascent colonial community. Apart from his prominence in business circles, he was also a churchwarden at St Mary’s church for over a decade. Carpenter’s son-in-law, David Grey Devenish, had a successful business in Port Elizabeth until one day in the early 1890s, he and his family abruptly “absconded” from town, eventually settling in America. Was David Devenish attempting to evade justice and, if so, why?

Most of the information and photos for this blog have been provided by David’s great great grandson, George Sauvigne, of Florida, America.

Main picture: The house in which the Carpenter family lived circa 1880s at 95 Pearson Street

Continue reading

Port Elizabeth of Yore: Would 1903 be a Reprise of 1902’s Great Gale?

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 0 Comment

As Port Elizabeth is prone to violent south-easter wind storms in the latter half of the year, optimism that there would not be a repeat of the 1902 disaster was profoundly misplaced. 

1903’s storm season would test whether the rescue services were adequately prepared when nature would once again do its damnedest. Timeless lessons would once again be learnt and relearnt. Would the authorities once again be assailed by a raft of criticism for their maladroit handling of the situation, be damned with faint praise or receive a chorus of approval?

Only time would tell.

Main picture: Rescuers go out on the line during the gale of November 1903

Continue reading

Port Elizabeth of Yore: The Anglo-Boer War Years

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore

The Ango-Boer War, or as it now known, the South African War, might not have physically ravished the town, yet it did affect Port Elizabeth in manifold ways. The denial of the right to citizenship of the Uitlanders in the Transvaal Republic was the ostensible reason for the declaration of war by Paul Kruger on Britain on the 11th October 1899. 

Main picture: No. 2 Remount Depot

Continue reading

Port Elizabeth of Yore: Slavery-Born Free, Life of Servitude

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 0 Comment

Whilst the Cape Colony might well have possessed slaves, the establishment of Port Elizabeth came at the culmination of the emancipation efforts by the British government. Hence the prevalence and practice of slavery was not of such great importance as it was closer to Cape Town. 

In 1807 the British government banned the sale of slaves to all her colonies, including the Cape. This meant that no more slaves (from any destination) could be sent to work in the Cape. However, those who were already in the Cape continued to work as slaves until 1834 when all slaves in the British Empire were to be emancipated. Many of the slaves chose to remain on with their owners while some started a new life in and around Cape Town working as tradesmen. Gradually these people became absorbed into the Cape community.

Main picture: The reality of slavery

Continue reading

Port Elizabeth of Yore: The Last Sailing Vessels

By Dean McCleland in Opinion Pieces 1 Comment

The last hurrah of the sailing ship was the Anglo Boer War. Large numbers of sailing ships laid up in their home ports, were spending their dotage in quiet contemplation of their imminent and final demise in a wrecking yard, or if they were lucky, as a tour ship or museum exhibit. 

Instead these superannuated vessels were drafted back into service to transport troops and supplies of the British Empire to the Cape. In a strategically inept move, the Boer Republics of the Transvaal and the Orange Free State had displayed their temerity in invading the British Colonies of Natal and the Cape. 

Main picture:  The last sailing ship to be wrecked along the South African coast, the Colonial Empire came ashore at Cape Recife in 1917

Continue reading

Port Elizabeth of Yore: The Bus Intrudes into the World of Trams

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 0 Comment

It was not that the bus was not available for use by 1913 in Port Elizabeth, but probably that the Tramways were myopically fixated on the tram as the primary mode of transport. The buses that they did possess, were instead used for excursions and not as an extension of their tram business. 

This was about to change. Given the buses flexibility regarding routes, they gave the Tramways a run for their money. Then the inevitable occurred. The Tramways adopted the motto, “If we cannot beat, join them.” 

Main picture: Buses and trams co-existed for numerous years

Continue reading