Perhaps I am a sucker for photographs but only if they display pathos, skill, unalloyed beauty or a social message. All of these photos meet one of the criteria. Hence, I must admit mea culpa.
Main picture: Amsterdam at night
Captivating photographs
Author: Dean McCleland
Port Elizabeth of Yore: Town Officials and Residents in the 1840s
By virtue of the town still being so small less than three decades after its establishment, it was still possible to print a comprehensive list of all its officials and residents. The List of Town Officials was published in 1843 whereas that of all Town Residents was published in 1849.
What do they reveal about the character of these people and the occupations that they held?
Main picture: Port Elizabeth in 1840 with its short-lived first jetty
Continue readingPort Elizabeth of Yore: John Centlivres Chase – Father of the Eastern Cape
Often spoken of as the “Father of the Eastern Cape,” John Centlivres Chase, friend and son-in-law of Frederik Korsten, one of Baillie’s Party aboard the Chapman, a Member of the Legislative Assembly, he was one of the most prominent and influential settlers of the early town of Port Elizabeth.
Despite setting foot initially on the sands of Algoa Bay, Chase’s southern African odyssey would not begin in Port Elizabeth. But that is where it would end, after an adventure filled life during which he contributed substantially to the body of knowledge about his adopted homeland.
Unlike Korsten whose focus was as a trader and merchanting, Chase spent his remarkable talents, energy and vigorous intellect enhancing the colony and its people. He was also a strong proponent of Separatism.
Main picture: John Centlivres Chase
Continue readingPort Elizabeth of Yore: Chinese Settlers Arrive
Providing part of the cosmopolitan mix of Port Elizabeth was the Chinese community. They were scattered throughout Port Elizabeth, particularly in the city centre as well as Sidwell, Korsten, South End, Sydenham, Perkin Street and Dassie Kraal. Their status in South Africa of yore was ambivalent; not black enough yet not white.
The history of the Chinese community in Port Elizabeth is a long-standing narrative of endurance, retail entrepreneurship and resilience against systemic racial exclusion.
This is their story in Port Elizabeth.
Main picture: Chinese School in North End
Continue readingPort Elizabeth of Yore: The First Generation of McClelands in PE
Much is known about the 1820 Settler, the Reverend Francis McCleland, merely because he was the first Colonial Chaplain at St Mary’s Church in Port Elizabeth and probably more so due to his house, Number 7 Castle Hill, which is now a museum. But how did his offspring fare in this new land especially given that there were no school facilities initially?
Main picture: Number 7 Castle Hill, the house in which they were brought up
Continue readingPort Elizabeth of Yore: Surreptitious Beginning of the Eastern Province Herald
Even though technically not a “son” of Port Elizabeth, having been born in Aberdeen in Scotland, John Paterson’s influence on Port Elizabeth was profound. Amongst his numerous achievements was the establishment of the Eastern Province Herald, now simply called The Herald.
Main picture: John Paterson
Continue readingPort Elizabeth of Yore: Early Port Elizabeth by Lawrence Green
Lawrence Green’s book Harbours of Memory sketches what the port cities of South Africa during the late nineteenth and early twentieth century’s were like. It provides a vivid depiction of life in those days. This blog covers excerpts of his musings and prognostications on early Port Elizabeth’s harbour and shipping activities, its different communities, its highways and byways and the characters that inhabit it.
Main pictures: Baakens Valley in the 1860s
Port Elizabeth of Yore: The Wrecking of the Troopship Charlotte
Over the 19th and 20th September 1854, the residents of Port Elizabeth had front-row seats as the three masted wooden transport ship, the Charlotte struck rocks at the bottom of Jetty Street during a gale.
Three separate reports have been included: The Times, the official report by the Deputy-Collector of Customs and by Lawrence Green
Main picture: The Charlotte being battered by the wind and the waves
Continue readingPort Elizabeth of Yore: Reminiscences of the Early Days
These are excerpts from the notes of Mr. C.G.H. Skead on the early days in Port Elizabeth written in 1939. They provide a personal view of the various activities and the development of shipping at that time. As he was born in 1871, these reminiscences probably relate to the period 1890 to the 1920s.
Main picture: Park Drive when it was considered to be “outside the Bay”
Port Elizabeth of Yore: Early Days of the Harbour and Shipping
These are excerpts from the notes of Mr. C.G.H. Skead on the early days in Port Elizabeth written in 1939. They provide a personal view of the various activities at the harbour and the development of shipping at that time. These recollections take one back to a bygone era when life was simpler. Imagine still being able to swim on a splendid beach at the foot of Fleming Street.
Main picture: North Jetty with the Station in the background
Continue reading