A different view on current affairs & history
Whereas the Aussies refer to the Chapman as the Convict vessel, South Africans refer to her as the Settler ship, one for confinement and the other for release.
This is fascinating history of the 70 years service to colonialism of this renowned ship and some of its crew. Apart from trading and conveyance operations, it was also fitted out with guns for two periods of its life and was engaged in naval warfare.
Main picture: A model of the Chapman
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Main picture: Piet Retief Monument in Summerstrand
Main picture: The North Jetty
Main picture: The Queensmoor in the process of breaking up Continue reading
The Countess of Carnarvon possessed neither pretensions of royalty nor naval majesty. Instead, it was a small screw steamer of 100 tons, which operated in Algoa Bay. In his inimitable way of paying scant regard to treaties and morality, Cecil John Rhodes conjured up a masterstroke to acquire land illegally on the Pungwe River in Gazaland, Portuguese East Africa using this nondescript vessel as a gunrunner.
If this scheme was illegal and immoral, Cecil John Rhodes did not understand the basis of what was unlawful. Would this outrageous scheme finally blot his copybook?
Main picture: The Countess of Carnarvon, probably painted in Genoa after her completion
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Main picture: The Fortress Observation Post at Seahill, Cape Recife
It is fair to say that the establishment of Fort Frederick was more a response to political tensions in Europe than to local enmity between Dutch frontiersmen and Xhosa tribesmen. While the later upheavals arose as the vanguard of the Dutch boeren [Afrikaans boere] approached the advancing Xhosa tribesmen, the outbreak of the French Revolution in 1789 had plunged Europe into a protracted period of war.
This blog traces the fascinating history of Fort Frederick from its inception until the present time.
Main picture: Fort Frederick dated 12 March 1905
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Main picture: Inside view of a WWI trench at Massiges, northeastern France
If Krakatoa was not amongst the top three greatest volcanic explosions of all time, I do not know what could have been. On a pure loss of life comparison basis, Krakatoa only resulted in 36,000 deaths versus 230,000 for the Indian Ocean tsunami on 26th December 2004. Certainly, the effect of Krakatoa was felt was as far afield as Port Elizabeth and South America.
Even though its effect on Port Elizabeth was not very significant, in one person’s life it was very important but not life threatening.
Main picture: Contemporary map of Krakatoa
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As any Realtor will attest, location is the ultimate arbiter of value. In an era when long distance travel, especially international travel, was the preserve of ships, the prime locations were always adjacent to the entrance to a harbour. In Port Elizabeth’s case, it was only when a jetty was envisioned to be erected at the end of Jetty Street, did this site become valuable.
Main picture: The Palmerston Hotel after 1880 when James Raymond Rumsey added a third storey and a verandah in Strand Street. The architect was George Dix-Peek
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