Port Elizabeth of Yore Archives - Page 18 of 71

Port Elizabeth of Yore: Charles Lovemore’s Last Year, 1885

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 20 April 2023 0 Comment

This blog is an extract from the excellent book simply entitled The Lovemore Story by Bernard Johnston. Unlike his father, Henry Lovemore, who married four times over his life, Charles only married once, being the norm for the era. Charles’ occupation was that of a farmer and had inherited Bushy Park from his father Henry. In addition, he had acquired a great deal of other farmland and town property in his lifetime. Besides being a Justice of the Peace, he was an active member of the Divisional Council and the Licensing Court.

Harradine describes him as a “kind friend and genial companion” and “his voice and burly form will be missed from the morning market.”

This blog is enlightening as it covers the contemporary social and economic issues. Ironically many of the issues correlate with those under discussion today such as the closing time of drinking establishments.

Main picture: Charles Lovemore

Port Elizabeth of Yore: Shipping Activity of 13^th April 1935

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 13 April 2023 0 Comment

During the first half of the 20^th century, one major service, now in severe decline, occupied a prominent place in the city’s commercial life. That was shipping and its ancillary services. It was fortunate to represent both major industries in Port Elizabeth: the export of wool and the importation of motor vehicles’ parts to be assembled in the two major motor plants viz General Motors and Ford.

To satisfy the interests of commerce and the general public in these activities, The Eastern Province Herald ran various articles regularly on these activities. Interestingly these articles even listed the names of passengers.

My uncle, George Wood, the representative for Mitchell Cotts in Port Elizabeth, kept copies of these newspaper clippings especially where they mentioned him. This is an example of such an article published on the 13^th April 1935 and provides an insight into a vital aspect of commercial activity.

Main photo: Port entry of PE photographed on the 5 Jan1938 from the bridge of the German battleship training ship – SCHLESWIG HOLSTEIN during its 6 months cruise around Africa.

Port Elizabeth of Yore: St Croix as an Isolation “Hospital”

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 26 March 2023 0 Comment

In his book, East to the Isles, Colin Urquhart, details the history of the islands in Algoa Bay. Amongst the numerous stories of death, destruction, progress, and growth, Urquhart narrates the saga of the Canadian brig, RLT of 444 tons en route from Mauritius to Europe. This event commenced on the 23^rd of December 1891 when the RLT’s master, Captain W Thompson, informed the Harbour Master, Captain Young that he suspected that 10 passengers and crew were infected with smallpox.

To say that the town erupted in consternation would be an understatement.

Main picture: St. Croix Island seen from the nearest landfall at Hougham Park, just east of the Coega harbour development.

Port Elizabeth of Yore: The Wreck of the Lyngenfjord

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 24 March 2023 0 Comment

The Gale of 1902 in which a dozen ships were driven onto North End beach and wrecked, would be the last such mass destruction of vessels in a gale. The conversion from sailing vessels to steam powered ships was driven by productivity considerations but as an ancillary benefit, they would eradicate weather-related disasters. The Lyngenfjord was one of the sparse diet of wrecks over the next century.

Main picture: The Lyngenfjord taken by George Wood. Tins of petrol had just offloaded onto the cliff edge when the disaster occurred.

Port Elizabeth of Yore: A Lighter Meets its End at Chelsea Point

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 20 March 2023 0 Comment

Prior to the opening of the first quay, the Charl Malan, in 1933, most freight was unloaded from a cargo ship in the roadstead onto a lighter which would transport the cargo to one of the jetties protruding into the Bay. As North Jetty was used predominantly to offload passengers from tugs & lighters, the jetties that were used to offload cargo were the South and the Dom Pedro Jetties. There the cargo was again manhandled being offloaded from the lighter onto the jetty from which it was loaded onto a train as the age of the truck had not yet arrived.

Main picture: Lighter aground at Chelsea Point

Port Elizabeth of Yore: Mount Pleasant & its First School

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 16 March 2023 0 Comment

With few exceptions, most whites at the turn of the 20^th century received a minimal education especially if they lived in outlying areas such as Draaifontein / De Stades area which both of my grandparents did. Most residents of Port Elizabeth assume that as both the Grey Institute and Collegiate Girls’ School had been operational for at least 25 years that most children would have attended them or alternatively that other schools of similar ability were readily available.

I would hate to disabuse you but taking the McCleland family as an exemplar, that idyll is far from reality. This is the story of one family, one school and one village.

Main picture: The Mount Pleasant Primary School in 1904

Port Elizabeth of Today: The Future of No. 7 Castle Hill

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 28 February 2023 0 Comment

Perhaps I should have titled this blog “Quo Vadis” or maybe something more apocalyptic such as the End of No. 7. Whatever it should be will never encompass my dread more for its future. When I left PE on 11^th February 1980 to seek my fame & (mis) fortune in the City of Gold, the future of No. 7 was sanguine. For the most part, its future now, like many other historical buildings, is precarious at best.

Why do I anticipate such a gloomy future?

Main picture: Painting of Port Elizabeth by W.A. Harriers showing No 7 Castle Hill at the crescent [or is that the brow] of the hill

Port Elizabeth of Yore: The Congregational Church in Pearson Street

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 27 February 2023 0 Comment

Before the end of the 19^thcentury, the central areas of Port Elizabeth could proudly boast of at least a dozen churches with certain denominations having multiple churches. The Anglicans are a case in point represented by three separate churches being St. Mary’s, the Holy Trinity and St. Paul’s. This is probably indicative of not only the head count of Anglicans but also the need for a church to be in close proximity to their residences due to the lack of transport.

This blog is largely based upon the excellent book by A.D. Herholdt entitled Eight Beautiful Gothic Revival Churches of Port Elizabeth.

Main picture: The Pearson Street Congregational Church

Port Elizabeth of Yore: Dunning’s Memoirs of Bagshaw Gibaud

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 27 February 2023 0 Comment

Prior to Bagshaw Gibaud’s closure at the rapacious hands of asset strippers in 1973, it was a prominent producer of shoes in South Africa. Like most of the foremost companies commencing operations in the 1800s, at the helm were visionaries and entrepreneurial men. The duo of Gibaud and Bagshaw were no exception.

Main picture: Original buildings of Bagshaw & Gibaud

Port Elizabeth of Yore: Rutger Metelerkamp & Papenkuilsfontein

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 25 February 2023 0 Comment

As daunting as the challenge was, Rutger Metelerkamp rose to meet it by acquiring the farm previously owned by Thomas Ignatius Ferreira known as Papenkuilsfontein. Part of this danger stemmed from restive Khoikhoi and Xhosa tribesmen but also due to the utter isolation from civilisation. Taken all together, Rutger Metelerkamp [1780-1849] must have risen to the challenge. He also foresaw the potential of Klaaskraal, a former Khoikhoi “village” on the property later to be known as Bushy Park owned by the well-known local family of Lovemores.

It was intrepid entrepreneurs such as Rutger who would become the backbone and mainstay of economic development in this land. For that we should salute such men. Yet history now casts many pejoratively as colonisers and worse.

Main picture: Painting of Cradock Place by Thomas Baines

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.

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