Port Elizabeth of Yore Archives - Page 26 of 71

Port Elizabeth of Yore: Collegiate Girls in Drowning Tragedy

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 2 March 2022 0 Comment

On Saturday 1886 a group of Collegiate girls were taken to the beach adjacent to the mouth of the Baakens River and South End. In all likelihood these pupils were boarders and not day students. As no public transport was available, the girls must have walked from their accommodation down to the beach with their teachers in tow. What exacerbated the situation was that age, very few people were able to swim so when what one presumes was a rip tide occurred, none of the girls were able to swim. Even if they could, they would not have been able to deal with it successfully

Main picture: Bathing house at the mouth of the Baakens

Port Elizabeth of Yore: A Typical Early Airflight to Cape Town in a Biplane

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 15 February 2022 0 Comment

The first flights offered to Cape Town by Union Airways commenced in November 1929. The aircraft used was a De Havilland DH60 with a two-person passenger cabin. The facilities were rudimentary at best but in all likelihood non-existent. In this blog, a Mr. Dowdle, recounts his flight to Cape Town on Christmas Day 1931.

Port Elizabeth of Yore: The State of Medical Services – The First Provincial Hospital

By Dean McCleland in Opinion Pieces, Port Elizabeth of Yore 5 February 2022 1 Comment

By the 1850s, there was heightened concern about the lack of a hospital in Port Elizabeth. Discussions amongst the town’s folk increasingly revolved around this requirement. Whenever citizens congregated, it was a topic of discussion. Even though the population had risen by 1855 to about 3,500 and disease and sickness was increasing, Port Elizabeth still did not have a hospital. Plans for a hospital were discussed over several years.

It was not until Act 5 of 1856 established the Port Elizabeth Provincial Hospital that planning for a hospital could commence. As an interim measure, a house in Rodney Street was hired to serve as a hospital. This was opened on the 10^th September 1856 with Dunsterville and Rubidge serving as doctors.

Main picture: Entrance to the Richmond Hill provincial hospital in 1856

Port Elizabeth of Yore: Architecturally Speaking: Here be Dragons

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 4 February 2022 0 Comment

For the purposes of this chapter, the architectural styles from the Late Georgian, in which No 7 Castle Hill was constructed, to the Edwardian Style which predominated from 1890 to 1914, will be covered. Unfortunately, many of these structures are being demolished, altered or “renovated” in such a way that their original character is lost. Perhaps, in a small measure, one’s understanding of the various styles will culminate in their appreciation and hence a desire to preserve them.

Also briefly discussed is the step-change in the architectural elegance of the second generation of commercial buildings constructed in Main Street.

Main picture: Fleming House at 20 Bird Street is an excellent example of architecture in the Regency Style

Port Elizabeth of Yore: State of Medical Services: Prior to the Provincial Hospital

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 4 February 2022 0 Comment

Port Elizabeth got off to a slow start with towns such as Grahamstown stealing a march on their coastal sibling. This chapter deals with the state of medical services during the first thirty years after 1820, which I used as this town’s conception, maybe illegitimate, but nonetheless, a vital, vibrant child never to be considered as the runt of the litter.

Above: Temporary Provincial Hospital in Rodney Street, 1856

Port Elizabeth of Now: The Chief Dawid Stuurman Airport

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 3 February 2022 0 Comment

This blog covers the developments at the main Port Elizabeth airport over the past 50 years. Passenger numbers have continued to swell apace in spite of the sluggish economic growth especially subsequent to the 1970s. What would highlight this trend are passenger numbers and aircraft landings per annum. However, except for the passenger numbers from 2006, nothing else is available.

Main picture: The Chief Dawid Stuurman airport

Port Elizabeth of Yore: A brief history of the land around the mouth of the Swartkops River

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 31 January 2022 2 Comments

This article was originally written by Margaret Harradine and presented at a Zwartkops Conservancy Meeting. It discusses the history of the land at the mouth of the Swartkops River comprising the Fishwater Flats, Amsterdam Hoek and the Outspan.

Main picture: Swartkops in 1888 by Robert Harris

Port Elizabeth of Yore: The Early Years of Aviation

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 23 January 2022 0 Comment

By any measure the first airplanes were light-weight midgets with the French Nieuport 17 weighing only 375 kgs. As such they did not require a hardened surface on which to land. Any reasonably level grass covered field or strip of dirt or sand could suffice as an airfield. In Port Elizabeth’s case, the area adjacent to First Avenue Newton Park was selected as the airfield. Not only that but a concreted apron was required otherwise standing aircraft were liable to sink into soggy and damp ground. Also required are various other structures such as hangars and a terminal building.

Main picture: Painting by Ron Belling of Harvards flying over the military section of the airport

Port Elizabeth of Yore: Banking as the Fulcrum of the Early Economy

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 20 January 2022 0 Comment

A frequently alluded to fallacy when discussing the state of the economy in this era is the primacy of physical items whether it is a precious metal such as gold or agricultural products such as cotton or wool. Logistics constraints are only considered when they are an extreme impediment to the smooth flow of these physical items. However, seldom mentioned is the centrality of banks and banking practices which oils that process. Without all of the components of the process operating like the proverbial well-oiled machine, economic progress is not possible.

As previous blogs have focussed upon the both the hazards, horrors and cost of wagon transport from the hinterland and the stupendous surge in wool production over two decades, neither will feature as the dramatis personae but rather they will be assigned a cameo role in this article.

Remarkably, the Eastern Cape and Port Elizabeth led the charge in establishing banks. By the 1870s, the Eastern Cape sported 24 banks whereas the rest of the Cape Colony had one; lIkewise Natal and the Orange Free State and the Transvaal none.

Main picture: 1866 painting of Port Elizabeth by Thomas Bowler

Port Elizabeth of Yore: Reflections on the Flood of 1st September 1968

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 13 January 2022 1 Comment

The Weather Guru, Garth Sampson, has recently emailed me some interesting articles on this flood. Even though I have previously written a blog on it, it was based upon my personal experiences and as well as that of my family instead of being a generic article about rainfall and general human interest elements. Amongst these articles was one written by JP Viviers of the SA Weather Bureau on which this blog is largely based. Instead of a wholly human-interest story, it largely explains the meteorological aspects as well as some statistics combined with some unusual interesting consequences.

Main picture: Water flowing over Beach Road at Happy Valley

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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