Port Elizabeth of Yore Archives - Page 36 of 71

Port Elizabeth of Yore: Account of Sherwill’s Ascent of the Cockscomb

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 7 September 2020 4 Comments

At 1768 m, the Cockscomb is one of the highest peaks in the Eastern Cape. Apart from that, its claim to fame during the age of sail was that the mountain acted as a mariners’ landmark as it was visible from the sea. As the local burghers and khoikhoi never showed any inclination to climb it, it fell to an outsiders, usually adventurers, with time on their hands to become the first to do so. This is the account of Lieut. Walter Stanhope Sherwill who, during 1840 whilst on a visit to Port Elizabeth, would attempt to do so but would be succeed.

Main picture: The Cockscomb peak

Port Elizabeth of Yore: Star Fort – An Accidental Military Fortification

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 4 September 2020 2 Comments

Call it what you like, but this crude fort had the distinction of being not merely the first military fortification in Algoa Bay – as Port Elizabeth was then called – but also the only fort in Port Elizabeth to experience military action. What would the future hold for this extemporised military fortification? Certainly, it should have been recognised much more than the Johnny-come-lately, Fort Frederick, which was unbloodied in war. Star Fort did not survive long which is quite understandable given the fact that it was hastily constructed earth fort which was just as hastily abandoned.

Main picture: There are no extant sketches of this fort other than this reference to Star Fort on the map of Cradock Place on which it is situated

Port Elizabeth of Yore: The Zwartkopswagendrift

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 21 August 2020 0 Comment

The hallmark of the half century prior to the arrival of the British Settlers in 1820 was the steady encroachment of the Dutch farmers commonly from the west. In spite of every effort on the part of the Cape Governors to prevent the Trekboers from spreading eastwards, this ineluctable movement did not abate.

This blog covers the settling of this peripatetic people in the Zwartkops Valley and especially around the Zwartkopswagendrift which was the principal crossing point on the road east or north.

Main picture: Trekboers crossing the Karoo by Charles Davidson Bell

Port Elizabeth of Yore: The Victorian School in Park Drive

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 19 August 2020 0 Comment

Today the elegant Victorian mansion ‘Knockfierna’ in Park Drive now masquerades as a school. It ushered in the 20^th century as the home of a wealthy wool merchant and farmer, John Daverin. Much more than that he was also a Member of Parliament and philanthropist. Now largely forgotten, his legacy endures in the form of the St Georges Preparatory School.

Detailed information on the house and the three occupants who resided there prior to its conversion into a school are covered in a separate blog. This blog is merely a copy of the school’s history from its website.

Main picture: St George’s Preparatory School in Park Drive

Port Elizabeth of Yore: The Unsolved Mystery of the Namacurra #Y1506

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 18 August 2020 2 Comments

In the age of radio, it is highly unusual for a vessel to just disappear at sea without a trace. But that is precisely what happened to a Harbour Patrol Vessel, a Namacurra pennant number Y1506, based at SAS Donkin, in Port Elizabeth.

What role did these Namacurra class patrol vessels play in the defence of the harbours but more pertinently how and why did this vessel just disappear into thin air? Was its disappearance similar to the modus operandi of flight MH370, the Malaysian Airlines Boeing 777 which simply vanished? On purpose.

Main picture: Namacurra Harbour Patrol Boat

Port Elizabeth of Yore: A Description of the Town in 1861

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 17 August 2020 0 Comment

This blog is a verbatim copy of an article of unknown origin or authorship. That begs the question of who indeed wrote it. As a best guess it was Tennyson Bodill as it came from his files.

Notwithstanding vigorous growth during its first forty years, Port Elizabeth was still a dinky-sized town in 1861. From a scruffiness in its early years, which was unbecoming, it was the debut of the Town Hall which ushered in a whole array of elegant buildings such as the original Standard Bank building. What the town lacked then, and the city does now, was greenery. This paucity of vegetation has deprived its inhabitants of its aesthetic beauty, which would have enhanced the attractiveness of the town.

Main picture: The original St Mary’s Church before it was burnt down in 1895. Never an object of beauty, it was a plain unadorned box of a building.

Port Elizabeth of Yore: The Early Days of Cycling

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 15 August 2020 0 Comment

John Howard, an American cyclist, once quipped: “The bicycle is a curious vehicle. Its passenger is its engine.” As an epigram, a wit could have rejoined that “2^nd class cycling is better than 1^st class walking.” Surprisingly in an era post the advent of bicycles but prior to the arrival of motor vehicles, photos of cyclists are rare; so rare that I only possess two.

If social cycling did not prosper, competitive cycling did with Cycling Clubs soon being formed. From curiosity value in the Penny-Farthing, bicycles evolved into more practical machines.

Main picture: Members of the P.E. Amateur Bicycle Club, which was formed in 1881 and later amalgamated with the Amateur Athletic Club, in front of the Pearson Conservatory in St. Georges Park. A penny-farthing can be seen in the centre. Some of the club’s rides were from the park to Fitch’s at Witteklip which represented a 26 mile ride.

Port Elizabeth of Yore: An Allen who Entered the World of Shipping

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 11 August 2020 3 Comments

This member of the Allen family in Port Elizabeth did not follow the preceding two generations and enter the building trade. Instead he made his mark in the shipping business as well as various other organisations. This blog is the story John William Gordon Allen whose stellar career in the shipping business spanned five decades. In addition he contributed immensely to the MOTHS [Memorable Order of the Tin Hats, A club for returned service men after WW I and WW II] over many decades. Fortunately for society he was called Gordon to distinguish him from others bearing the family name of John William.

Main picture: Gordon Allen immediately prior to a MOTH’s dinner. He looks a bit pensive. He often sat quietly for a few minutes or scribbled some quick notes just before giving a welcome address or giving a speech.

Port Elizabeth of Yore: Two Generations of Master Builders

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 8 August 2020 0 Comment

Like many of the settlers to the Eastern Cape, the Allen family thrived. Maybe it is an indomitable adventurous spirit which would produce three generations whose contribution to the development of this area was inestimable. The endowments of the first two generations, both named John William, were as master builders whereas the subsequent generation forsook this business to enter the world of shipping. Then sadly, like many other South Africans, the subsequent generations are spread across the globe.

This blog is the tale of two men, both confusingly named John William Allen as well as their Settler roots. The third Allen member will be covered in a separate blog.

Main picture: Standard Bank Building in 1882 after the second half – a mirror image of the first half – was built in 1879 by the Builders, Allen and Winter. It was demolished in 1962

Port Elizabeth of Yore: The Railway Line to Humewood and the Driftsands

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 20 July 2020 1 Comment

Of all the Branch Lines in Port Elizabeth, this one appears to be the least known. Initially it was laid as part of the project to tame the supposedly deadly driftsands which would encroach and smother the site chosen for the harbour. To prevent this apocalypse, it was decided to cover this moving sea of sand with the garbage generated by the residents of Port Elizabeth. The garbage was required as fertiliser for the planting of the chosen species of grasses, bushes and trees, the sand being further stabilised by spreading tree branches and erecting wooden fences at intervals as required.

This standard-gauge railway line was constructed in late 1892 or early 1893, and the use of the coastal section of this railway for passenger traffic followed the sale, on 30 May 1893, by the Harbour Board of 20 marine villa sites between the original Happy Valley (where the Apple Express railway line now runs) and Klein Shark River.

Main picture: The platform adjacent to Customs House to embark on the journey to Humewood

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