Port Elizabeth of Yore: When Mohair was a Major Industry

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 0 Comment

Port Elizabeth was at the centre of the burgeoning mohair industry in the 1800s. It still is except that the industry is no longer flourishing. Before the motor vehicle assembly industry was established in Port Elizabeth during the 1920s, wool as well as mohair were the mainstays of the local economy.

This is the long-forgotten story of the rise of this industry off the back of the Angora goat and its fall in the twentieth century.

Main picture:  One of the last batches of Angoras imported from Turkey by Adolph Mosenthals & Co. in 1895. Mr.& Mrs. W. Mosenthal are seated in the buggy with Mr. H. Goldschmidt standing in the background. In the foreground are three Turkish goat handlers who accompanied the animals on the ship.

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Port Elizabeth of Yore: A Family’s History through a Writing Desk

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 0 Comment

This desk was more than a piece of inanimate wood reposed in the study of the house “Swiss Villa”, situated at number 20 Cape Road. In an age prior to instant communication via the phone, this writing desk was the connection between the far-flung family – the Rose-Innes, the Fehrsen’s and the Frielinghaus’ – whether in German East Africa during WW1 or Sidi Rezegh in North Africa during WW2.

Through this central hub or focal point, Harry Rose-Innes relates the family history as well as the secret of the piece of furniture. Written in 1987, the story was entitled “The Writing Desk”.

Main picture:  Tram in Cape Road in the 1920s

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Port Elizabeth of Yore: An Act of Kindness in a Heartless War

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 0 Comment

This is the story of a woman who, without consideration of the consequences, assisted Afrikaner women, the “enemy”, who were incarcerated in the concentration camp at Kemsley Park, near the top of Mount Round during the Boer War.

This is an extract of the account by Harry William Rose-Innes of “Miemie” Frielinghaus’ actions entitled “The Face of Destiny”. This is blog is faithful to Rose-Innes original account except that irrelevant information has been omitted.

Main picture: Concentration Camp Memorial in Lennox Road, Glendinningvale

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Port Elizabeth of Yore: The Tin Hat on the Humewood Promenade

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 1 Comment

What is the significance of this roof structure which looks like a soldier’s helmet? Does it have any connection  to the organisation known as the MOTHS – Memorable Order of Tin Hats? This Promenade Dome is commonly known as “The Tin Hat” from its resemblance to a First World War helmet but could not have had any connection to the Moth order as it was only founded in 1927 whereas this structure was built in 1923.

Main picture: Humewood promenade in 1909

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Port Elizabeth of Yore: St. Paul’s Church

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 0 Comment

With the town rapidly expanding, the need for a 2nd Anglican Church in Port Elizabeth arose. During an age with neither public transport nor private motor vehicles, churches had to be located within walking distance of their congregants. During both of his visits in 1848 & 1850, Bishop Robert Gray of Cape Town had pointed out the need for a church in North End with a capacity of 200 to 250 congregants to serve the needs of the local Anglicans.

Sunday School was started in 1850, the first services for adults began in 1853, and the laying of the foundation stone of the original church by Bishop John Armstrong took place on18th October 1854. Part of the early ministry of the parish was the establishment of a school in 1861.

This church, he suggested, should be built on land offered by Mr Charles Cooper and Mrs Johanna Korsten, at the foot of Cooper’s Kloof (now Albany Road) on the corner of Main Street (now part of Govan Mbeki Avenue).The building was designed by Sophy Gray, the wife of Bishop Robert Gray; it was consecrated in 1856. Due to the movement of the congregation to new areas, the church was demolished in 1959 and the site sold, a new St Paul’s Church being built in Tucker Street, in the suburb of Parsons Hill, to replace the old one.

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Port Elizabeth of Yore: Living Conditions during the First Decades

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 0 Comment

Initially there were 4000 Settlers camped in tents amongst the sand dunes without running water or ablution facilities. Upon their departure, those who, for whatever reason remained, would have faced the nightmarish twin plights of erecting a shelter and eking out a living. Both were daunting. Nothing was uncomplicated. Everything was a challenge. Nothing could have prepared them for what they had to face.

At best the living conditions in this undeveloped land must have been primitive and at worst squalid. JJ Redgrave in this book, Port Elizabeth in Bygone Days, provides a peak into this unknown world.

Main picture: Examples of Settlers’ Homes

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Port Elizabeth of Yore: Captain Moresby of the HMS Menai

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 2 Comments

Normally when critical civic events occur, it is highly unusual for lower ranking military officers to not only offer their services but also to willingly partake in those activities. In the case of Port Elizabeth, it was the actions of two Captains, one a military officer, Captain Francis Evatt,  and the other a naval officer who expedited the disembarkation of the 1820 Settlers.

This blog will deal with the selfless actions of the latter, Captain Fairfax Moresby of HMS Menai.

Main picture: Captain Sir Fairfax Moresby

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Port Elizabeth of Yore: Worst Plane Crash in PE

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 3 Comments

Technically one cannot classify the crash of the Rietbok as the worst crash in Port Elizabeth. Even though it departed from Port Elizabeth, it crashed just off the coast at Kidd’s Beach, East London.

On Friday 4th December 1959, a PV1 Ventura crashed with the loss of the crew of 5, making it the worst air crash in Port Elizabeth.

Main picture: Lockheed PV1 Ventura painting by Ron Belling in VIP Transport Colours

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Port Elizabeth of Yore: From the Herald Chambers to Cleghorns on Market Square

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 0 Comment

The building on the northern corner of White’s Road opposite Market Square was originally built in 1861 by Paterson, the owner of the Eastern Province Herald. In 1864, just after the construction of the grand Town Hall was completed, he named the building the Herald Chambers”, and relocated his newspaper there.

In March 1884, the department store, Cleghorn and Harris, was opened in “Herald Chambers” in the Market Square. A decade later, in January 1894, they purchased the building.

This store was located in a prime location overlooking the pivotal point in Port Elizabeth. It was not the hoi polloi and the down-at-the-heel who were attracted to the restaurant with its view of the Town Hall but the elite.

Main picture: Cleghorn’s Building burnt down on the 6th May 1896

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