Port Elizabeth of Yore: Samuel Hudson – Diarist exposes Cape Society

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 0 Comment

In writing a historical piece, at worst one is confronted by a set of facts that reveal little of the real person, their motivations and their personality. At best, only glimpses of the inner person will be exposed usually insufficient to no more than titillate.

The release of the book entitled Pepysian Perceptions of the Cape 1798 to 1828 has led to a numerous long-held assumptions being debunked in spite of previously being cast as immutable and indelible.

The blog will cover the extraordinary life of Samuel Eusebius Hudson as well as pealing back invalid assumptions of life in Port Elizabeth from 1810 to 1825.

Main picture:   Sketch of Samuel Eusebius Hudson by Lady Ann Barnard                                 

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Port Elizabeth of Yore: Early irrigation schemes on the Gamtoos River

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 1 Comment

The Gamtoos Valley is a very fertile region. All that it required to convert it into a lush farm was water. Even prior to the 1820 Settlers arriving in Algoa Bay, various people were aware of its significance, but none could not actualise its potential as both the Khoi and the Trekboers were nomadic by nature and lived off the land. Hence fertile arable land was not a priority.

It was a countrywide tour by Frederick Korsten that would plant the seed of combining cattle and the salt from the saltpans near Bethelsdorp to produce salted beef for export. Once ensconced at Papenkuilsfontein, having purchased it from Thomas Ferreira in1812, Korsten spotted the nearby Hankey on which to create a farm. 

This blog covers the disastrous attempt by Korsten to create an irrigated farm on the Gamtoos as well as briefly dealing with two subsequent successful schemes.

Main picture: Philip’s Tunnel

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Port Elizabeth of Yore: Pre-1820 Traders and Merchants

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 0 Comment

The advent of British soldiers stationed at Fort Frederick as well as the seizure of the Zuurveld in 1811-1812 opened up commercial opportunities for merchants. The first business to exploit these opportunities was Frederick Korsten.

To do so required an investment in the area. In the case of the contract with the British forces on Mauritius to supply 3000 barrels of salted beef, Korsten was compelled to make a substantial investment in cattle, mills, warehouses, smithies, tanneries, granaries and cooperages.

Notwithstanding that, other entrepreneurs also perceived the same opportunities albeit on a smaller less grand scale

Main picture: Cradock Place painted by Thomas Baines

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Port Elizabeth of Yore: Business acumen of Frederick Korsten assessed

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 0 Comment

Korsten possessed the temperament to succeed as an entrepreneur in spades, yet as will be shown, he was not necessarily successful in every venture which he tackled. In comparison with his friend Samuel Hudson, he was less dogmatic and more disciplined, but ultimately only marginally more successful.

Samuel Eusebius Hudson was a friend Korsten of long standing who was also an entrepreneur at heart. From his diary one is able compare their management and business styles and divine the flaws in each’s business character.

Main picture: Cradock Place painted by Walford Arbouin Harries in 1870

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Port Elizabeth of Yore: Military Record of John Gilfillan Bunton in WW2

By Dean McCleland in Opinion Pieces, Port Elizabeth of Yore 0 Comment

Just over a century ago, the name Bunton was well known in Port Elizabeth as John’s father and grandfather in their day were both owners of the Grand Hotel in Belmont Terrace. When John’s father, Henry, changed careers in 1927 and went farming in the Selbourne district near Kirkwood, the name Bunton would never again resonate with the residents of Port Elizabeth.

John would attest to serve in the artillery. Later his younger brother, Peter, would join him in the same unit. It was during the opening stages of the battle of El Alamein on the 13th July 1942 that John would be mortally wounded, and Peter, who served in the same unit, would see his brother for the last time as he was stretchered away never to be seen again by him.

Such is the madness and futility of war.

Main picture: John Bunton in North Africa

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Port Elizabeth of Yore: Military Record & Life of Henry Bunton

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 1 Comment

Henry Arthur Bunton was the son of Walter Bunton and Marie Louise Pfeiffer. Their son, Henry Arthur Bunton, was born in July 1883 making him only 17 years old when the Anglo Boer War erupted in October 1899 yet at the age of 19 he joined Gorringe’s Flying Column.  This force was raised by Lt Col G F Gorringe in 1901 and served in Cape Colony against numerous Boer Commandos.

In 1916 Henry would again participate in a war but this time it would be during WW1 fighting not in the trenches in France but would serve in the South African Heavy Artillery Regiment.

Main picture: Henry aka Harry Bunton with his wife Grace on honeymoon

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Port Elizabeth of Yore: Visit by John Campbell in 1862

By Dean McCleland in Opinion Pieces, Port Elizabeth of Yore 0 Comment

Recollections of the town by visitors especially in its early days, provides an indelible record of how they viewed the town but more importantly, how it operated. Some of the descriptors relate to the residents’ industriousness and the consequential hustle and bustle whereas others refer to the stark bareness of the hill especially prior to the planting of trees.

These recollections of John Campbell, a surveyor, and passenger aboard the Eastern Province who visited the town from the 25th February 1862 to the 17th March 1862, adds a fresh layer of depth to the understanding of this bustling town.

Main picture: The first breakwater around 1866

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Dating the Oldest Photograph of Port Elizabeth

By Blaine McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 2 Comments

Having unexpectantly and unwanted achieved old age, dating is not a pursuit that features greatly in my life. I prefer more leisurely diversions such as the subject of this blog – dating the oldest photograph (not something that I ever thought I would aspire to). I am also an armchair historian of popular topics and do not submerge myself in the dusty bowels of archives. My tools are limited to my inquisitive mind and interpretive skills and reviewing easily accessible books not to mention leaning on my older brother, Dean, for backup as younger siblings tend to do.

[Disclaimer: I must make absolutely clear that it is with no sense of superiority do I dismiss some of the dates given by Redgrave, Lorimer and Harradine. It is rather a case that I stand on the shoulders of giants, particularly in the case of the latter. Also in the days that their books were written, they did not have sophisticated word processors and the ability to print drafts at their desks or perform computer searches.]


What triggered this blog was rereading my brother’s blog (ref 1) on the earliest photograph and photographers. In it he presents an early morning photograph looking over Market Square and down Main Street, probably referred to as High Street in those days, and he states that it is the oldest photograph (below) and taken in c1858.

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