Port Elizabeth of Yore: When the Swartkops River almost became a Port

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 1 Comment

Far be it for me to impugn the motives of the Port Elizabeth Harbour Board for requesting an eminent harbour engineer,  Mr. C.W. Methven, to report on the practicability of building a harbour at the mouth of the Swartkops River. Accordingly I will not speculate as to their rationale but rather assume that the issue regarding silting would forever bedevil the construction of a breakwater at or in close proximity to the existing jetties and landing beaches.

Main picture: 1862 map of the Swartkops River

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Port Elizabeth of Yore: Second attempt at Construction of the Breakwater

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 0 Comment

Despite a breakwater being a critical component of  a harbour, Port Elizabeth was deprived of one until the 1920s. That consigned the unloading of the ships to be performed in the roadstead, an archaic practice, long since abandoned by other ports.

The initial attempt at building a breakwater in 1856 was disastrous as it became unusable due to silting after the flood in 1867. It would be fifty years before another attempt would be made to construct the breakwater.

Main picture: Breakwater with the Charl Malan Quay still under construction

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Port Elizabeth of Yore: The Effect of Spanish Flu

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 0 Comment

In the midst of the Coronavirus epidemic ravaging the world, South Africa will have to brace itself
for a tsunami of dead bodies. Given crowding in the townships and on the public transport, social distancing is impractical. The last time that South Africa experienced such a pandemic was in 1918 which resulted in at least an estimated 500 000 deaths.

How did this pandemic affect Port Elizabeth? And what lessons can be learnt?

Main picture: Mouth of the Shark River in Humewood with Lazaretto Contagious Diseases Hospital

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Port Elizabeth of Yore: The Paris Maru Disaster-When Humanity confronts Bigotry

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 2 Comments

That evening, Monday 15th January 1934, was not going to be a good one for the ship from Osaka, Japan en route to Cape Town. An angry south-easter was gusting as this steamer left the protection of the recently completed Charl Malan Quay at 19:00. Unlike the days of the sailing ships, when the wind from this direction could be a death sentence for ships at anchor in the bay, the conversion to steam had long since tamed that menace. After exiting the harbour and entering the choppy waters of the Bay, the ship veered to starboard and headed for Cape Recife to meet its fate.

That day would also not be a good day for the newly-arrived destitute Jews from Nazi Germany. In effect the call by the Grey Shirts in the Feathermarket Hall to block the emigration of Jews to the Union, would constitute a death sentence to Jews trapped within the warped bigoted anti-Semitic world of Nazi Germany. But how would the stranded Japanese sailors fare in a race addled country far from home?

Main picture: The swansong of the Japanese merchantman, The Paris Maru

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Port Elizabeth of Yore: The Van Stadens Pass and Bridges

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 6 Comments

As the Dutch boeren trekked ever eastwards in order to escape from authority, they encountered an enemy of a different kind: a series of rivers in steep defiles. The one solution was to bypass them by traversing the Langkloof route. The final challenges were the Gamtoos and Van Stadens Rivers.  The Gamtoos was the easier foe as it could be crossed by making a turn to the north. The Van Staden river was a foe of superior mein. 

Van Stadens Pass is a passage through the gorge of the Van Stadens River and is locally  known as the iPospathi – the  post road, for it was with the opening of the pass that post was conveyed by way of the road for more than a century.

Main picture: Crossing the drift in 1870

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Port Elizabeth of Yore: Roads and Inland Transport from the 1820s to 1860s

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 0 Comment

The success of Port Elizabeth has always been determined by its transport links to the interior. Initially it was the port from which the bulk of the Cape Colony’s wool was exported and then in the first half of the 20th century it was the port through which all cars assembled in South Africa were imported. Before the introduction of rail services in the 1870s, inland transport was dependent upon the state of the roads which were execrable. Secondly the condition of the  roads impeded the exports in that it took three months for an ox wagon to complete a round trip from Graaff Reinet to Port Elizabeth and back.

Main picture: Typical old Divisional Council roads, narrow and rutted, with a drift below and ox wagons toiling up the hill

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Evaluation of the Rev. Francis McCleland

By Dean McCleland in McClelands, Port Elizabeth of Yore 1 Comment

The objective of any biography is to obtain an understanding of what motivates that person and how they handle situations, especially the troublesome ones. Essentially what one attempts to do, is to understand what makes a person tick. Even in the best cases, vital pieces of evidence are missing, hidden behind the veil of their private lives. Just ask a divorced person for a resume of their ex-spouse and compare the response with what is publicly known about the person. The mask will slip, and the real person will be revealed. So it is with Francis McCleland except that Francis’ obnoxious actions towards third parties became common knowledge and were not restricted to one person. Being so egregious, the other parties took public umbrage at Francis’ actions and hence his personality – or at least  to the putrescent bits.

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Port Elizabeth of Yore: The Impetus for the Separatist League

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 7 Comments

Almost ab initio, the Cape Colony was cleaved into two after the arrival of the 1820 Settlers. The Eastern Province separatism originated as early as 1823. The initial resentment which inspired separatism arose due to the British settlers’ demands for a greater military presence on the frontier. Within thirty years, this resentment was driven by a different set of concerns as the two regions differed in their demographics and their politics. However, the west-east division was not absolute until it was built into the structures of the Cape’s legislature with all the English majority areas being demarcated as being part of the Eastern Province. This was a prelude to the formation of the Eastern Province Separatist League which demanded greater autonomy for the Eastern Province as a separate Colony with its own capital. 

Main picture: In 1854, the Cape Colony was split into 2 provinces comprising 22 districts

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My Draaifontein Great Grandmother: Mary Ann Beckley

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 0 Comment

Normally women during this era were hidden from the purview of subsequent generations. Whether they are remembered – if they are recalled at all – is through the deeds of their husband and not for what they achieved themselves. But Polly – Mary Ann’s sobriquet – was different. She survives not through some outrageous deed but rather her wistful letters and poignant poetry.

Main picture:Joseph James and Mary Ann Beckley with their youngest daughter Grace on the front verandah at Draaifontein.

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