A different view on current affairs & history
Blogs on Port Elizabeth
Like all river crossings before the advent of pontoons and later bridges, the travellers could only cross the river at locations sufficiently far inland so as not to be affected by tidal inflows while still being as close to the coast as possible. Furthermore both of the ingress and egress points had to be characterised by gentle slopes.
This blog covers the evolution of the crossing of the Gamtoos River from pontoon to a single lane bridge.
Main picture: Ferry across the Gamtoos River
The Sundays River is the Eastern boundary of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan area and is situated right next to the Addo Elephant National Park’s southern boundary. The Khoisan people originally named this river Nukakamma (Grassy Water) because the river’s banks are always green and grassy despite the arid terrain that it runs through. It is said to be the fastest flowing river in the country.
For many years, travellers to Grahamstown had to cross the river using a pont. Ultimately the need for a bridge was acknowledged.
Main picture: The Mackay Bridge
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The opening up of the shore south of South End to development in the late 1890s, ultimately culminated in the building of holiday hotels along the beach front. The first of these was named the Beach or the Humewood Beach Hotel. In doing so, confusion has subsequently reigned amongst historians as it was confused with the later Humewood Mansions Hotel in Beach Road.
Confounding the issue, was the building of separate Beach and Humewood Hotels after the original Humewood Beach Hotel on the site of the original Elizabeth Hotel was destroyed by fire in December 1915.
Main picture: The second hotel to bear the name of the Beach Hotel
It was probably when speaking to Joan Clark about her book on the history of VP – Victoria Park School – that I came to hear about the McCleland Trophy. Fortunately my kind cousins provided the details.
This blog fills a lacuna in the McCleland history.
Main picture: Victoria Park High School
Located half way between Port Elizabeth and Jeffreys Bay, the Van Stadens River mouth has always been a place where the denizens of Port Elizabeth could relax away from the hurly-burly and bustle of Port Elizabeth. Initially the holiday makers would have to bring everything with them – from the pots and pans to the canvas roof over their heads – on their carts and wagons.
Today, it sports rondawels, chalets and facilities to cater for all one’s needs. But its attraction is its beauty and tranquillity with miles of sand dunes in both directions
Main picture: Van Stadens Mouth from Cadles in 1870 by Sarah Holland, the earliest drawing of Van Stadens
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The establishment of the Erica School is a pointed example of what is possible when one person has the passion and determination to achieve their goal. In the case of the Erica School, it was a young woman of 26 who exuded this zeal and an almost fanatical determination, despite patriarchy being the dominant social norm.
The name of this trailblazer was Mary Anne van Wyk. The reasons for this intensity and forbearance is not particularly clear; suffice to say that she displayed an apparent timidity which concealed “a brave independence and an inflexible adherence to duty.”
Main picture: Erica School building
With the advent of these two innovations, the speed of communication surged by leaps and bounds. The first to make its mark was the telegraph in 1861 which enabled long distance communication for the first time albeit in written form. Nonetheless the telegraph reduced the speed of transmission of a message to Cape Town from a week to several minutes. The introduction of the telephone in 1882 to the residents of Port Elizabeth would initially only benefit the local residents but that drawback too would be overcome when inter town telephone lines were laid.
Main picture: South Africa’s first telephone exchange switchboard was installed in Port Elizabeth during 1882. The telephone exchange was later transferred to Queenstown in the 1920s or ’30s, and was in use there until 1979.
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The history of gaseous fuel, important for lighting, heating, and cooking purposes throughout most of the 19th century, and the first half of the 20th century, began with the development of analytical and pneumatic chemistry in the 18th century.
Port Elizabeth took advantage of these developments when on the 1st September 1862 the Port Elizabeth Gas Company was formed. Initially gas was to be used for lighting.
Main picture: The gas works in North End prior to 1914
Despite being a small proportion of the town’s population, the Jewish community has always been prominent in Port Elizabeth mainly due to their business and commercial acumen, but they also played a prominent role in civic affairs.
It is fair to say that everybody either had a Jewish school mate, friend, or neighbour. In the case of the McCleland’s it was the Siesel’s who had escaped from Nazi Germany in the early 1930s. Arriving in Port Elizabeth with nothing but a suitcase, Mr Siesel opened a trading operation catering for the black population. The Siesel’s were our neighbours across the road in Mowbray Street, Newton Park.
Main picture: Western Road Synagogue used primarily by Jews of German and British extraction
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Adolph Schauder is one of a number of residents who have played a pivotal role in Port Elizabeth’s development but foremost amongst the Jewish community’s contribution was Adolph Schauder who, despite being an immigrant, was instrumental in the provision of housing for its underclass and poor population. More pertinently, what drove this man to see the world through the lens of the needs of the indigent and the needy thereby marking him as the most significant of PE’s Jewish mayors?
Main picture: Councillor Adolph Schauder turning the first sod of the slum eradication scheme at New Brighton on the 21st November 1937
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