Port Elizabeth of Yore Archives - Page 60 of 72

Buffalo Rally: Easy Rider

By Blaine McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 8 May 2017 0 Comment

Hard tailed Hogs with their equally hard tailed chicks on the back burbled laid back into town from points North and West, occasionally emitting an ear shattering bark to serve notice of a weekend of mayhem. The Kawas, Hondas and Yammies made a more strident entrance, racing between robots but the attitude, chicks and threads were the same. It was September 1977 and 4000 horsemen of the Apocalypse – well the Nomads Motorcycle club amongst others – had descended on PE for a weekend of exhaust fumes and burning rubber fueled by high octane petrol as well as high octane chicks, brandy and rum – Coke optional.

Main picture: The 1978 massed bike parade through the city

Port Elizabeth of Yore: End of the Era of the Double-Storey Buildings

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 5 May 2017 6 Comments

This blog is largely based upon the reminiscences in the 1940s of Anthony Scallan who was born on the first floor of his father’s shop in Main Street on 12^nd October 1852. Below, the sign on the shop front, it read, “James Scallan, Tailor.” This business was run by John’s grandfather, James Scallan, an early Settler but not strictly 1820, and by his father, Patric [sic], who had been born in 1822.

He vividly recounts what Main Street was like in an era when most buildings were double-storeyed with the upstairs area being the family’s home. Join me on a journey to a long-lost world of early Main Street, not only the buildings but also some of the characters that inhabited them.

Main picture: One of the earlier photographs of Market Square long before the erection of the Public Library

Port Elizabeth of Yore: Town Officials and Residents in the 1840s

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 28 April 2017 4 Comments

By virtue of the town still being so small less than three decades after its establishment, it was still possible to print a comprehensive list of all its officials and residents. The List of Town Officials was published in 1843 whereas that of all Town Residents was published in 1849.

What do they reveal about the character of these people and the occupations that they held?

Main picture: Port Elizabeth in 1840 with its short-lived first jetty

Port Elizabeth of Yore: John Centlivres Chase – Father of the Eastern Cape

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 26 April 2017 0 Comment

Often spoken of as the “Father of the Eastern Cape,” John Centlivres Chase, friend and son-in-law of Frederik Korsten, one of Baillie’s Party aboard the Chapman, a Member of the Legislative Assembly, he was one of the most prominent and influential settlers of the early town of Port Elizabeth.

Despite setting foot initially on the sands of Algoa Bay, Chase’s southern African odyssey would not begin in Port Elizabeth. But that is where it would end, after an adventure filled life during which he contributed substantially to the body of knowledge about his adopted homeland.

Unlike Korsten whose focus was as a trader and merchanting, Chase spent his remarkable talents, energy and vigorous intellect enhancing the colony and its people. He was also a strong proponent of Separatism.

Main picture: John Centlivres Chase

Port Elizabeth of Yore: Chinese Settlers Arrive

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 25 April 2017 10 Comments

Providing part of the cosmopolitan mix of Port Elizabeth was the Chinese community. They were scattered throughout Port Elizabeth, particularly in the city centre as well as Sidwell, Korsten, South End, Sydenham, Perkin Street and Dassie Kraal. Their status in South Africa of yore was ambivalent; not black enough yet not white.

The history of the Chinese community in Port Elizabeth is a long-standing narrative of endurance, retail entrepreneurship and resilience against systemic racial exclusion.

This is their story in Port Elizabeth.

Main picture: Chinese School in North End

Port Elizabeth of Yore: The First Generation of McClelands in PE

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 24 April 2017 2 Comments

Much is known about the 1820 Settler, the Reverend Francis McCleland, merely because he was the first Colonial Chaplain at St Mary’s Church in Port Elizabeth and probably more so due to his house, Number 7 Castle Hill, which is now a museum. But how did his offspring fare in this new land especially given that there were no school facilities initially?

Main picture: Number 7 Castle Hill, the house in which they were brought up

Port Elizabeth of Yore: Surreptitious Beginning of the Eastern Province Herald

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 21 April 2017 2 Comments

Even though technically not a “son” of Port Elizabeth, having been born in Aberdeen in Scotland, John Paterson’s influence on Port Elizabeth was profound. Amongst his numerous achievements was the establishment of the Eastern Province Herald, now simply called The Herald.

Main picture: John Paterson

Port Elizabeth of Yore: Early Port Elizabeth by Lawrence Green

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 19 April 2017 6 Comments

Lawrence Green’s book Harbours of Memory sketches what the port cities of South Africa during the late nineteenth and early twentieth century’s were like. It provides a vivid depiction of life in those days. This blog covers excerpts of his musings and prognostications on early Port Elizabeth’s harbour and shipping activities, its different communities, its highways and byways and the characters that inhabit it.

Main pictures: Baakens Valley in the 1860s

Port Elizabeth of Yore: The Wrecking of the Troopship Charlotte

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 18 April 2017 0 Comment

Over the 19^th and 20^th September 1854, the residents of Port Elizabeth had front-row seats as the three masted wooden transport ship, the Charlotte struck rocks at the bottom of Jetty Street during a gale.

Three separate reports have been included: The Times, the official report by the Deputy-Collector of Customs and by Lawrence Green

Main picture: The Charlotte being battered by the wind and the waves

Port Elizabeth of Yore: Reminiscences of the Early Days

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 16 April 2017 0 Comment

These are excerpts from the notes of Mr. C.G.H. Skead on the early days in Port Elizabeth written in 1939. They provide a personal view of the various activities and the development of shipping at that time. As he was born in 1871, these reminiscences probably relate to the period 1890 to the 1920s.

Main picture: Park Drive when it was considered to be “outside the Bay”

The Opinion Pieces are an eclectic bunch on current affairs & history often with a human interest aspect. The Movie/DVDs reviews are mainly on documentaries with a smattering of movie reviews.

Category Archives: Port Elizabeth of Yore