A different view on current affairs & history
Blogs on Port Elizabeth
Main picture: Cathy on the Humewood Beach
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Russell Road Church, though not the original home of Methodism in Port Elizabeth, is the Mother Church of those now extant. The first Methodist Church was erected in Queen Street in 1841, on the spot where the settlers had pitched their tents, and where the Reverend William Shaw, standing upon a rock, had preached in the open air.
Main picture: Russell Road Methodist Church
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In 1947 the British Royal Family embarked upon a world tour. It included an excursion to South Africa, Rhodesia and Basutoland. Included in this expedition, the duration of which was from 17th February to 23rd April 1947, was a stop-over at Port Elizabeth on the 26th & 27th February, five days after Princess Elizabeth’s birthday which was celebrated in Cape Town.
Main picture: Brigadier Arthur Coy with the Mayor of PE, Mr Neave, inspecting the Ex Servicemen with the King and Queen at Crusaders ground, St. George’s Park in February 1947. The princesses Elizabeth and Margaret were in attendance. There was a garden party in Victoria Park afterwards.
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Horse drawn trams possessed manifold limitations foremost amongst them was the fact that the CBD has been built at the foot of an imposing hill which was impassable for these vehicles. Notwithstanding this, the Port Elizabeth tramway network was opened on 14 May 1881 operating with the available technology: horse-cars.
Main picture: A one horsepower Port Elizabeth tram in the 1880s. They were not suitable for hilly terrain such as Whites Road.
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As a young child I had an aversion to trees. Most trees but not the Wild Fig tree. There was something enchanting even mystical about their giant protruding roots. Perhaps this affinity arose due to playing in Trinder Square with its veritable forest of wild fig trees. This arose due to my cousins staying in Pearson Avenue which is no more than a block away.
Main picture: Trinder Square in 1867
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Main picture: George Dix-Peek circa 1874 in colonial military attire
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Apart from his name and a few other biographical details, there is a paucity of information regarding Howard Mapplebeck (1847-1909)and his stay in Port Elizabeth. Despite appearances that he was a prosperous individual, I was unable to establish much apart from the fact that he lived in a plush house on Emerald Hill. Having uncovered numerous photos of a Mr Howard Mapplebeck on Flickr, I was intrigued as they cast a light on an elegant milieu and a graceful lifestyle.
Main picture: Howard Mapplebeck (1847-1909) with family and friends, at Emerald Hill, Port Elizabeth, in 1886. Howard is in white with pith helmet. Seated in front of him are his children Sybil Mapplebeck (1875-1955) and Sydney Mapplebeck (1877-1904). Nanny Marie stands to the side. Photo taken in 1886 at the age of 39.
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Allister Miller was not only a war hero but he was instrumental in the creation of a civilian aviation industry in South Africa. By all objective measures, he can claim to be the father of this industry. Due to his record breaking flight from Cape Town to Port Elizabeth, he was accorded recognition in Port Elizabeth by naming the street past the airport, Allister Miller Drive.
Lieutenant-Colonel Allister Miller DSO OBE (1892–1951) was a South African aviation pioneer, who contributed significantly to both military and civil aviation in his country during the first half of the 20th century.
But what did Allister Miller actually do to receive this acclamation?
The original caption on the photograph: The end of an historic flight, Rio de Janeiro II, piloted by Major (later Lieut.-Col) Allister Miller, the pioneer of South African civil aviation, lies upended in a bunker on the old 17th fairway of the Port Elizabeth Golf Club on Wednesday, 7th November 1917. Major Miller, accompanied by Sgt-Mechanic Way, took off from Young’s Field Cape Town. Five hours, 18 minutes later flying at an average speed of 70 m.p.h., the plane touched down at the P.E. Golf Club – the first plane ever to land in the City. An estimated 5,000 people were waiting at the Club to witness the arrival, but they pressed so close when the plane touched down that Major Miller was forced to crash his craft into a fairway bunker to avoid the over-eager spectators. His action prevented what could have been a major tragedy. The only damage to the plane, fortunately, was a broken propeller which was presented to the Club as a memento of an historic occasion.
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Main picture: Restoration in progress in Central Port Elizabeth Continue reading
The torpedoing of the 32,000 ton Cunard Liner, the Lusitania, on the 7th March 1915 with the loss of 1198 lives so inflamed public opinion against the local German Community that they took the law into their own hands and torched the Liedertafel, the German Club, in Western Road.
This, together with other atrocious acts, forms a dark and an indelible stain on the history of Port Elizabeth.
Main picture: The Liedertafel after it was set ablaze by an enraged mob
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