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.

The Technical Editor of this series of blogs can be categorised as possessing a heightened sense of curiosity which is conflated with the instincts of a pitbull. Whilst also having an inveterate inquisitive nature it leads to his relishing the challenge to explain the unusual and the incongruous.

So it was in the case of an hydraulic crane with extended legs hiding in plain view on the North Jetty. That explains why I never noticed it whereas Blaine has for years cogitated its existence and purpose. Whereas I classified it as another boring hydraulic crane at the harbour, Blaine was mystified.  What purpose did it serve? Why was it relocated? What was its significance?

This blog unmasks the object and provides a possible explanation for the crane’s existence and ultimate usage when it vanished from North Jetty.

Main picture: Unusual crane on North Jetty

William Alcock was a prominent resident of Port Elizabeth and Walmer in the later 19th century and early 20th century. With eclectic interests such as photography, civic affairs and motor vehicles he was widely known in these circles.

From a professional point of view, what is known about William Alcock, is that he was tinsmith who operated initially at No. 44 Queen Street but later relocated to better premises in Main Street close to Russell Road. This was just the job for the sleuthing skills of the Technical Editor, my brother Blaine, to track down the exact location of these buildings.

Main picture: William & Edwin Building built in 1890 in Main Street. Demolished for VSN Centre