Port Elizabeth of Yore: James Edward Bruton-An early photographer

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 0 Comment

Invented in 1816, the first device that we recognize as a camera, was created by Joseph Niépce. The camera swiftly attracted devotees and rapidly spread across the world. In the Cape Colony, James Bruton was amongst the first photographers practicing the art of photography in Port Elizabeth shortly after its introduction. William Ring might have been the first practitioner in the nascent field in Port Elizabeth, but James Bruton was more prolific.

This blog mainly covers James’s life but it does also provide several snippets on this family.

Main picture: Thomas and Charlotte Bruton, the parents of the photographer James Edward Bruton

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A SMAC in the Face #70:  Binary Logic – The Gender Agenda

By Blaine McCleland in Jokes 0 Comment

I observed the recent Eurovision song contest with a passing interest much like one would when passing a traffic accident – mildly curious and glad not to be involved in any way.  Like many modern music shows and videos, it seemed to be overly sexualised and ever since ABBA won with Waterloo in 1974 it joins a long line of immemorable Eurovisions.  Another thing that stood out for me was that there seemed to be a disproportionate number of artists identifying as non-binary which led me to dig out a SMAC which I wrote in 2022 but never got around to drawing a picture for.  In a spurt of laziness, I did however dig out an image from a MAD magazine of my boomer youth as a fig leaf for its nudity.

A MAD magazine take on Star Wars with Luke Skywalker walking into some galactic bar

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Port Elizabeth of Yore: Swimming at the Breakwater

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 0 Comment

Cynics in the 1800s probably referred to Port Elizabeth as the Port without a Harbour as Algoa Bay was devoid of any artefact commonly used by or forming a part of a functioning harbour. But as export volumes rapidly ramped up, the demand for a harbour became crucial. As a bare minimum, a breakwater was essential so that ships could seek refuge inside the breakwater during inclement weather. Finally, a proposal in 1855 gained acceptance. With construction almost complete, at the beginning of 1866, the Harbour Board provided a swimming place for men beneath the shield.

Whereas the Harbour Board was of the belief that the provision of a safe swimming place would receive affirmation and acclamation instead it was the object of criticism. How did such a kind generous offer devolve into its antithesis?  

Main picture: The newly constructed breakwater at the mouth of the Baakens River

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Port Elizabeth of Yore: James Brister

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 0 Comment

Unlike many Settlers to South Africa, upon arrival James Brister did a tour of inspection  and was favourably impressed with the country to make it his home. As Port Elizabeth was likely to become a large commercial town, he commenced business there in a small way as an importer and manufacturer of furniture.

Today many pieces of antique furniture extant in Port Elizabeth bear the tag James Brister on them.

Main picture: James Brister

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Port Elizabeth of Yore: Great expectations but uninviting facade

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 0 Comment

Like many mariners, settlers and visitors before him, JM could not suppress his dismay when Port Elizabeth came into focus. Instead of the anticipated forest of trees and lush vegetation, all that JM could discern was a stony hill without greenery of any sort rising sharply from the shoreline. As he sat down to record his experiences that night, the word uninviting came to his mind.

On the morrow when he would explore the town, any misapprehensions about this town would be dispelled.  Any and all misconceptions would also be cast aside.

This blog is a brief extract of JM’s journal who, for personal reasons, desired anonymity. Hence the use of the initials JM. The period covered was late 1881 up to March 188.

Main picture: Market Square in 1896

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Port Elizabeth of Yore: Rivalries and Competing Visions

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 0 Comment

Systems, towns, people and religions do not operate in a vacuum. Rivalries and competing visions form the cornerstone of civilisation, and so it was for the infant town of Port Elizabeth. Competing interests without the best interests of this struggling Bay at heart, sought to create an environment advantageous to themselves. One of these competing visions was the most suitable location of the proposed harbour on the Eastern Province coast.

This contestation, which forms the focus of this blog, could rather have been titled “The Tale of Two Harbours” but as I have already dealt extensively with development of PE’s harbour, the focus now will predominantly be on the Kowie Harbour..

Main picture: Kowie River with sailing boats of yore

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Port Elizabeth of Yore: The Poor White Problem – 1920 to 1960

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 0 Comment

Port Elizabeth has experienced phenomenal population growth spurts on a two occasions: first the Afrikaner influx and relocation from the platteland and then there was the migration of the Blacks. The consequences of unbridled migration for both communities were catastrophic in terms of nutrition, accommodation and general living conditions. Being English speaking and white to boot, I was blissfully unaware of the devastation, havoc and suffering that this enormous influx created until much later in life.

In 1904, immediately after the Anglo Boer War, the Afrikaner was a scare commodity in Port Elizabeth. Representing roughly 3.9% of the white population, they were virtually a ghost community lacking Afrikaans schools and churches. By 1960, this situation had been reversed with the Afrikaans schools and churches – numbering 13 NG churches – being operational.

The focus of this blog is white poverty as a consequence of over-rapid population growth, lack of education and marginalisation.

Main picture: Demolishing slum dwelling in Korsten in 1903

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Port Elizabeth of Yore: Its Institutions, Trade and Population in 1877

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 0 Comment

This blog is a verbatim extract from the publication: The Port Elizabeth Directory and Guide to the Eastern Province of the Cape of Good Hope  for 1877

It provides a contemporary view of the town in a sometimes overly honest manner such as the words describing the town as “pleasingly disappointing” and bemoaning the paucity of trees.

Main picture: BIrd Street highligting the paucity of trees

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Port Elizabeth of Yore: The creation of a Port without a Harbour.

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 1 Comment

For the majority of the 143 years from 1652 to 1795 during which the Dutch occupied the Cape, Algoa Bay and its potential use as a Harbour can be likened to a black hole. Nothing was known about it and the Government authorities were ignorant of its existence. The raison d’etre of the use of Cape Town was that it served as a replenishment station en route to the Dutch East Indies. Nothing more and nothing less.  

It took more than a century after 1652 before the Dutch authorities displayed a modicum of interest in this Bay. This blog deals with that unhurried awakening of interest and its gradual adoption as a harbour. If the truth be told, without the British occupation of the colony, the recognition and adoption of Port Elizabeth would possibly not have arisen and some other river mouths such as the Zwartkops, Buffalo or Kowie would have snatched the prize.

Let it be crystal clear: It was not a foregone conclusion that the harbour in Algoa Bay would be situated at the mouth of a paltry stream such as the Baaken’s River.

Main picture: Blockhouse on the Baakens River in 1803

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