The Casual Observer

Port Elizabeth of Yore: Naming of the Second Quay

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 22 September 2023 0 Comment

As jetties were constructed, they acquired a name: North, South and Dom Pedro. How the name was determined is unknown. It is unlikely that a Jetty Naming Competition was instituted with prizes for the most popular name. Rather it was more likely that it was common parlance that determined it. In the case of the Dom Pedro, it was the name of the slaving shipwrecked at that spot which “selected” the name.

But how were the quay names determined? With the first quay having been named Charl Malan, what would quay number 2 be called?

Main picture: Item N46246 – Port Elizabeth, 1939. No 2 quay at Port Elizabeth harbour. [Transnet Heritage Library]

Port Elizabeth of Yore: From Sailing Ships to Steamers & Landing Beaches to Jetties and then Quays

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 21 September 2023 0 Comment

The transition from sailing ships to steamers and mail ships was a gradual process. The great storm of 1902 which resulted in the destruction of 21 sailing ships and 60 souls was the last hurrah of these magnificent vessels. Port Elizabeth also lagged in the construction of quays and a breakwater which only came into operation in the early 1930s.

These are the verbatim notes of C.G.H. Skead written in 1939.

Main picture: Customs House as completed in 1891

Port Elizabeth of Yore: A Port without a Harbour

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 21 September 2023 0 Comment

A Port is defined as a town or a city with a harbour making Sir Rufane Donkin’s christening of the hamlet on the sweeping littoral in Algoa Bay as a Port presumptuous as it would be 50 years before the first stage of North Jetty would be constructed in the 1870s. In a country of modest means conflated with political considerations, Port Elizabeth would have to wait another 60 years until a fully-fledged harbour was built in the 1930s.

Nonetheless, the residents were extremely proud of their jetties with their outmoded modus operandi. So as not to be mired in resentment and anger, instead they transformed this old technology into an efficient methodology with which they were justifiably proud.

Main picture: Surfboats landing on the landing beach

Port Elizabeth of Yore: The Political and Social Situation 150 Years Ago

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 20 September 2023 0 Comment

This blog is largely based upon a lecture presented by W.E. Vardy on the 24^th November 1913 at St. Cuthbert’s. Vardy’s lecture encompassed the whole ambit of life in Port Elizabeth from Church Life to the Commercial environment prevailing during that developmental era. However this blog only deals with these two aspects: the political and social

The political environment for this period can be characterised as apathetic at best. Instead what loomed large in the residents’ minds was an entrepreneurial mindset which subconsciously espoused a pro-business ethic. Ironically, it was John Paterson who transcended that divide and utilised his mouthpiece, the EP Herald, to place in sharp focus the need for a municipality.

By ignoring the political dimension, in all likelihood Port Elizabeth forfeited the opportunity to more rigorously advance its demand for a fully-fledged harbour.

Main picture: The oldest photograph of Port Elizabeth

The Geology of Schoenmakerskop

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 19 September 2023 0 Comment

This blog does not encompass the development of the geology of the area over the eons from Gondwana to the present. Instead this blog focuses upon the rocks and their features. The details have been extracted from an article entitled The Geology of Schoenmakerskop by Professor Peter Booth of NMU

Main picture: Rocks at Schoenmakerskop

Port Elizabeth of Yore: The Era of Landing Beaches and Boating Companies

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 7 September 2023 0 Comment

Of all the ports in South Africa in the 19^th century, only Port Elizabeth had to suffer until into the 1930s without a harbour. In spite of it being one the busiest harbours in the country, Port Elizabeth relied upon landing beaches until the 1870s and then subsequently on jetties until 1932.

Main picture: Timber on a Landing Beach

Port Elizabeth of Yore: Operation of the Fishing Industry in the 1800s

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 7 September 2023 0 Comment

Each industry develops its own modus operandi based upon experience over centuries. So it was with the fishing industry but each area has its own operational nuances. Port Elizabeth without jetties or indeed a harbour of any description operated in a nuanced manner.

Main picture: Warehouses on Algoa Bay, 1886 by George Otto Battenhausen AN H082

Port Elizabeth of Yore: Strand Street Twice in Sharp Decline

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 6 September 2023 2 Comments

A more telling criticism of Strand Street is that it was always a slum but this is perhaps too jaundiced a view. All buildings, areas and fashions conform to a lifecycle, so why would Strand Street breach that rule. Perhaps a brief view of its history will give one pause.

But what is factually correct is that Strand Street is that portion of old Port Elizabeth which became a slum.

Main picture: Premises of Stephen, Fraser & Co built in 1892-93 in Strand Street. Photo dated 1904. Demolished for Freeway

Port Elizabeth of Yore: Drought and Recession in the Early 1880s

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 6 September 2023 0 Comment

Prior to the construction of dams and the extensive use of irrigation systems to water their crops, the farmers and, indeed, the whole population, was subject to the whims of an erratic vengeful weather. The first white inhabitants to experience this affliction were the 1820 Settlers themselves compelling many of them to abandon their farms and migrate to the adjacent towns.

In order to mitigate the effect of a drought and the consequent recession, the authorities in the 1880s implemented the very first measures to mitigate the effects on the residents in Port Elizabeth.

Main picture: When the Baakens was a lagoon with the first unsuccessful breakwater in the background.

Port Elizabeth of Yore: Cycling to Cape Town in 1885

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 4 September 2023 0 Comment

Imagine the capabilities of bicycles in the 1885 during the age of the penny-farthing. Apart from having a fixed gear ratio, the roads were non-existent. Yet despite these impediments, two brave souls from Port Elizabeth attempted the trip from Port Elizabeth to Cape Town.

Main picture: Members of the P.E. Amateur Bicycle Club formed in 1881 outside Pearson’s Conservancy