The Casual Observer

Port Elizabeth of Yore: Disorderly Haphazard Development of Embryonic Town

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 6 May 2021 0 Comment

“Much like a latter-day squatter camp” best describes how Port Elizabeth commenced. Without a master plan or even a local government, houses and other buildings were built willy-nilly. Without standards anything was acceptable. Moreover, embodying this spurt of development was an entrepreneurial vibrancy which engulfed the populace endeavouring to cloth, feed and house themselves. Apart from the Rev. Francis McCleland, the Colonial Chaplain, who was paid a stipend of £150 per annum by the English government, the rest had not only to build their own homes but also to earn sufficient to sustain themselves.

The blog highlights the chaotic initial development of the town.

Main picture: 1822 Sketch by S.E. Hudson showing the shambolic layout of the town

Port Elizabeth of Yore: From Commandant’s Quarters to Wool Market

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 4 May 2021 0 Comment

Like many other sites in Central Port Elizabeth, this site has undergone a veritable melange of uses and buildings over the years. Originally it was the quarters of the Commandant of the Fort, Captain Francis Evatt. It was then used as the Court House, Jail and Police Station until August 1854 when it was burnt down. Subsequently it was used by a breakaway faction of St Mary’s Church to build their own church. That building was replaced by the Wool Market and in its final iteration, it became part of the market building.

Main picture: 1850 Castle Hill by H.F. White, better known for his construction of Whites Road, with the Commandant’s Quarters on the extreme left. The stand-alone building is the lock-up or jail.

Port Elizabeth of Yore: Union Castle Corner

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 2 May 2021 0 Comment

In the early days, the area was simply known as the Corner of Main and Jetty Streets, descriptive but unimaginative and boring. The name Union Castle Corner only arose once the Union Castle Steamship Company occupied these premises in 1901. From 1820 until it was demolished in 1978 to become a bus terminus, it had effectively only had two buildings on this site but with multiple tenants over the years and one major upgrade. With the harbour being the centre of the town’s focus, this area was prime real estate.

This blog covers the buildings and their major tenants which occupied this site over the years.

Main picture: The original multi-storey building before the extension of the building down Jetty Street

Alex of Yore: Kathy Sutton-A Gem of a Secretary

By Dean McCleland in Alexander Road High School 30 April 2021 2 Comments

At 87, Kathy Sutton is as energetic and spritely as ever. With barely a pause, she will elaborate why Alex was such an excellent school and Cordingley such as superb boss and person. She concedes that she never had to endure the caning that he administered but that was a different era.

Class of 1971: What did they do after school?

By Dean McCleland in Alexander Road High School 26 April 2021 1 Comment

This blog was written by the pupils of the Class of 1971 themselves. It would be great to hear from everybody. Two photos of Then and Now would also be super. There are no rules about how much or how little you would like to share or indeed what you would to include. The latest submissions will be included at the top of the blog thereby making the unread entries at the top of the blog.

Main picture: Montage of Class of ’71’s Assembly & Service Program as well as the Valedictory Address and Signatures [Thanks to Sonia Slement (Venter)]

Port Elizabeth of Yore: The Commissariat Building

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 25 April 2021 0 Comment

In military parlance, the Commissariat is the department for the supply of food and equipment. Being a resupply point during the Frontier Wars, a Commissariat had to be established in Port Elizabeth. Initially the military rented premises in the town but in 1837 they constructed their own buildings.

Main picture: In the foreground is washed wool being dried. Main buildings in the area are annotated

Alex of Yore: Bob Welsh – One of the Originals

By Dean McCleland in Alexander Road High School 23 April 2021 0 Comment

In the photograph of the original staff of Alexander Road High School, is the visage of the lanky teacher of Geography, Bob Welsh in the front row. Bob never demanded respect from his pupils but rather he earned it. In many ways Bob was a more progressive teacher and the antithesis of certain senior teachers at the time. By evoking an interest in the subject, pupils responded in a like manner enabling Bob to teach with a light touch seldom if ever submitted the pupils to tirades of screaming.

That is my enduring memory of Bob Welsh, a kind and gentle man, never given to histrionics.

Main picture: Alex staff members in 1956 [front row 2nd from left]

Alex of Now: A Trip into the Future

By Dean McCleland in Alexander Road High School 22 April 2021 2 Comments

Step into the Alex of today. No nostalgia here. What our grandchildren would see if they attended Alex now. Thanks to photographer extraordinaire, Margie Rudman, for the photos. I wonder what Cordingley would have done if he found Margie skiving off, not at her computer, and instead taking photos of the school?

Port Elizabeth of Yore: Disparate Uses of the Feathermarket Hall over the Years

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 22 April 2021 1 Comment

This iconic building has served multiple disparate roles since its opening in 1885. During the 1970s, I watched the bands Freedom’s Children and the Troggs in action here. In 1993, the original building was extensively renovated and in keeping with this facelift, it was renamed The Feather Market Centre.

Below is a selection of several disparate uses of this building from the early years of its existence.

Main picture: Ostrich feathers being viewed prior to the auction

Port Elizabeth of Yore: Where was the Commercial Hotel located?

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 18 April 2021 0 Comment

On the various Facebook sites related to Port Elizabeth, it is always stated that this well-known hotel from the latter half of the 19^th century was situated on the corner of Russell Road yet none of the photographs of that corner actually show this hotel where it is alleged to be located.

After gnawing at him, and with his unpaid job on the line, the Technical Editor made a breakthrough at 4am this morning 18^th April 2021. Unlike Archimedes’ Eureka moment, he was not lying in a bath of hot water, Blaine was lying in a hot bed. Neither did he break curfew and run naked through the streets of Plumstead disturbing everyone (and we are not talking about him shouting “EUREKA!” either. It could also have been called a lightbulb moment, but given the vagaries of Eskom, this is a rare event nowadays.

Moreover, why did this misunderstanding arise?

Main picture: Steinmann’s Commercial Hotel