The Casual Observer

Port Elizabeth of Yore: William Londt – The Man and his Company

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 1 April 2021 0 Comment

The name Londt does not resonate with the overwhelming majority of today’s residents of Port Elizabeth yet the word “Edworks” might do so. Unlike other entrepreneurs whose names are used as the name of the business, this never happened in this case. In short order, after a chance encounter between William Edward Londt and Frank Parker, they were instrumental in establishing a major footwear manufacturing facility in Port Elizabeth.

While none might have heard of William Edward Londt, at least some must have heard of his other legacy; the St John’s Stella Londt Retirement Centre, in Sunridge Park.

Main picture: Edworks factory

Port Elizabeth of Yore: James Mangold – The Man and the Company

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 31 March 2021 2 Comments

Behind every successful company established in Port Elizabeth was an innovative entrepreneur. In the case of Mangold Engineering, it was James Christian Mangold, by training an ironworker and mechanic. James would establish Mangold Brothers in 1878 together with his brother Carl Christian which would rapidly become the largest engineering company in Port Elizabeth besides the Baakens River..

Main picture: Mangold Engineering in Horton Street in 1966

Gas Should be Integral to Eskom’s 20 Year Plan

By Blaine McCleland in Current Affairs 31 March 2021 0 Comment

In a recent blog I queried whether it was wise to award a contract to Karpowership to supply 1220MW of gas turbine power at 3 sites around South Africa. This objection was based purely on the costs that seemed to have been accepted by Eskom which I believe is overpriced by 50%. Setting that objection aside, I am fully in favour of a land-based turbine solution.

Main picture: Five of Ankerlig’s 148MW open cycle gas turbines

Karpowership – Is Eskom Taking us for a Ride Again?

By Blaine McCleland in Current Affairs 31 March 2021 0 Comment

Eskom is on the verge of signing a 20-year deal for Karpowership to provide 1220MW of ship-based power for 20 years at 3 locations around South Africa. The contract does not include the land side costs of connecting to the grid i.e., switchgear, transformers and distribution lines. It also probably does not include the wharfage costs payable to Portnet.

Main picture: Gas turbine

Port Elizabeth of Yore: A Detailed History of Volkswagen South Africa

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 30 March 2021 0 Comment

This is a comprehensive history of Volkswagen South Africa. It is not based on research as it is direct copy off the internet. As the original source cannot be traced, I have been unable to attribute it to the authors.

Main picture: The SAMAD plant in 1950

Port Elizabeth of Yore: Chimneys as a Barometer of Progress

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 30 March 2021 0 Comment

Today chimneys are viewed as a curse and a blight on one’s health and the environment. Unlikely as it now is seen, the filthy black smoke spewing out of these pencil-like structures was once viewed as the epitome of progress, a harbinger of wealth and prosperity.

As well-paying holiday jobs, chimney cleaning was a much-coveted job in the early 1970s when I was “recruited” to clean the chimneys of the Algorax factory at Swartkops. Even a half hour shower did not remove the fine granules from one’s skin pores!

Main picture: Henry Coleman’s steam mills with the first chimney

Port Elizabeth of Yore: Ushering in the Age of Electrical Power

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 30 March 2021 0 Comment

Initially it was conceived that the main use of electricity would for lighting as prior to the arrival of electricity, human activity virtually ceased at sunset. Before the age of domestic appliances, there were few uses for electrical power other than for lighting. To solve this drawback, gas had been introduced but its use had never gained traction.

This blog details the various attempts at generating electricity in Port Elizabeth, initially by means of generators and then later by means of a power station. In the case of Port Elizabeth, the first power station was erected at the foot of Mount Road.

Main picture: Installing overhead electricity cables

Port Elizabeth of Yore: Electrical Misadventures and Short-Circuits

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 28 March 2021 0 Comment

Growth in electricity demand in Port Elizabeth surged by greater than double digits for most of the first fifty years of supply. This was primarily as a consequence of vigorous industrial expansion. Once the Mount Road Power Station was unable to meet the power demands of the rapidly growing town, the Swartkops Power Station was constructed in the early 1950s. Both plants had an exemplary service record in being able to meet demand 24/7/365. Apart from some minor incidents and two major incidents of which I am aware of, and excluding the recent load shedding, the whole system has only been down twice for an extended period.

This blog details these two major incidents and what the implication of a system crash is.

Main picture: Eskom transmission lines

Port Elizabeth of Yore: A Futile Foray into Gas

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 27 March 2021 2 Comments

By now, the winning technology is well known. Even though gas for lighting and many other uses was introduced a half century prior to its competitor, electricity’s versatility ensured that it would be the ultimate winner in the lighting stakes. Gas would never completely disappear as it filled certain niche markets. Even in those countries in which natural gas is abundant, it is still chiefly used to generate electricity.

Main picture: The North End Gas Works as it was in the 1900s.

Port Elizabeth of Yore: The Commercial Developments of the Richardson Family

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 24 March 2021 0 Comment

Maybe not quite as prominent as the Mosenthal family in 19^th century Port Elizabeth, but the Richardson’s were a close second. Similarities abound between the two families; both were Jewish immigrants who operated in the agricultural sector and both introduced innovations into their market segment and operated locally and internationally. Even their headquarters were contiguous to one another in Market Square. Mosenthals occupied the corner premises of Jetty and North Union Street whereas Richardson’s building was next door in North Union Street.

At the risk of overstatement, these two Port Elizabeth entrepreneurs were in the top tier of those companies which were largely instrumental in Port Elizabeth’s rise as an economic force in the 19^th and early 20^th century.

Let me introduce the Richardson’s and some of their businesses.

Main picture: Richardson’s head office in Market Square