This is a definitive list of all 238 vessels which were sunk of Algoa Bay from the period 1552 to 1984.
Main picture: 1902 Gale with wrecked sailing ships on the North End beach
Port Elizabeth of Yore: Ships sunk off Algoa Bay between 1552 & 1984
Port Elizabeth of Yore: Fraud begets disgrace for a prominent family
Francis Henry Carpenter might not have been at the pinnacle of mid-nineteenth century society, but he certainly was in the upper echelons of the nascent colonial community. Apart from his prominence in business circles, he was also a churchwarden at St Mary’s church for over a decade. Carpenter’s son-in-law, David Grey Devenish, had a successful business in Port Elizabeth until one day in the early 1890s, he and his family abruptly “absconded” from town, eventually settling in America. Was David Devenish attempting to evade justice and, if so, why?
Most of the information and photos for this blog have been provided by David’s great great grandson, George Sauvigne, of Florida, America.
Main picture: The house in which the Carpenter family lived circa 1880s at 95 Pearson Street
Continue readingPort Elizabeth of Yore: The Masabalala Riots of 1920
The name Samuel Makama Martin Masabalala is not well-known in Port Elizabeth nor is the fact that twenty-four people were killed in what subsequently became known as the Masabalala Riots of 1920.
What is the background to this massacre and what triggered this deadly train of events?
Main picture: Scene outside the Baakens Police Station
Continue readingLost Artefacts of Port Elizabeth: The Bank of Africa
This was one of the glories of old Main Street and many have considered its demolition and that of the Mutual Arcade, two doors up, as the greatest acts of vandalism in the city.
Main picture: The Bank of Africa
Port Elizabeth of Yore: Would 1903 be a Reprise of 1902’s Great Gale?
As Port Elizabeth is prone to violent south-easter wind storms in the latter half of the year, optimism that there would not be a repeat of the 1902 disaster was profoundly misplaced.
1903’s storm season would test whether the rescue services were adequately prepared when nature would once again do its damnedest. Timeless lessons would once again be learnt and relearnt. Would the authorities once again be assailed by a raft of criticism for their maladroit handling of the situation, be damned with faint praise or receive a chorus of approval?
Only time would tell.
Main picture: Rescuers go out on the line during the gale of November 1903
Port Elizabeth of Yore: The Anglo-Boer War Years
The Ango-Boer War, or as it now known, the South African War, might not have physically ravished the town, yet it did affect Port Elizabeth in manifold ways. The denial of the right to citizenship of the Uitlanders in the Transvaal Republic was the ostensible reason for the declaration of war by Paul Kruger on Britain on the 11th October 1899.
Main picture: No. 2 Remount Depot
Continue readingPort Elizabeth of Yore: Slavery-Born Free, Life of Servitude
Whilst the Cape Colony might well have possessed slaves, the establishment of Port Elizabeth came at the culmination of the emancipation efforts by the British government. Hence the prevalence and practice of slavery was not of such great importance as it was closer to Cape Town.
In 1807 the British government banned the sale of slaves to all her colonies, including the Cape. This meant that no more slaves (from any destination) could be sent to work in the Cape. However, those who were already in the Cape continued to work as slaves until 1834 when all slaves in the British Empire were to be emancipated. Many of the slaves chose to remain on with their owners while some started a new life in and around Cape Town working as tradesmen. Gradually these people became absorbed into the Cape community.
Main picture: The reality of slavery
Continue readingPort Elizabeth of Yore: The Last Sailing Vessels
The last hurrah of the sailing ship was the Anglo Boer War. Large numbers of sailing ships laid up in their home ports, were spending their dotage in quiet contemplation of their imminent and final demise in a wrecking yard, or if they were lucky, as a tour ship or museum exhibit.
Instead these superannuated vessels were drafted back into service to transport troops and supplies of the British Empire to the Cape. In a strategically inept move, the Boer Republics of the Transvaal and the Orange Free State had displayed their temerity in invading the British Colonies of Natal and the Cape.
Main picture: The last sailing ship to be wrecked along the South African coast, the Colonial Empire came ashore at Cape Recife in 1917
Continue readingPort Elizabeth of Yore: The Bus Intrudes into the World of Trams
It was not that the bus was not available for use by 1913 in Port Elizabeth, but probably that the Tramways were myopically fixated on the tram as the primary mode of transport. The buses that they did possess, were instead used for excursions and not as an extension of their tram business.
This was about to change. Given the buses flexibility regarding routes, they gave the Tramways a run for their money. Then the inevitable occurred. The Tramways adopted the motto, “If we cannot beat, join them.”
Main picture: Buses and trams co-existed for numerous years
Continue readingPort Elizabeth of Yore: The Early Years of Electric Trams
Far be it for me to belittle the contribution made by the horse-drawn tram in the transport of residents within the town of 15,000 people, but they had severe limitations given the topography of the town. It was mere wishful thinking that this conveyance could ever service the hill area.
Progress was swift. In 1881, horse drawn trams were introduced and sixteen years later in 1897, electric trams made their appearance and by 1913 buses had been introduced, albeit initially for excursions. The latter two services progressed in tandem until the flexibility of bus routes without the need for tracks, predetermined that the bus would ultimately prevail.
Main picture: Electric tram in Main Street travelling to Russell Road
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