Port Elizabeth of Yore: The Postal Service – Part 4

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 0 Comment

After much confusion and loss of mail, the Post Office had been relocated to the double storey house of the Harbour Engineer, Mr. Woodifield, adjacent to the Phoenix Hotel in Market Square. 

The first innovation, the use of prepaid stamps, had by now been accepted then the second radical change was proposed.

Main picture: Corner of Main & Jetty Street in 1876.  Originally the London and SA Bank occupied this site and then it was taken over by the Post Office. Later the then Union Castle Mail Steamship Company took it over. The little building two buildings on the left was the original building of T. Birch and Co.

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Lost Artefacts of Port Elizabeth: The Cleghorn’s Building

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 0 Comment

Among the pantheon of buildings arranged around the Town Hall during the “classical” period of the town, was the Cleghorn’s Building. It is important not to forget that this building had a much more illustrious past as it initially served as the Herald’s offices after it relocated here from Titterton Lane just off Main Street.

Main picture: The original building at the foot of White’s Road, then occupied by the Eastern Province Herald

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Port Elizabeth of Yore: The First Schools

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 0 Comment

The first order of business when the Settlers landed in Algoa Bay was to establish some sort of permanent roof over their heads. As such, schooling was not a priority. Nonetheless the residents desire for schooling for their children remained strong. To this end, a meeting of the inhabitants of Port Elizabeth was arranged for Friday 20th February 1824 at the Red Lion Tavern which at the same time was being used as the Custom’s House and as Public Offices. 

Main picture: Algoa House serving as Mrs. Harriet Joanna Eedes’s School for Young Ladies

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Port Elizabeth of Yore: Port Instructions Issued in 1844

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 1 Comment

Whether due to a lack of funds or wilful neglect, by the 1840s, despite Port Elizabeth’s harbour exceeding Cape Town for exports, it still operated directly from the beaches. The so-called landing beaches stretched along the beach from Jetty Street to the mouth of the Baakens River. 

The loading and unloading of vessels at anchor in the Bay has been dealt with in a prior blog. Instead this article, deals with the management of the vessels in the Bay during those early years.

Main picture: Vessels at anchor in Algoa Bay

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Port Elizabeth of Yore: J.C. Chase Recalls the Town’s Development to 1848

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 0 Comment

Like his father-in-law, Frederick Korsten, John Centlivres Chase also had a profound influence on the development of the Eastern Province, and especially Port Elizabeth.  

From the formal establishment of Port Elizabeth in 1820 by Sir Rufane Donkin, the nascent town experienced unprecedented growth for the following 50 years. For the first half century after 1820, this development is sparsely documented due to the paucity of official documents or even a newspaper. 

The 1848 edition of the Eastern Province Directory and Almanac carried an article entitled “Algoa Bay and Port Elizabeth” by J.C. Chase. Clearly enamoured with its progress and prospects, he elaborates and enthuses over the development of the late starter, Port Elizabeth. This article represents one of the few original sources of information about those formative years. The article forms the basis of this chapter and is largely verbatim.

Main picture: Paddle Steamer Phoenix

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Port Elizabeth of Yore: The Postal Service – Part 3

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 0 Comment

By the 1840s, the Postal Services had evolved into a largely efficient and regular service with its own offices and fulltime employees. With their clients’ expectations raised, customer service was a priority. In the newspapers, residents lambasted the Post Office for all lapses much to the Colonial Government’s chagrin. 

The next innovation for this essential service would be the introduction of stamps, an essential link in the chain to ensure that all revenue was correctly and comprehensively accounted for. 

Main picture: The second dedicated Post Office building is on the right, opposite the Town Hall and next to the original Phoenix Hotel

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Port Elizabeth of Yore: The Postal Service – The Formalisation Phase

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 0 Comment

The initial chapter on the Post Office dealt with the establishment of a postal service in Port Elizabeth following its inception in Cape Town and extension to Uitenhage and, by implication, to Algoa Bay before 1828 whereas this blog deals with the postal service from the appointment of the hamlet’s second Postmaster, George Ubsdell in 1828 until the resignation of the Postmistress, Mrs Biggar, the third Postmaster after William Dunn and Ubsdell.

 Main picture: The first dedicated Post Office in Port Elizabeth in the building with the picket fence 

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Port Elizabeth of Yore: The Postal Service – Humble Beginnings

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 1 Comment

Before the advent of the internet, the telephone and the telegraph, the state of the art method of communication was the Postal Service. The speed of this service was a function of the speed of the ship, the horse and the cart. History is replete with examples of orders issued being overtaken by events. Take the example of commands from England. They could take five months to reach the Cape. 

Main picture: A Post Cart crossing the drift at the bottom of Van Staden’s Pass

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