By Blaine McCleland

Robert Jacob Gordon executed many expeditions into the interior of the Cape Colony. Of particular
interest to Port Elizabeth is his second expedition when he swung through the Algoa Bay area from
the 15 th to the 23 rd of January 1778. He was taken to the wreck site of the Sacramento where
the skeletons of the injured survivors who could not make the trek up to Delagoa Bay were buried. He also
produced two huge panoramas encompassing the sweep of Algoa Bay, one from near the mouth of
the Coega river and another from a highpoint in the Kragga Kamma area.

Main picture: Panorama of Algoa Bay in 1778 by Robert Gordon

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