A different view on current affairs & history
The Port Elizabeth Yeomanry was formed under Captain William Matthew Harries for service during the Sixth Frontier War.
This blog covers the events when they engaged in some of the fiercest fighting of that year, at Trompetter’s Drift and elsewhere in the Fish River bush. The source of a major portion of the detail is from the memoir of James Edward Alexander.
Main picture: Xhosa warrior
On the southern coast of Port Elizabeth lies a hamlet barely touched by civilisation. Comprising less than 100 cottages, it is partially a retirement village as well as a holiday resort. Unlike the endless sandy beaches of Algoa Bay, it comprises shingly gullies and rock pools. Instead of the perfect waves for surfers, theses gullies are safe even for toddlers. This blog chronicles the early history of this timeless hamlet with its Norfolk pines oblivious to the sea breezes. This is where I learnt to swim, to dive, to fish – which I never enjoyed – and to explore the inter-tidal zone and rock pools.
Main picture: Motor vehicles on the commonage in front of The Hut Tearoom at Schoenmakerskop. This photograph was originally hanging in my parent’s house at 57 Mowbray Street, Newton Park
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