Port Elizabeth of Yore: From Morbid Curiosity to Penitence

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 0 Comment

In the first seventy years of the nineteenth century, executions by hanging were carried out in public, the primary rationale being that it would serve as a deterrence. Apart from that, the culprit would never become a repeat offender nor would there be any recidivism. On the other side, the general public relished the spectacle with many executions, especially the most notorious murders, attracting sizable crowds. Attendance at an execution can only be classified as the most bizarre form of morbid curiosity. Ultimately public executions were outlawed in 1869 and in future all executions were performed inside the prison walls.

This blog covers the execution of Hermanus Jager by hanging on the 23rd November 1833 for murdering his wife as well as briefly covering three executions of which two were public.

Main picture: Exhibition held at the Kgosi Mampuru Prison in Pretoria

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Port Elizabeth of Yore: James Daly of No. 7 Castle Hill

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 0 Comment

Over the past two centuries since the construction of No. 7 Castle Hill, only three people owned it before it was declared a National Monument. It was James Daly who purchased the No. 7 from the daughters of the Rev. Francis McCleland in 1904 and was culpable for the near destruction of this cottage. As the spectre of demolition loomed but prior to the damning verdict being announced, the municipal surveyor Harold Smith purchased it in order to restore it.

In this noble selfless quest Smith was ultimately successful. Having already covered the lives of McCleland and Smith, this blog will reveal the life of Daly and his family.

Main picture: Portion of Harries ‘Southern View of Port Elizabeth’ showing No 7 Castle Hill

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Port Elizabeth of Yore: William Fleming Senior & Junior

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 2 Comments

William Fleming (senior) played a vital role in Port Elizabeth from 1842 until his death in 1861 at the age of 65. Like many of his contemporaries, he deserves to be recognised not for his legal and business acumen but rather for the civic mindedness which he displayed in the latter period of his life.

One of his sons was also named William. In tracking the careers of both men, the confusion regarding whether it was the father or the son to whom an event or activity should be attributed takes time to untangle. In the McCleland family tree, William Fleming (Junior) is especially relevant as he married Adelaide McCleland, daughter of the Rev. Francis McCleland, making him my second great uncle.

Main picture: William Fleming as a Captain of the Prince Alfred’s Guards    

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Port Elizabeth of Yore: A Potted History of Willows

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 10 Comments

I would have preferred to have written a definitive history of Willows, albeit short, but as I have been unable to uncover much information about this iconic resort, I will invoke my right to present a potted history with a several facts added as a spicing on the top. Even as regards photographs, there is a dearth of them covering the early years.

Like many Port Elizabethans, the McCleland family stayed at Willows at some point in their lives. In our case it was over the Easter holidays. Sometimes we even took our home-built canoe along but as the main pool was miniscule, it could, in all honesty, only be used when the facility was not crowded.

Main picture: Two views of Willows separated by 50 years

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Port Elizabeth of Yore: The Birth of the Collegiate School

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 0 Comment

By the 1870s the stark fact was that the girls in Port Elizabeth were receiving a second-rate education at the various private seminaries with their untrained and unqualified teachers. With the demand for quality education glaringly obvious, the residents called into question the lack of a sound establishment under a competent and qualified staff of cultured ladies. The residents’ hopes were realised when on Friday 19th September 1873, a notice appeared in the local newspaper announcing the establishment of a girls’ school.

This would culminate in the birth of the prestigious girls’ school: Collegiate. Like all such endeavours, it would not emerge fully formed as it development would proceed through numerous iterations.

Main picture: No. 15 Western Road with its white front wall and white bay window, the original Collegiate School (looking up Whitlock Street).

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Port Elizabeth of Yore: St. Mary’s – The Mother Church

By Dean McCleland in Port Elizabeth of Yore 2 Comments

Given that there are no longer any residents who live in close proximity to the church, there are few parking facilities in the area and there are hardly any parishioners who attend regularly, what is the future prognosis of this icon of Port Elizabeth? Naturally, I am biased because my great-great-grandfather was its first pastor but is society in general not able to appreciate that this building is integral to the history of Port Elizabeth. 

It will serve Port Elizabeth well to remember that it is not a church, probably in dire financial difficulties, that has to be saved, but a treasure of the city itself. 

This blog is the history of this venerable institution.

Main picture: St. Mary’s after being reconstructed in 1896 but before the construction of the UBS building in Main Street

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Part-time Jobs while still at School

By Dean McCleland in McClelands, Port Elizabeth of Yore 0 Comment

Nowadays our children shun these jobs mainly because their parents supply them with too much pocket money. Forty to fifty years ago if one wanted something special like a watch, one would have to work for it – not in some make work scheme at home but a proper job. We all had those types of jobs. In this blog I will relate the jobs that my brother and I had.

Main pcture: Blaine worked in the Port Elizabeth harbour as a Tally Clerk before he went to Varsity.
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Heaven & Hell: The Evolution of God & Satan over the past two Centuries

By Dean McCleland in Religion 2 Comments

What would happen if I were to discuss the concept of God and Satan with one of my ancestors at the turn of the seventeenth century? Would there be any commonality in our thinking in any form or would it merely be like two ships passing in the night? In this blog I have selected one of my forefathers by the name of Reverend Francis McCleland with whom I will engage in this hypothetical discussion.

Main picture: Would we even agree on such aspects whether God was a divine being with a human appearance or even whether it is a loving caring God and not as Leviticus implies, a vindictive God?

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