Diary

The Bathing Enclosure 1905.

The first picture that came up for Pot Pourri 3 was the Bathing Enclosure  that existed on the beach front in the early 1900s being constructed.  This enclosure was built near Dairy Beach for the use of the bathing public following a decision to close off the Bay Beach.

The Bathing Enclosure under construction. Looks like a steam driven bogey set on rails.

The Bay had developed into Durban’s beach, safe from sharks, ideal for getting your feet wet and easily accessible.  I did not know enough about the enclosure to do an informative write up so set about finding out the back story to it. The person who thought up the idea of the Enclosure was John Fletcher, the then Borough Engineer.  Reading about his career as Borough Engineer revealed the many projects he tackled and completed during the time he held that post. He must have had a full but difficult and gratifying life in all he accomplished for the City he shaped.  Probably not many have heard of him and he is only remembered in an obscure road, Fletcher Road in the Congella area. I thought to give him his due I would devote Pot Pourri 3 to him.  As he is described in a book “his breadth of vision and his genius for planning established the high standard of development which characterised the old Borough”.   Click on pictures to expand.

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Pot Pourri Two

Aliwal Street 1930s.

In my previous post re Hollywood Court and the cinemas, the one photo shows the corner of Smith and Aliwal Streets.  The picture I post is a close up picture of that corner where eventually the 20^th Century cinema was located.  Looking down Aliwal Street we have on the corner, Franks Garage, E. Tarr, then Butler ?Gates Auto Spares and Accessories, then Fuller Batteries, a vague sign reading AYSHIRE , Aliwal St Congregational Church, then not clear but I can read a DELCO sign, then a sign reading –VERY. Read More

I have been given a massive amount of photo copies of newspaper cuttings, pictures copied from books etc. etc. all related to Durban. Unfortunately there was no order to this accumulation and I have to sift through it which is going to take some time.  A considerable amount of time and trouble went into getting this mixed collection all together. What the original intention was I am not sure. The collector who I know indirectly was obviously keen on Durban and copied whatever came his way.  My intention is to post pictures which mean and remind me of  something and hopefully to the reader. Rather than make one enormous posting I am choosing random pictures and will post them in a series called Durban Pot-Pourri starting with this one as Number 1.      Click on pictures to enlarge.

Albert Park before the overhead Southern Freeway was constructed. Read More

Dr Ian Roberston, a past pupil of Clifton Preparatory School, has written up a comprehensive memoire of the years he spent at the school during the 1950s.

He has also supplied some school photographs as well as a photo of the original school building being a house at 102 Lambert Road.   

CLICK on pictures to enlarge.

Clifton Preparatory School in the 1950s.

I attended Clifton Preparatory School from 1952 to 1957.  When I arrived Clifton was a small but respected institution with about 150 white boys in eight grades, starting with classes 1 & 2 and  proceeding through standards 1 through 6.  The full-time teaching staff consisted of five female and three male teachers and the headmaster, Anthony “Tim” Sutcliffe.  He was a determined and visionary leader who shaped the character and development of the school from his appointment in 1945, when he was only 27 years of age, until he retired 35 years later.  It was evident to all of us even then that our school was essentially Sutcliffe’s creation. Read More

This past month I was sent a photographic essay comprising of a series of photographs of Imperial Airways flying boats taken at the flying boat base in Durban Harbour.   The sender was Dennis Hewer and I thank him for allowing me to add this to the Facts about Durban archive.  Dennis’s grandfather H. W. Anderson (sic) appears in one of the photos, the photos being in possession of Dennis’s mother. I would venture to say all the photos were taken on the same day.

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Recently I happened to read a post on the internet submitted by Judy Banks concerning a Baumann family record / family tree that she has. Judy is a direct descendant of the Baumann family.

I contacted Judy and asked permission to post the contents of the book on Facts about Durban.  She agreed to this and I acknowledge her as the source.  I thought as an addendum I would add a bit more to the history with notes and pictures that I have managed to source.

Here are the pages of Judy Banks’ book.  The personal notes are here and the family tree notes are at the end of this posting.

Click on pictures to enlarge.

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Sheldene Crawford, whom I acknowledge here, forwarded me extracts from a book she has concerning some of Durban’s better hotels at the time. The book dates to 1958 and was published by Victor de la Hurst. Sadly some of the hotels do not exist today and have passed into history. I have added my own comments below the pictures. where applicable.  Click on Pictures  to Enlarge. Read More

It is with the deepest sadness that I have just learnt that Allan Jackson passed away in Australia. This was posted on the FaceBook Facts about Durban site by Andrew Shemmeld .

“It is with great sadness that I have to announce that the founder of this group, Allan Jackson , passed away peacefully last night after a lengthy battle with pancreatic cancer. Allan was not only the founder of this group but also of the FAD website and author of the book “Facts About Durban”, which was published in 3 editions. He was a “Durbanite” through and through and was passionate about the history of Durban and surrounds as is evident in his books and websites. Other than his books, Allan was also worked for, and wrote many articles for Natal Newspapers and various other magazines. His computer column in the Sunday Tribune was very popular and ran for many years. His true passion though was in his photography. I was privileged to have him often photograph my family occasions. His artistic flair for photography shines through in his photos of landscape and city scenes. To me he was a good friend and confidant of 30plus years and one time business partner. Rest in harmony Allan . Your legacy will live on.”

Though we never met in person you became a personal friend and we shared many a topic on this site.

Rest in eternal Peace Allan. Your friend Gerald Buttigieg

There seems to be an interest on social media regarding school dances held at various schools in the distant past. These were the days when the hype around school dances was not what it has become today. But as many things have,  even school dances have been commercialized and today’s school dance is no comparison to what took place in the past. Read More

Some time ago I was given this photostat  copy of an article written by A.E Cubbin, Dept of History University of Zululand.  He has some interesting insights into the history of early Durban and I put it here with full acknowledgement to him.