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PORT ELIZABETH'S MAIN POST OFFICE 1822-1910

Franco Frescura

EARLY HISTORY

The first formal settlement of the Algoa Bay region took place in 1776 when a number of farms were allocated to local Dutch graziers. In 1799 the British erected a military outpost, called Fort Frederick, to overlook the harbour and to provide military support to the Landdrost at Uitenhage. The post was designed to house a garrison of 380 men, which not only provided local farmers with a welcome market for their produce, but also acted as a focus for future civilian settlement. In 1819 a visitor to the Bay counted some 35 residents, although, as he claimed, their homes were little better than huts.

Therefore it is probable that the first mails to be despatched from Algoa Bay date from this time, and that they were military in nature. The first official post only came into being on 13 June 1803 when the settlement and its surrounding countryside was linked to Cape Town by a monthly mail service. On 6 June 1820 the village was officially named Port Elizabeth, in honour of Elizabeth Frances, the young wife of Sir Rufane Donkin, who had died of fever in India two years previously. Its first post office was opened on 1 February 1822. James Backhouse visited Port Elizabeth in December 1838 and reported that:

"Port Elizabeth is situated on the foot of a steep hill, at the margin of Algoa Bay; it is much like a small, English sea-port town, and contains about 100 houses, exclusive of huts; the houses are of stone or brick, red-tiled, and of English structure. The town is said to have been chiefly raised by the sale of strong drink. At the doors of the canteens, groups of (Khoikhoi) and persons of other nations were constantly to be seen in a state of inebriety ... The landing here is inconvenient, the anchorage being very open to the sea, and a heavy surf breaking on the beach, when there is any considerable wind." (1844: 157)

In 1848 Thomas Baines visited the port and described it as follows:

"The town of Port Elizabeth ... contained (416) houses exclusive of (278) huts or inferior dwellings, and (3382) inhabitants, of whom two-thirds were English ... The principal street lies nearly parallel with the beach. Near the landing place and facing towards the sea stand the Commissariat Building and the Exchange ... The English Church dedicated to St Mary is an unostentatious edifice with a small wooden belfry: its interior is equally plain ..." (1861: 21)

The town's position on the eastern seaboard offered many advantages to the Cape's colonial government. It was an ideal landing place for visitors wishing to travel into the southern African interior, and the route pioneered by Burchell in 1812 was followed by such notable travellers as Backhouse, Campbell, Bain, Casalis, Smith and Livingstone. In time this became the main route to the Kimberley diamond fields. Port Elizabeth was also the major point of entry for immigrants to the eastern districts, for the military forces charged with their protection, and for missionaries seeking to propagate their faith amongst local tribes. By 1865 Port Elizabeth had become the Colony's premier port and its second-largest city, with a population of 10,773.

EARLY POST OFFICE ESTABLISHMENT

Despite this rapid growth, for many years the postal business of Port Elizabeth was run as an adjunct to other commercial interests. Post Office policy, it seems, dictated that postmasters were not only paid to run their post offices, an onerous and poorly rewarded task at best, but were also expected to house these establishments at their own expense. Thus, until 1857 the town's post office was run from private premises, and its location tended to move with each change of postmaster.

The town's first postmaster was William Dunn who was also employed as the local Collector of Customs. His office was a small wood and iron shed which the Government rented from Richard Hunt, and which was located close to the beach landing place at the foot of Jetty Street (Sjolund, pers comm. 1989). It is probable that he conducted both his postal business and the collection of custom duties from these premises. In 1828 he was succeeded by George Ubsdell, who eventually resigned because of the poor pay on offer, and went on to become a highly successful chemist. The location of his premises is not known but, like others of his time, it probably coincided with his place of business. On 17 December 1840 he was followed by Mrs Mary Biggar, widow of Alexander Biggar, who, unlike her predecessors, had no other commercial interests. During her tenure, her home in Chapel Lane served as the post office, and although she did move once, on 2 July 1845, this was to another house only a few doors down the street. This means that her premises were located just off Main Street, near what had already become the town's main commercial strip. On 1 September 1852 Mrs Biggar was succeed by Mr WC Hutchons, the Deputy Sheriff, whose offices were located on the eastern side of Market Square. Unfortunately his salary proved to be insufficient and in 1854 he resigned. It is possible that he was declared insolvent at about the same time.

THE CIVIL SERVICE TAKES OVER

On 3 April 1854 the position of postmaster was filled by Nthaniel Randall, a shopkeeper with premises on Main Street, and the post office was moved once again. By this stage the affairs of the town's postal services had become a matter of public concern, and when the Postmaster General, JA le Seuer, visited Port Elizabeth in November 1855, he was presented with a list of demands by its citizens. They made specific reference to the inadequate size of their postal establishment relative to their needs, and the problems faced by their postmaster in the execution of his duties. On 11 February 1856 Le Seuer reported back to the Colonial Secretary as follows:

"... taking into consideration the fact that the town being a seaport, with a considerable direct trade, and one through which a very large traffic is carried on, (the Department) intends placing the Post Office there upon a different footing, under an officer of the Government with a salary of 150 pounds per year, a messenger at 50 pounds a year, an office to be provided by the Government and an allowance of 2 pounds per month for contingencies."

The Cape Parliament had already voted to increase the postmaster's salary to 150 pounds pa but, wishing to appoint a civil servant, had excluded Randall from this position. On 23 February 1856 he was replaced by Edward Altham Cook, to the outrage of the town's citizens. The Eastern Province Herald rose to Randall's defence, pointing out that he had given "universal satisfaction" and had been "careful, diligent and obliging", going so far as to use his "paltry salary to engage a diligent clerk and sacrificed his own business and given up the shop in which it was conducted". Cook, on the other hand, was generally ignored, a fate he hardly deserved in view of his reputation outside of Port Elizabeth as a "capital Hindustani scholar" and a capable administrator who had held high office, both military and civil, during his sojourn in India.

With Cook's appointment the post office was attached to the Office of the Civil Commissioner. This was probably located in the Commercial Hall, a building which stood on the site of the present Public Library, on the western side of Market Square, and which had been taken over by the Government in 1856 to house the Magistrate's Courts. Upon Cook's death, in September 1858, the Civil Commissioner appointed his Clerk, Alexander Wilmot, to run the post office pending further instructions from the Colonial Office. In November 1858 Henry Macrae Watson, formerly President of Sorters at the GPO, in Cape Town, was appointed to the position. By all accounts he was a popular personality who had been credited with the introduction of a number of important innovations in Cape Town. Despite these credentials, and the fact that Wilmot had only been in office as acting postmaster for little more than two months, the Herald stated that Wilmot had been doing a splendid job and hoped that he would be the next postmaster. The notoriously partisan public of Port Elizabeth need not have worried for, through misfortune, the Herald had its way. Before taking up his new posting the GPO had given Watson a brief holiday during which he suddenly died.

Wilmot was then offered the post, but turned it down as he was not prepared to accept the old salary of 150 pounds pa. After some negotiations, he was appointed on 4 March 1859 at a salary of 260 pounds, plus accommodation and commission on the sale of postage stamps. Although Wilmot implemented a number of changes to its premises, the post office remained too small and overcrowded for its needs and in about August 1859 it was moved to a house owned by Hougham Hudson at the bottom of Castle Hill, a short way beyond the west side of Market Square. The building was reported to provide:

"... a large and commodious office for the transacting of all postal business, whilst much greater facilities have been afforded to the public by the opening of two separate windows, one for the reception, the other for the delivery of letters."

On 22 June 1866 the Customs Department moved into new premises, and on 25 July their old building, on the east side of Market Square, was taken over by the Post Office. Although the building itself was satisfactory, it was neither handsome nor was it central enough, and on 24 October 1878 the post office was moved once again, this time to the former premises of the London and South African Bank. This commodious stone structure was located on the north-east corner of Market Square and Main Street, and for the next twenty-two years the post office was to occupy this landmark position (Harradine 1982: 6-10). That same year it also installed the first set of lockable private boxes in southern Africa. Also known as the lock-box system, it afforded its holder the advantage of being able to withdraw mail at any time during office hours, while the Post Office was saved the cost and trouble of making a delivery. The benefits of private boxes became immediately apparent to the Post Office's management and, within a short time, this service was extended to the GPO in Cape Town as well as other major centres throughout the Colony.

The expansion of postal services in Port Elizabeth was such that by 1882 the Post Office found it necessary to enlarge its premises by erecting a new sorting room, providing the public area with an open counter, and installing an additional set of public boxes. This work was completed in 1883.

THE MAIN POST OFFICE

In 1896 it was decided that, in view of the increasing workload carried by Port Elizabeth's post and telegraph office, a new set of buildings should be erected on a site adjacent to the existing Magistrate's Courts. It was expected that the work would take at least two years to complete. However the existing post office building had never been intended for postal use and, in the interim, was in need of structural alterations and the re-arrangement of some fittings. This work was put in place in 1896 (PMG 1896).

In 1898 the Postmaster General reported to Parliament that construction of the new post office building had reached an advanced stage, and that its occupation was confidently expected within the next year. Its budgeted cost was 60,000 pounds, and he expressed his satisfaction that "the town and the Department will secure an office which will be at once an ornament, a convenience and a source of general satisfaction".

Unfortunately the arrival of certain imported materials delayed the handing over of the building until 23 June 1900, and the new post office first opened its doors for business on Monday 25 June. However a failure on the part of the English suppliers to deliver key equipment required for the new telephone exchange delayed the full transfer from the old premises until 1 September 1900 (PMG 1898-1900).

From a strategic and military point of view the completion of post offices at both Port Elizabeth and King William's Town could not have come at a better time. In 1901 the Postmaster General commented that:

"It is, in fact, no exaggeration that the new accommodation ... has prevented a collapse which would have been inevitable with the increased traffic and staff in the old surroundings and conditions". (PMG 1901)

Despite its recent completion, the new building was almost immediately subjected to a series of alterations. In 1903 the private box section was extended by the addition of 608 new boxes, placed upon the old set, and accessed by the public by means of a staircase to a platform running the entire length of the private box lobby. The mailbag room was also converted into a parcel room to cater for the newly- inaugurated direct parcel mail service from Port Elizabeth to London. In 1904 the Postmaster General expressed the opinion that the building was in need of a complete overhaul, internal and external. In 1909 extensive repairs to the roof were authorised, and work was begun on replacing the gas lighting system with electricity (PMG 1903-4, 1909).

BRANCH OFFICES

The following post offices were listed as Branch Offices of Port Elizabeth. Probable Branch Offices have been denoted by means of an asterisk (*):

Adderley Street: open from 1 February 1882 to May 1893
Adderley Street: open from March 1903 through to Union
East Walmer*: open from April 1907 to September 1907
Greenbushes*: open from about 1877 to January 1888
Humewood*: open from February 1894 to December 1895
Humewood Station Telegraph Office*: open from 1 January 1910 through to Union
Korsten*: open from August 1904 through to Union
Lawrence Street: open from 1882 through to Union
New Brighton Location*: open from August 1903 through to Union
New Brighton Station*: open from about October 1903 through to Union
North End: open from 1 April 1876 through to Union
Queen Street: open from May 1893 through to Union
Richmond Hill: open from 15 June 1896 through to Union
South End: open from August 1894 through to Union
South Union Street: open from 1882 to April 1884
Walmer: open from December 1891 through to Union
Zwartkops Station*: open from 1 September 1875 through to Union

POSTAL CANCELLERS

During its colonial period the postal establishment at Port Elizabeth is known to have used at least 48 types of postal cancellers of diverse form or size. Most of these were used to process mails on a daily basis and consequently are quite common. Others, on the other hand, were linked to specific functions or departments in the Post Office and did not find general use. Hence they are quite difficult to find and some, no doubt, have still to be recorded.

Because the archival record in this respect is not complete, the dates of issue of only two cancellers are known to us. On 6 December 1853 the General Post Office in Cape Town despatched new office cancelling apparatus to Port Elizabeth. This included a date stamp with a double oval configuration, two inking pads and a kit of date slugs, and went into use almost immediately (Cape Archives). On about 2 May 1864 a barred oval numeral canceller in a 3.3.3 bar configuration inscribed with the numeral 2 was dispatched by the British Post Office in London to the Post Master General in Cape Town. This was in use by 3 August 1864.

CONCLUSIONS

Although there are still a number of gaps in this record, a pattern emerges which acts as a strong indicator of Cape colonial policy during this time. There is now little doubt that during their early years the post offices of most towns and villages were located on private property, and were run as an adjunct to other business interests. Given the long and inconvenient hours that this often involved, one is left to wonder at the dedication displayed by many of these early officials. However even civic obligation has its limits, and by the 1870s the Cape Post Office was coming under increasing pressure to expand its permanent staff contingent and to move its facilities into more adequate premises. In the case of most smaller settlements, this did not take place until well after 1910.

POSTSCRIPT

I am grateful for the advice and assistance given me by Margaret Harradine, whose original article on the subject, published in Looking Back in 1982, has formed the basis for this research. I have as yet to find a journal for its publication.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

BACKHOUSE, James. 1844. A Narrative of a Visit to the Mauritius and South Africa. London: Hamilton, Adams.
BAINES, Thomas. 1961 and 1964. Journal of Residence in Africa, 1842-1853. Cape Town: Van Riebeeck Society.
CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. 1838-1882. Civil Establishment Lists. Cape Town: WA Richards and Sons, Government Printers.
CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. 1886-1910. Civil Service List. Cape Town: Cape Times Limited.
CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. 1872-1910. Report of the Postmaster-General (Postal and Telegraph Department). Cape Town: WA Richards and Sons, Government Printers.
HARRADINE, Margaret. 1982. Port Elizabeth's Wandering Post Office. LOOKING BACK (22: 1, 6-10).