Port Grosvenor
Encyclopedia
Port Grosvenor was a harbour on the Wild Coast
in South Africa
, near the spot where the Indiaman Grosvenor
was wrecked in 1782. It was only in use in 1885 and 1886.
on the Natal South Coast between Umkomaas and the present village of Clansthal.
Turner had launched the first salvage attempt of the Grosvenor as reported on 20 May 1880 by the paper Natal Mercury. Turner and a friend, Lieut Beddoes, of the Durban Volunteer Artillery, had set off for Port St Johns
in the vessel Adonis, had proceeded to the wreck and commenced blasting the rocks with dynamite.
By the beginning of 1885 a local chief Mqikela, who had grown disaffected with the British government and wanted to develop his own harbour, concluded an agreement with Turner, in which Turner was granted 20,000 acres of land, including the coastline on which the Grosvenor had foundered. In return for this Turner was to select a suitable site for a harbour and undertake the necessary construction work. The site chosen for this new venture was at the mouth of the Mkweni River, close to the site of the Grosvenor wreck. Turner named it Port Grosvenor.
As port captain and harbourmaster, Turner collected customs dues and managed the harbour and pilotage. Turner was obliged by his financial circumstances to resign himself to this situation as he, by 1884, had a family of seven children and a wife to support. Despite objections from the Cape Government
the port was officially opened.
The Cape Government, despite having no jurisdiction in the area, later declared Turner's concession illegal under tribal law, and he forfeited the land, his home and his position. The family moved to Port St Johns and Port Grosvenor faded into obscurity, the last ship calling there in January 1886 being the coaster SS Somtseu, named for Theophilus Shepstone
. The Somtseu (#77075 1878-1897)) had been built in London in 1878 and specially designed to cope with the shallow harbours of the Natal coastline; it had also been the first boat to call in 1880 at the newly deepened South Shepstone harbour, later to be named Port Shepstone.
Wild Coast Region, Eastern Cape
The Wild Coast is one of the four regions of the Eastern Cape, a province of South Africa. The region stretches from its border with Buffalo City in the south to the Mthamvuna River near Port Edward in the north...
in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, near the spot where the Indiaman Grosvenor
Wreck of the Grosvenor
The Wreck of the Grosvenor, an East Indiaman, occurred on Sunday 4 August 1782 on the Pondoland coast of South Africa, north of the Umzimvubu River mouth. The shipwreck was close to the place where the Portuguese ship, São João, had gone down more than two centuries earlier on 8 June 1552...
was wrecked in 1782. It was only in use in 1885 and 1886.
History
The construction of Port Grosvenor was initiated by Captain Sidney Turner, who in 1867, with his father-in-law Walter Compton, had bought 600 acres (2.4 km²) of undeveloped Crown LandCrown land
In Commonwealth realms, Crown land is an area belonging to the monarch , the equivalent of an entailed estate that passed with the monarchy and could not be alienated from it....
on the Natal South Coast between Umkomaas and the present village of Clansthal.
Turner had launched the first salvage attempt of the Grosvenor as reported on 20 May 1880 by the paper Natal Mercury. Turner and a friend, Lieut Beddoes, of the Durban Volunteer Artillery, had set off for Port St Johns
Port St Johns Local Municipality
Port St. Johns Local Municipality is an administrative area in the OR Tambo District of Eastern Cape in South Africa....
in the vessel Adonis, had proceeded to the wreck and commenced blasting the rocks with dynamite.
By the beginning of 1885 a local chief Mqikela, who had grown disaffected with the British government and wanted to develop his own harbour, concluded an agreement with Turner, in which Turner was granted 20,000 acres of land, including the coastline on which the Grosvenor had foundered. In return for this Turner was to select a suitable site for a harbour and undertake the necessary construction work. The site chosen for this new venture was at the mouth of the Mkweni River, close to the site of the Grosvenor wreck. Turner named it Port Grosvenor.
As port captain and harbourmaster, Turner collected customs dues and managed the harbour and pilotage. Turner was obliged by his financial circumstances to resign himself to this situation as he, by 1884, had a family of seven children and a wife to support. Despite objections from the Cape Government
Cape of Good Hope
The Cape of Good Hope is a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula, South Africa.There is a misconception that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Africa, because it was once believed to be the dividing point between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. In fact, the...
the port was officially opened.
The Cape Government, despite having no jurisdiction in the area, later declared Turner's concession illegal under tribal law, and he forfeited the land, his home and his position. The family moved to Port St Johns and Port Grosvenor faded into obscurity, the last ship calling there in January 1886 being the coaster SS Somtseu, named for Theophilus Shepstone
Theophilus Shepstone
thumb|Theophilus ShepstoneSir Theophilus Shepstone was a British South African statesman who was responsible for the annexation of the Transvaal to Britain in 1877.-Early life:...
. The Somtseu (#77075 1878-1897)) had been built in London in 1878 and specially designed to cope with the shallow harbours of the Natal coastline; it had also been the first boat to call in 1880 at the newly deepened South Shepstone harbour, later to be named Port Shepstone.