East London

A Brief History from 1847 to 1914

East London was founded in April 1847 as a port for the Crown Colony of British Kaffraria. It was given the name "London" but this was quickly changed to "East London" because of the natural confusion with the capital city of England.

In January 1848 the port was annexed to the Cape Colony to alleviate a rising smuggling problem, and would be returned to British Kaffraria only in 1859. During this period (1857 and 1858) the urban area expanded with the arrival of the German settlers. Two new villages of Panmure and Cambridge were established on the eastern bank of the Buffalo River.

With the construction of the Queenstown railway in 1873, with its terminus at Panmure, the eastern side of the town quickly grew to prominence, so much so that it soon became the centre of the business community. Urban expansion also enabled a municipality to be established in 1873.

The fledgling municipality had only two wards, known simply as the West Bank and the East Bank. In 1881, with the incorporation of the town, a third ward was added. This would be called Panmure. This was a name of convenience and not in any way geographically related to the original village of that name - a point which would cause major confusion to later amateur urban historians.

A fourth ward (North End) would be added in 1896, at which stage the name of Panmure would cease to exist.

The town suffered immeasurably from a protracted recession after 1883, but when gold was discovered in 1886, prosperity would return. Indeed, the era from 1890 to 1905 saw immense physical growth at East London by way of street construction, provision of electricity, the construction of a town hall and the establishment of a tramway system. A renewed recession after the Anglo-Boer War, however, would put a dampener on further growth.

The establishment of the Union of South Africa in 1910 would introduce minor changes to East London. Most notable was the town's surrender of its legal status in terms of its various Acts of Parliament under the Cape Colony, and the acceptance of new status under the Provincial Ordinances of the Cape Province.

In June 1914 the town would be elevated to the status of a city.

Dr Keith Tankard