The suburb of Vincent was named after Amelius Vincent, Town Councillor and Mayor of East London, as well as the first Chairman of the Cambridge Municipal Board.

The area that is today known as Vincent first came under settler development in 1857, with the arrival at East London of the Anglo-German Legion. The legionnaires were given plots of land at Panmure and Cambridge, as well as acre lots at North End and Southernwood. Their main agricultural land, however, stretched along the ridge on the south-western side of the Nahoon River, the area that today forms the suburbs of Nahoon, Stirling, Berea and Vincent. Indeed, the western boundary of these 10 acre lots is today known as Western Avenue.

When East London became a municipality in 1873, it was decided to incorporate only the original villages of East London (today the West Bank) and Panmure (today the city centre). North End, Southernwood and Cambridge were omitted, as were the 10 acre agricultural lots. In 1876 North End and Southernwood were incorporated so as to give the municipality more logical boundaries. Cambridge and the 10 acre lots, however, were still omitted.

In 1881 the residents of Cambridge decided to form a Village Management Board of their own, with Amelius Vincent as its first Chairman. The 10 acre lots, now evolving into residential areas in their own right, became part of this new dispensation.

See also: Amelius Vincent German Settlers

When East London was declared a city in 1914, attempts were made to bring the Cambridge Municipality, with its suburbs, under one banner but the offer was refused. It would only be in 1942 that the Cambridge Municipality at last became a part of East London.

Dr Keith Tankard