1902 - Port Elizabeth

Port Elizabeth

A big aquatic carnival was held on February 8, 1902. Similar events were popular in England and Australia, where they included various swimming races, diving competitions, and potentially other events like water polo or even life-saving demonstrations. Later in the month, on the 24th, the McCorkindale Cup water polo league started at the Sea Point Baths, and the next day the 1902 Western Province Half-mile Championship race was held at the Clock Tower in Table Bay harbour.  

The carnival took place in the dry dock,  known as the Graving Dock, which was a popular venue for large public aquatic events held in the town. The Governor of the Cape Colony, Walter Hely-Hutchinson, was in attendance.

The Cape Times newspaper exhorted swimmers to excel in the name of the new King and "make records for South Africa" - ten years before the country by that name came into being. 

Currie Cup and South African Swimming Championships

By March 1902, the Boer War was still raging across the region, with over 250,000 British, Australian, New Zealand and Canadian soldiers and female nurses flooding the countryside. There were also many foreign volunteers on the Boer side, including those from Holland, the German Empire, Scandinavia, Italy, the United States, Russia, and Ireland.

The soldiers participated in recreational activities, including a game of water polo in the Mooi River. Many joined local swimming clubs at the garrison towns of Cape Town and Port Elizabeth.

Amidst this death and destruction, the South African Amateur Swimming Union held its second annual national water polo Championships for the Currie Cup, as well as various swimming Championship events, at the Municipal bath in Port Elizabeth. 

Click here to read more about these early days of swimming in South Africa.

Southampton to Durban steamer RMS Saxon, on which the Western Province water polo and swimming teams travelled to Port Elizabeth in 1902. On arrival in Port Elizabeth there was no wharf - so passengers had to swing onto a small boat by a rope - many fell into the water before getting to dry land!