A cannon from the 1800s now at CSF

Edited by Bev Mortimer – The delightful Cape St Francis Shipwreck Display at the entrance of the Irma Booysen Nature Reserve in Cape St Francis has now been graced with a large cannon from the 1800s era.

It has been kindly donated by Bobby Cheetam, a long-time motoring editor at the Herald Port Elizabeth. Interestingly enough, his family was originally from ‘Cannonville’ a small village on the banks of the Sunday’s River.

The cannon he donated does not come from an actual shipwreck but is of significant historical value for the Eastern Cape and is what people expect to see at a shipwreck display,  according to Matt Gennrich local CSF resident and chairman of the local NPO, FOSTER, which cares for four  nature reserves surrounding Cape St Francis.

“Since opening the display with sponsorship and support from CSF Civics, Rotary and Lighthouse Construction, we started looking for a cannon to enhance the display. They are difficult to find and people who own them tend to keep them,” Matt says.

He then remembered Bobby once showed him his cannon some years ago when he lived in Summerstrand, so Matt contacted him to enquire if he still had it. Bobby, now retired in George, said he had sent it to his son, Clive, in Johannesburg and if Clive agreed, he would happily donate it to the shipwreck display in Cape St Francis to add value and gave pleasure to people there.

Clive agreed and FOSTER had to find a way of getting it back to the Eastern Cape where it belonged. No mean feat as it is large and weighs an estimated 3-4 tons.

Matt says: ” I mentioned our dilemma to Miles Japhet of St Francis Bay, one of FOSTER’s generous donors and he said he might be able to help.. This past week Ryan from Milltrans called to ask where he can collect the cannon and said it would be delivered on Thursday. Dave Bowmer our reserve manager and custodian of the display sprang into action and prepared the display site in time for the delivery.”

There are a number of amateur shipwreck fundis in the St Francis area, but this area also has one of South Africa’s foremost authorities on shipwrecks living in St Francis Bay.  He is Malcolm Turner, professional diver turned historian and author of the book’ “Shipwrecks and Salvage in South Africa’ published in 1988.

When asked, Malcolm freely gave his advice and sent an article from the Herald of 11 December 1968, which tells the history of two cannons from Cannonville.  Malcolm positively identified the new arrival at the Shipwreck Display area, as is being one of them. The exact history is unclear but as it is not a military cannon it is likely that it was used to protect private property.

According to the Herald article the 18 pounder guns were used to salute dignitaries such as when the Prince of Wales visited in August 1860 and Lord Charles Somerset, when they crossed the Sunday’s River on the pont, but Malcolm says these are assumptions and remain so until proven otherwise.

Matt says whatever the real story is, a huge thank you to the Cheetam family for this generous donation to our town, and to Miles and Milltrans for helping to getting this historical and old cannon to Cape St Francis!

It is hoped with the CSF  support of the Civics and  St Francis Rotary the shipwreck display will be further enhanced with artefacts from the latest shipwreck, the Elke M, including its anchor and sections of the rear mast and its nameplate.

FOSTER will host the display at the entrance of the Irma Booysen Reserve but cannot use conservation funds for the display.

All residents and visitors to St Francis are invited to stop and visit Cape St Francis’ display and take a walk in one of the reserves, kept pristine by the FOSTER team with funding from memberships and generous donors. Everyone is also invited to become a member of FOSTER at:  foster.org.za  to help preserve the incredible biodiversity around us,” Matt adds.