South End ( As We Knew It) - edited by Roy H. Du Pre

By Yusuf Agherdien, Ambrose C. George , Shaheed Hendricks & edited and annotated by Roy H. Du Pre

Soft Cover. Western Research Group . Port Elizabeth 1997. 127 pages. 29.5 x 21 cm.

Cover corners curling a little but generally in very good condition with no inscriptions. Please feel free to ask questions. Local postage will be R21.30 inc insurance.

" South End today is a quiet suburb of Port Elizabeth, situated on the way to the airport. Yet, only thirty years ago it was a bustling suburb, brimming with activity, and populated by a very cosmopolitan community. For more than a century a variety of nationalities and religions had lived in harmony in South End., respecting each other's culture, language and way of life. In 1950 that picture of peace and harmony was shattered with the passing of the Group Areas Act which decreed that people of different cultures could not live together any longer.

In the 1960s the National party government declared South End a 'white' residential suburb. Subsequently, the homes of 'non-whites' were expropriated, the people were evicted and their entire suburb demolished. Churches, schools and sports clubs had to close; their buildings were torn down. Businesses and shops closed down; their proprietors made destitute. Streets were obliterated; landmarks and memories wiped out. The people of South End were dispersed and resettled in an area to the north of Port Elizabeth. The heart was ripped out of 'old' South End. In its place came a 'new' South Ends - rows upon rows of uninspiring townhouses, upmarket 'yuppie' pads, luxury complexes and re-named streets, and a brand new set of residents. South End as we knew it was no more. This book has tried to recapture the essence of the 'old' South End, to refresh the tired memories, and provide former residents of South End with an opportunity to tell their children what life was like in South End , long, long ago."