Friday, May 8, 2009

Despatch Brickworks Chimney

The brick chimney was built in 1882 and was once part of a flourishing brick works. Bricks were "dispatched" or rather "despatched" from here along a railway siding (later known as "Hitler's Halt") to Uitenhage and Port Elizabeth. Many of the older buildings in PE and Uitenhage were built with these bricks. When a town was developed in 1942, the name Despatch was chosen. Despatch became a municipality in 1945 and as everybody knows, today forms part of the Nelson Mandela Bay metropolitan municipality. Sadly the brick business in Despatch is now a remnant of the past. The brick chimney can still be viewed standing tall and serene in a field on the outskirts of town alongside the railway line. Ask anybody in town if you can't find it. They will point you in the right way.

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