By Nangamso Mabindla
21 January 2005

FROM the moment she set foot in East London, Gillian Vernon fell in love with the rich history and tranquility of the area.

Born and educated in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, Vernon has lived in the city for more than 30 years and is an expert on its early social dynamics. And during her time in East London she immersed herself in the history of her adopted city - eventually becoming the director of the East London museum.

The 67-year-old, who now lives in Beacon Bay, always wanted to be a historian, but after completing a BA at the University of Cape Town - majoring in history and geography - she went on to become a teacher.

"When I started teaching in Zimbabwe, I was given geography and English as my subjects. That meant I had to live without teaching my favourite subject, history," says Vernon.

But, she was able to pick up her first love of history when, in 1970, she was appointed to teach the subject at East London's Clarendon Girls High School.

"I was used to the Zimbabwean syllabus and when I came here, history was taught differently - it had to support the government."

Not one to be dictated to, Vernon taught her matrics both the syllabus and the reality of apartheid - giving them an opportunity to make their own decisions when it came to race. "It was a risk, but one worth taking."

After almost a decade of teaching, Vernon moved full-time into research of the past, becoming an historian at the East London Museum in 1979, where she worked - becoming director - until retiring in 2003.

During her stint at the museum she completed a BA Honours with the University of South Africa, in 1992, and a MA in history at Rhodes University in 1998.

Historically, East London is a fascinating city, says Vernon.

"For my theses I looked at the history of women in the area - black and white - from 1870 to 1914," she says. "One of the things that startled me was the few number of black women referred to in the research."

Something that impressed her about the area during that time was the relationship between the different races. "Here people were mingling freely, they had few problems."

She points to that influence even now. "In sport, for example, Border has led the way in integrating the different races."

Despite having retired, Vernon remains very involved in activities historical. She is investigating the history of local buildings and working on having them conserved and proclaimed national monuments.

She believes there are many sites worthy of attention, places like Reverend Walter Rhubusana's grave in Braeylin and Cove Rock. Rhubusana, a congregational minister who came to East London in the 1890s, was a leading figure in the formation of the Native National Congress.

And Cove Rock was the place where, in the 1800s, Makana the Xhosa prophet used to get his visions and is also mentioned in shipwreck records.

The avid historian has served on various boards and societies, including the Border Historical Society; the South African Museums Association; the Eastern Cape Heritage Organisation; and the National Monuments Council.

Vernon is also a treasure chest of information on early East London and is updating the book The Urban Trail about the town.

East London was built after one of the frontier - the War of the Axe (1846-1847) - between the colonial troops from Britain and the Xhosas living in the area.

The British had a fort in King William's Town, she says, but every time they sent for refreshments and necessities from Port Elizabeth, they were attacked by the Xhosa people.

"To improvise they had to take the goods by water, so they built a small harbour on the West Bank," she says. So East London came into being as a service port to the fort in King William's Town.

Much later the location of the town was moved from the West Bank across the Buffalo River to the eastern side.

Not only did the town change its location, but it also changed its name. Sir Harry Smith initially called it "little London" and referred to the little harbour as the Port of London. But, following confusion over the names, it became known as East London in January 1848.

"When someone heard that goods from Cape Town arrived at the Port of London in three days he said 'they must have travelled by an aerial machine', which had not been invented at the time," quips Vernon. The authorities then had to change the name to distinguish between the two cities.

Because of her valuable knowledge about the city, Vernon has been approached to work on projects with the Amathole District Municipality, Buffalo City, East Cape Tourism and other organisations.

"We have a lot of tourists attractions here - especially relating to the wars," she says, adding: "We just need to identify sites and develop them so that we can bring more tourists to our city."

Off the cuff, Vernon mentions the Nahoon footprints, the award-winning equestrian statue in front of the City Hall; the Steve Biko Monument; and the rich German history to be found in the area.