By Nangamso Mabindla
4 November 2005

THERE is finally a book available devoted to unravelling the city of East London. And it is all thanks to writer Beryl Bowie.

Speaking about her new book, East London, heart of Buffalo City, Bowie says it was written to give people a taste of the city, a look at its people, its industry, its places of interest and its beauty and character.

"I love writing and when I was approached to write about the city I love so much I couldn't resist the offer," she says.

Bowie has written eight books, and it is no surprise that she was asked to write on East London. She has also penned a book on Chintsa East, 35 kilometres from East London in the Great Kei Municipality.

Included in her new book is the British Royal Family's visit to East London, the city's climate, its beaches and its people. However, what catches the eye is the story about the city's earliest inhabitants.

"This book goes back some 120 000 years when the first inhabitants set foot on the beaches of East London," Bowie explains, talking about the footprints discovered in Nahoon by two municipal workers in 1964.

It is believed that Bill Hartely and Rhett Kaiser were testing the sewerage system at Nahoon Beach; during a break they found shelter under an overhanging rock beyond Bat's Cave.

"That is when they saw footprints of a human being," Bowie says. "At that time the footprints were estimated to be 29 000 years old but later it was discovered that they were 120 000 years old, making them the oldest footprints in the world."

The prints, believed to be those of a child between seven and nine years old, now form part of the collection at the East London Museum.

The book also talks about the City Hall, the Lock Street Goal, Duncan Village and Mdantsane, the German Settlers, the ships that docked and those that sank. It includes Black Consciousness leader Steve Biko and former Daily Dispatch Editor Donald Woods.

No history of East London would be complete without the story of the discovery of the coelacanth in 1938, and the dolos, the internationally acclaimed sea buffer designed by local engineer Eric Mowbary Merrifield.

"I was good friends with Marjorie Courtney-Latimer and I have spoken to her a lot about the discovery of the coelacanth. For the dolos I spoke to Dave Bowen from the harbour. I think they are both fascinating stories," Bowie says.

The book also gives insight into some amaXhosa customs, the city's artists and the Ann Bryant Art Gallery, the wool business, the city's sports achievers and places of interest.