With open water swimming now an established adventure sport in Nelson Mandela Bay, a fascinating document has surfaced describing how it all began with the Redhouse River Mile in the Swartkops Estuary.
The Redhouse River Mile, which metamorphosised into the Nelson Mandela Bay River Mile, is arguably the oldest open water swim race in SA — so the first strokes of long-distance crawl in the Swartkops were conceivably the genesis of open water swimming in the country.
Ironically, while a host of open water swim events now happen each year in Algoa Bay off the Gqeberha beachfront, the founding race struggles to survive.
Having moved to the Sundays in 2010 due to the pollution in the Swartkops, it has hit troubled waters due to a dispute between the organiser and SANParks related to a conservation tariff and the location of the new venue within the Addo Elephant National Park, and it is not clear that it will happen in 2025.
The Souvenir Brochure of the Redhouse River Mile 1924-1987 was shown to The Herald by Kenton-on-Sea resident Julia Rushmere, whose grandfather, Arthur “AE” Murrell, started the Redhouse River Mile.
Unearthed from a pile of dusty papers, it shines a light on a pantheon of great swimmers, and also something of the lifestyle of those back in the day.
The brochure opens with an undated message from Eastern Province Amateur Swimming Association president Donald Edge, father of top swimmer and coach Mark Edge, who notes that, in the early days of the race, “a trip to Redhouse from Port Elizabeth or Uitenhage made a wonderful day’s outing”.
Alec Paterson, a veteran of the first river miles in the 1920s, recounts that the race was the natural progression of the way of life in Redhouse.
“All our local children were in the river all day. If we wanted to go somewhere, we swam down the river rather than walk down the bank.”
He said right from the start there was a recognition that being able to swim long distances was key, and that camaraderie should be honoured by recognising teams above individuals.
“The first Redhouse River Mile was on January 20 1924 and that day, and for the next 16 events before [World War 2], the winning podium was dominated by the Redhouse Swimming Club.”
Paterson, who finished third in the 1926 event, said crawl had only emerged as a swimming stroke shortly before World War 1.
“All of us swam with a jerky, trudgeon overarm action, kicking in-between each stroke.”
He said Dup Murrell, son of AE Murrell, gradually introduced crawl to the local swimmers.
“But for being maimed in the war, he would undoubtedly have become a champion.”
Paterson said the first youngster to catch on to Dup’s coaching was “Doc” WE McWilliams.
“He swam twice as fast as anyone else and was our leading man in our Redhouse team and river champ four times.”
The then-EP Herald, which covered the inaugural Redhouse River Mile in 1924, reported that 48 men started and 44 completed the distance.
“It was declared by all to be a great success.
“Of the four who failed, two were distinctly unfortunate, one suffering bad cramps and the other being severely hurt by some fish, thought to be a barbel.
“The swimmer received a deep puncture in the thigh which became very painful as the day wore on.”
According to the report, AE Murrell presented a handsome cup to the winner, Roy Gregory of Redhouse Swimming Club, which also won the team category.
Another top swimmer, Pat Murray, said the organisers had included a dog race one year.
“The participants plunged in from a boat in the middle of the river but a dogfight erupted in the water and the event was not repeated.”
He said the Redhouse River Mile was unique in that it placed the swimmers in a natural environment and it was possible for the supporters to watch the whole race from the bank.
“The swimmers are not cosseted in the way of modern athletics.
“They begin with a fairly stiff walk barefooted over rough ground to the start of the race and then they have their battle with tide and wind.
“We trained so we did not tire and knew how to get the most from the currents.
“Swimming is a sport which serves you well and lasts you a lifetime.
“It develops the muscles of a seven-year-old and alleviates the arthritis of a 70-year-old.”
Among the many past winners of the Redhouse who went on to swim for SA are Mark Edge, who won in 1978, and Kevin Richards, who won the Redhouse from 1979-1982 and again in 1984 — both legends of the Gqeberha ocean open water swim fraternity today.
HeraldLIVE
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