Point of departure

The old picture today shows the Union Castle vessel Dunbar Castle docked at Durban’s Point and would have been taken at some point in the 1930s.

The Dunbar Castle was the second ship by this name and was built in 1930 by Harland & Wolff at Belfast with a tonnage of 10002grt, a length of 471ft 2in, a beam of 61ft 2in and a service speed of 14.5 knots. She was launched for the Round Africa service and made her first voyage to the Cape in June 1930.

She stood in a class by herself and was quite unlike Llangibby Castle of which is sometimes erroneously described as a sister ship. Her passenger arrangements presented several new features, notably the large open-air lounge at the forward end of the 1st Class Promenade Deck. Ideal for dancing at night.

The Dunbar Castle was sunk by a mine off the coast of Ramsgate, UK, on January 8, 1940, while on route from London for Beira. Breaking her back she heeled over and sank onto an even keel in 30 minutes with the loss of 9 lives including her Master (Capt H A Causton) who was killed when the foremast collapsed onto the bridge. The superstructure remained above water until it was demolished after the war.

Some 290 people were rescued from the shipwreck, who praised the crew for their bravery. 

The picture also shows a very interesting view of the Point some 90 years ago.

We paired it with Doctor Ngcobo’s shot this week from the Bluff which shows the cruise ship, The World, docked at the Nelson Mandela Cruise Terminal. 

The World is the world’s largest private residential yacht with 165 private residences aboard.