THEY ALSO LIVED THERE THE OLD AND THE NEW RAE WAS MAYOR
The recent mention in this column of former Oatlands Road residents brought back memories to former resident, Andrew Reed, now living on the Sunshine Coast. He too lived in Oatlands Road.
He writes: “Other Oatlands Road residents I recall from that period include JLB and Margaret Smith, Reverend Leslie Hewson, former mayor Mrs Bayes, Herby Arnott (who bought the Bayes’ home after he retired as Union High headmaster in 1968), Kingswood College teacher Ken Douglas and Vic Rose.
“Dr Maasdorp had his consulting rooms at 12 Oatlands Road with other medical practitioners.
“Artist May O’Shea wrote and illustrated a vivid account of her time in the Eastern Cape in the 1920s in her book Bloomie, published in 1977. Her family, the Bloomfields, lived at 10 Oatlands Road and there is much about life in the area in her memoir.
“Mention was made (in the column) that Arthur Reed of family grocers Reed & Mansfield also lived in Oatlands Road. He and his schoolboy friend, Arch Mansfield, set up the business in Bathurst Street in 1913, and it closed at the end of 1970.
“Readers might be interested to know that Arthur, my grandfather, also owned a suburban grocery store at 31 African Street in the 1930s. It went by the name of Geerdts Store. I don’t know who the original Mr Geerdts was. Presumably the store closed during World War 2.”
Nowadays, 112 and 112A High Street are occupied by Panda’s Asian Cuisine restaurant and part of the SA Library for the Blind. Prior to Panda’s, Delizzia Restaurant occupied the premises for several years.
Five or six decades ago, those upper High Street buildings were occupied by Beaumont & Rice Furniture Removals, and Rodgerson’s Grocery & Provisions Store with Tom Rodgerson the owner.
On two occasions during the Rapportryers/PJ Olivier fun run this evening, runners and walkers will pass within metres of Rae Street, which connects Market Street with Robinson Street. One or two participants may well wonder: “Who was this Rae person?” Mr Rae (no first names given in the official listing of street names) was mayor of Grahamstown in 1927-1928.