The Buffalo City Municipality has created Urban Renewal Programms to upgrade some of the oldest suburbs of East London. I have done a little research on The Quigney. And here is something interesting from old archives about the history of this characterful and unique suburb :
The Quigney is a suburb of East London and derived its name from the stream which flows down the
valley from above the railway station to the harbour, and along which
the railway line now runs. The earliest maps of East London, those drawn
in September 1847 by Lieutenant William Jervois, refer to this stream
as the "Gwygney River" and for many years this spelling was consistently
used. In time, however, the pronunciation changed to the modern-day
"Quigney". The residential area across the river likewise evolved its name
rather than being formally given one. When the municipality began to
sell land in that area after 1883, it was described as "east of the
Quigney River", a title which eventually truncated into "The Quigney".
It was unfortunate that awareness of the value of the Quigney as a
tourist attraction was not immediately taken into account by the Town
Council. Indeed, as early as January 1883 the editor of the East London
Dispatch called attention to the problem. The Quigney, he wrote, was
beginning to be opened up but its future as a holiday centre hinged on
the prevention of sub- dividing the plots. During the holiday season, the editor wrote, when so many visitors
came to East London and their white tents dotted "the greensward on the
shore", they were reminded forcibly that East London had a character "as
a watering place" as well as a port. He concluded therefore that a
"special method" needed to be observed in laying out the area and as
regards buildings to be permitted.
It was to East London's detriment that the appeal fell on deaf ears
and no regulations to prevent sub-division of plots came into force
until 1895, by which time the damage had become irreparable. Instead
therefore of achieving the status of a holiday area, as the Dispatch had
proposed, the suburb degenerated into a poor socio-economic suburb,
with houses built close together and without sufficient planning.
The moment had been lost to East London and only today, almost a century
later, is cognisance being taken of the Quigney's value as a tourist
area, but it will probably take some decades more before that dream will
be fully realised. Lack of attention to such an important consideration
meant, therefore, that East London's beachfront area would in time lose
its popularity and the town itself would eventually decline as an
important tourist centre ( from the Wikipedia).
From a town-planning of view all the above said might be true but nevertheless it is the fact that this suburb has never been planned properly for housing development that has given it it's unique and very colorful character.
And here is a print of an old picture that I have found a while ago. It shows the white tents of the holiday makers at the beachfront around 1880.
