If, as seems likely, Douglas Bell is one of the group depicted in this photograph, he may be the figure on the extreme left, apparently holding a telescope. I like to think it would have been his father's Dollond instrument, seen held by Captain Bell in other pictures.
When this photo was taken, Douglas was one of two keepers at the Bluff light.
The other man could be either Stephenson or Shortt who kept the light circa 1898.
Exterior photographs were not usual, even by the 1890s, but it makes sense that W E James found it preferable to take the group outside rather than in the small, probably somewhat dark, interior of the keeper's cottage.
The structure behind, which doesn't have visible windows, may have been for storage of items necessary for lighthousekeeping.
Why Aunt Ellen should be accompanying her nieces Violet and Natalia on a visit to Douglas is not clear, but it seems a friendly gesture especially considering the isolation of the keepers in their Bluff eyrie.
Ellen's husband, with the grandiose name of Edward Abbott Forbes Baxter, was a clerk in the magisterial service from 1867-1874, second extra clerk in the G.P.O., 1875, and second clerk assistant in the Legislative Council, 1876. Whether he went on to higher rungs of the colonial ladder is not known, but he survived his wife, who died in Pietermaritzburg in 1906.
They had an only son, Alexander Baxter, who became manager of a bank and at one time coincidentally owned the house at Durban North where I grew up from the age of three: 19 Kelvin Place.
Before restoration - the Bell group:featured in yesterday's post:
The original photographic print had damage to the left-hand area, making it impossible to see clearly the figure hidden there. It is a man wearing a hat and perhaps holding a telescope. The handwritten inscription on the back of the photo reads 'Uncle Dog (sic), Aunt Ellen, Cousin Violet Bell'. The tradeplate is of W E James, Photographer, The Point, Natal.
If 'Uncle Dog' is a misspelling of 'Uncle Doug' (quite likely), this group could include Douglas Bell, son of Captain William Bell. He may be the indistinct figure at far left. At that time Douglas would have been lighthousekeeper at the Bluff. The other man could have been his assistant.
'Aunt Ellen' was Ellen Harriet Bell (who married Edward Baxter, deceased by the time this photo was taken). Ellen was Captain Bell's daughter. 'Cousin Violet Bell' was the daughter of Sarah Scott Bell, Captain Bell's daughter who married Charles Pay.
For a start, the structure to the right of the lighthouse (see previous post) had been there right from the day the lighthouse was opened i.e. 23 January 1867 - and it may well have been in existence prior to that. After all the lighthousekeeper (my great grandfather), once appointed, would have needed quarters before the lighthouse was officially opened. The lighthouse had been in the process of being built since the foundation stone was laid in November 1864, with the tower finally completed by October 1866. It is reasonable to suppose that the keeper's quarters would have been built by or during 1866 at least.
Looking carefully at the photograph below taken on the day of the opening, 23 January 1867, the building to the right of the lighthouse is immediately identifiable: the shape of the roof, with the chimney at the back, and the flagstaff at the front.
A pencil drawing made much later shows the same structure to the right of the lighthouse. The other residence is that of the signalman.
This photo, after restoration,, shows what appears to be the identical structure. The picture was taken according to his tradeplate on the back by 'W E James, Photographer, the Point, Natal'. A handwritten note adds 'Uncle Dog [sic], Aunt Ellen, Cousin Violet Bell'.
More on this intriguing survival as well as the group of people in a future post.
