Digging into his family history sent a proud former Gqeberha resident on a 200-year journey of discovery, culminating in the publication of a series of volumes about the city, where his own roots date back to the 1800s.

Despite living in Gauteng for nearly four decades, Dean McCleland’s fascination with the Port Elizabeth of Yore has led to some interesting discoveries about the city’s origins, predating the 1800s, and how it has changed over the last two centuries...