Used in Port Shepstone , KwaZulu-Natal roughly in 1928 , the same year as what the use of Tokens was made illegal in South Africa.
Another Token with fire in it's history (Ref: Blackwood and Couper) , The premises caught fire in 1932 and basically burned down , it was however restored again after the fire.
The business was listed to be at 38 Reynolds Street , Port Shepstone and was a wholesale and retail merchants , this building today is sadly not in a good condition.
How we romanticise our tokens and the period they from, today's image and reality is, however, very disappointing ...
Port Shepstone is a town situated on the mouth of the Mzimkhulu River, the largest river on the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast of South Africa. The Mzimkulu River means 'large place' in isiXhosa and isiZulu. It is located halfway between Hibberdene and Margate and is located 120 km south of Durban. It is the administrative, educational and commercial centre for southern Natal.
Port Shepstone was founded in 1867 when marble was discovered nearby and is named after Sir Theophilus Shepstone of the Natal government of the 1880s. William Bazley built a harbour and the first coaster entered the harbour on the May 8, 1880.
In 1882 a party of 246 Norwegian immigrants settled here and played a large part in the development of the area. After the opening of the railway to Durban in 1901 the harbour fell in disuse and eventually the river silted up again making it impossible to use. The 27,000 candele lighthouse still stands at the mouth of the Mzimkulu River.
Port Shepstone Lighthouse
Port Shepstone lighthouse, to the south of the Umzimkulu River mouth, stands 8 metres high, and with its “checkerboard” paintwork is a well know landmark of the Port Shepstone area.
The cast iron lighthouse was shipped from Britain to Natal in the 1890’s and was originally erected at Scottburgh to mark the southern end of Aliwal Shoal. It was later moved to Port Shepstone, where it was erected more than 100 years ago. At that time, Port Shepstone was a working harbour.
The lighthouse, now a national monument, has a range of 26 sea miles and its automatically revolving electric light flashes once every 6 seconds.
The lighthouse shares its property with a Tourism Information Office and provides an unsurpassed view over the Umzimkulu River mouth and the wide Port Shepstone beach, well-known for its rock angling.
About Tokens:
One of the more rare tokens especially so the 6d , the 1/~ is seen some times and even might have burn and scorched marks on them. They where made of Dull white metal with a Diameter of 31.4mm and 1.8mm thick with plain edge.
Reference names - Desai , Moosa LTD .
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