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the Lord and dedicated her whole life to further His work.

Both of her properties were sold to William Stephen Pirie in 1950.

Drumahoe overlooking the harbour entrance was for many years rented by Leo Biden. (Fig.
3.14.) He had moved to Kalk Bay in about 1910 and worked as a third grade examining officer in

the Statistical and Audit Office of the Department of Customs and Excise. For years he had been
sending marine specimens of all sorts to the South African Museum. At Kalk Bay he was in his

element. He was an enthusiastic fisherman and collector of fishermen's records and stories, and

in 1930 published a popular book, Sea-Angling Fishes of the Cape - a natural history of some of
the principal fishes caught by sea-anglers and professional fishermen in Cape Waters. Among

catch figures he published were numbers that seem unbelievable to us today:

 Elf: In 1915 a record haul of 100,000 Elf between 1 and 2 lb was taken by trek nets at
Muizenberg in one afternoon.
 Leervis: During the season, 200 Leervis were taken from Kalk Bay pier, including
handlines. The fish weigh from 20 to 45 lb.
 Albacore (Yellowtail): In January 1920, off Kalk Bay pier, 6 000 yellowtail were caught
from the harbour wall, in ONE DAY!
 Kob: Catches of Kob weighing between 130 and 140 lb were made off Kalk Bay pier,
around 1923.

In 1939 Biden was appointed as Acting Shipping Master and Collector of Customs and Excise at

Port Elizabeth and probably left Kalk Bay with much regret.

In January 2019 I interviewed Leo Biden’s daughter Barbara (m. Fish) in Johannesburg. She was

aged 97 at the time of the interview. She had only good memories of her time in Kalk Bay:

She was born at Drumahoe, Kalk Bay (on the Main Road opposite the harbour entrance)

in 1921 and her brother John was born there in 1927. Her parents first lived in Harris
Road before moving into Drumahoe. Barbara can clearly remember how noisy it was.

Fishermen going down to the boats at 4 a.m., vehicles bumping over the railway lines,
trains going past. Her mother hated living at Drumahoe and it is probably why the family

was living at Westbank – Harris Rd by 1930.

Her father had great affection for the local fishermen and the feeling was mutual. They
brought all unusual catches to Leo Biden – another source of annoyance for Mrs. Biden!