THE 'São João' STORY

'A walk along the beach could unearth lost artifacts of Ming porcelain, Carnelian beads and money cowries that the 'São João was carrying when shipwrecked in  off the coastline of the Estate.  The 'São João (St John) was the biggest ship afloat in the world at that time, and was headed back from the East with an immensely valuable cargo of spices, Ming porcelain, beads and money cowries. Greed and bad luck delayed the departure from the east with disastrous effect.  The vessel was grossly overloaded and the delay meant they hit the early typhoon season.

After losing full use of the sails and rudder in a storm off the Southern Cape an attempt was made to return to Delagoa Bay to no avail.  After floundering off Port Edward, anchor was thrown and a party landed with view to establishing a land base and bringing the crew and passengers ashore.

A further great storm pushed the vessel onto the rocks, with the tragic loss of 100 people.  The remaining 400 survivors established a camp in the region of what was then known as Kaisers Farm (now Ekubo Coastal Estate) near Port Edward.

The site of the survivors camp is a main focus of the modern day archaeological investigation.

A comprehensive archaeological investigation undertaken on Ekubo Coastal Estate identified 35 stands which were archaeologically sensitive and would require monitoring during the initial construction phase.  Should anything of significance be found, construction would be halted and an archaeological analyst would be commissioned for assessment thereof. Thus far no concrete evidence has been found in respect of the survivors.

The Ming porcelain, Carnelian beads and money cowries at the 'São João was carrying still wash ashore today and many visitors in the area pick up these artifacts along the Estate Shoreline.'