Old Africa magazine seeks to tell the story of East Africa’s past through well-written stories and vintage photographs. Founded in October 2005, the first issue featured a story about the Royal Navy’s ill-fated attempt to launch a naval presence on Lake Rudolph (now Lake Turkana) and an account of the Kedong Massacre. Since then the magazine has published stories and photos from Kenya’s diverse ethnic groups – African, Asian and European – to preserve East Africa’s history.
Syrup of Figs…
This advert was in featured in the Globe Trotter newspaper published in Nairobi in 1906.
Cecil Hoey and Hoey’s Bridge (now Moi’s Bridge)
One of the first white residents in the Trans-Nzoia region was Arthur Cecil Hoey. Who was Hoey? He was born in Wimbledon in 1883 and baptised on 12 October that year, the son of John Hoey and his wife Matilda Jane, née Tront, who came from Dublin. In 1891 the family was living in Knaphill near Woking and Arthur Cecil had an older brother John and a younger brother William Henry. There was also an…
Briton vs Boer: Educational Tensions in Trans-Nzoia
After the Second World War, the British Government encouraged white settlers to go to the Trans-Nzoia area and Uganda. Of course this increased the number of children to be educated. As Eldoret was the largest town, it was sensible to place the schools there, especially as it was easily reached from Uganda by rail. The Central School was built there, but as the number of Afrikaner children attending rose, so the…