The John Benn, a floating restaurant, offers daily Lagoon cruises to the Knysna Heads.
Visitors to Knysna are familiar with The John Benn, a double-decker floating restaurant offering daily Lagoon cruises to the Knysna Heads. But, who was John Benn?
To understand this colourful mariner we should unpack the meaning of the title of this piece: “Passing the Bar” means entering or leaving the Knysna Heads, while a coxswain is a person who steers a ship, and a shipwright is a shipbuilder. John Benn was all three, had an impressive resume, and left a maritime legacy that lasted for several generations.
Fifteen pilots, coxswains, and harbour masters served the Port of Knysna in the 136 years from its first establishment in 1818 to its closing in 1954. According to archives of the Knysna Museum, the first four pilots were all government appointees and their tenures will not go down in history as particularly successful or memorable. Their less than lustrous track records also lead to the closure of the post of Pilot in 1826, after which, according to the Government Gazette of 14th June 1826 “Masters of Vessels frequenting that River must make their own arrangements for procuring what assistance they may think necessary for passing the Bar. The Flag will, however, be hoisted at the Signal Post as usual when the Bar is passable.”
For the next 33 years, the Rex family – John, Jacob, and Edward, the sons of George Rex, voluntarily hoisted the signals on the Eastern Head to advise ships whether or not it was safe to cross the Bar. As the Knysa economy grew and the port of Knysna became busier and busier, the government eventually re-established the post of pilot in 1859.
The next three appointments were: William Jackson – who was transferred in 1865; followed up by two men George Bruce (appointed coxswain) who resigned in 1868 and James Miller (appointed pilot) who retired in 1867.
The office of pilot and harbour master was abolished again after Miller’s retirement, and thereafter the post of pilot was put out to tender on an annual basis, with John Benn winning the initial award in 1868. He and then his son, John II, continued to win the tender every year until 1881, when the post of pilot was formalised again – and John Benn II retained the appointment. Our John Benn died in office in 1877, but the post of pilot was filled by a Benn until 1912 and again from 1933 - 1954.
“1868: John Benn – died in office in 1877;
1877: John Benn II – retired in 1912 (during 35 years in office, he saved 16 lives on the bar);
1888: Donald Benn – assistant pilot to his brother, John Ben II, from 1888. Retired in 1912.
Following Donald’s retirement:
1912: Lauritz Marchussen (previously master of the Thesen Line's ss Agnar) – retired 1930;
1930: Bernard Lynch – transferred in 1931;
1931: William Rose – transferred in 1933.
And finally, the last two pilots to hold the post were both Benns:
1933: Thomas Conning Benn (son of John Benn II) (previously signalman and assistant pilot) – retired in 1945;
1945: Reuben Benn – (son of Thomas Benn) transferred to Durban when the port of Knysna was permanently closed in 1954”
P-J Gronum tells The John Benn Story as part of his “The Founders Of Knysna” series. (Source: https://www.facebook.com/groups/649652601769070/) The John Benn story is a fascinating story of a young shipwright who is dispatched to the Cape Colony in 1840, never to return to his homeland, ever again. His story is one of a formidable maritime figure and a life filled with adventure, action, and heroics.
Gronum tells us that Benn, after arriving in Simon’s Town as a young naval officer waited for his first official designation for a year, before he is finally sent east to supervise everything “maritime” at the busy Breede River landings. His impact on the shipping activities was invaluable and he was especially respected for his meticulous system of good safety regulations, accurate channel depth charts, clear signals, and orderly landing procedures.
Early in 1944, the 32-year-old Benn is sent further east to Mossel Bay. He is commission includes the design and manufacture of landing crafts and barges. It is here where he bumps into Ann Smith, a girl he had met briefly some years earlier but, this time he falls in love. They were married not long after and the family grew to a household of five by 1847.
John’s bravery, when the Harriet ran aground and the friendship established with the captain of the doomed ship, Captain Thomas Horn, is well documented and an interesting read. For the purpose of our story, it is enough to say that the friendship between the two men would last till the end of their days and that Captain Thomas Horn introduced John Benn to Freemasonry.
On 15 March 1855 the Musquash ran aground at Coney Glen. Benn is summoned to Melville by his friend, Thomas Horn, to come help. Too late to save the ship, he organises a team to salvage the timber and other valuable items from the rocks. Horn promptly offers Benn the job to build him a new ship - a project which would take three and a half years to complete. Benn resigns from the navy and his family follows him to Melville. (Melville and Newhaven are the two towns at the Knysna Lagoon). On 31 January 1861, The Freemasons of Knysna consecrate their new building and one of the first formalities conducted in the new lodge is the Initiation and First Degree of John Benn. It was a very proud moment for John Benn. The settlements on the Knysna River flourished.
In an article, The Benn family, Pilots at The Heads, written for the Knysna Museum (An article in the series, ‘Our Recent Past’) author Martin Hatchuel, tells us that Benn completes the Schooner, Annie Benn in 1867. It is his own vessel and only the third ship built in Knysna. Hatchuel continues that “John Benn often varied his activities as a boatbuilder by helping pilots Jackson and Miller with their duties at The Heads, so when the office of harbourmaster and pilot was abolished in 1867 – and instead put out to tender – he was the ideal applicant for the position”. John Benn takes on the responsibilities of pilot and coxswain in 1868 with his son, John II, as his assistant.
John Benn dies on the 20th May 1877 of a mysterious virus at the age of 65. John and Ann Benn raised remarkable children, a lineage of skilled, oceanic descendants who became the Pilots at Melville Port and Knysna Port for many years.
We believe it to be only fitting to name a boat steeped in history, after a legendary pilot of a bygone era.
Read more on our John Benn Experiences https://featherbed.activitar.com/services/
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