I am not sure of the chronological sequence of events of my father’s history but he at one time had a Trading Station together with his brother-in-law Zacky Bowles, at Flagstaff. Whether this was before or after his marriage to Miss Harvey I do not know.

I have often heard him tell of the way in which Flagstaff, in Eastern Pondoland, received its name. When he and Zacky Bowles had the Trading Store there, they decided to erect a flagstaff and on this they hoisted the Union Jack each Sunday in order that it might be known that their store was closed, and from this, the little village of Flagstaff derived its name. My father and his brother made a survey for a water furrow to lead water some 2 miles to their station. This water I believe is still flowing.

Excerpt from MEMOIRS of Kenneth Harvey Owen dated 1965 (Neville Owen)

In 1877 Zachariah Bowles and his partner, a Mr Owen, established a trading store on the site of present-day Flagstaff. The town owes its name to their practice of running a white flag up a flagstaff every Sunday as a signal to prospective customers that on this day the shop was closed. At its outset, the postal business of Flagstaff was carried on in a temporary hut, a square plan building with a small thatched roof. The walls were built in sun-dried clay, without external plastering.

http://www.sahistory.org.za/places/flagstaff

http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/SOUTH-AFRICA-EASTERN-CAPE/2010-12/1292414145

6. i. Zacharia George BOWLES [32332] was born July 28, 1841 at Grahamstown, Eastern Cape, South Africa. Zacharia was baptised August 24, 1845 at Grahamstown Church (St George's - Anglican), Grahamstown, Eastern Cape, South Africa by Rev William Long. Zacharia and Louisa OWEN [32333] were married August 15, 1870 at Mooi River, KwaZulu Natal, South Africa. Zacharia died September 13, 1936 at Harding, KwaZulu Natal, South Africa.

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