One-man mission to clean up Gonubie picnic spot

“I gave up my TV,” says “Archie”, 64, the underground riverman who has dedicated his days to cleaning up the beautiful picnic spot, Tidewaters, on the banks of the Gonubie River. Pensioned off at 60, the qualified boilermaker worked as a maintenance fitter for Metalbox, Aspen, Nestlé and others, finishing up at Dynamic Brands when he turned 60. He said he found himself in his Gonubie home “with nothing to do”.

I was standing at Tidewaters after a river swim and spotted Archie and a local gardening crew cutting grass and clearing the boat launch area. Today, the river is a mirror under a still grey sky. Birds are calling from the forest across the way.

This place has special meaning for him. He and his son, then a little boy, would fish here. “In 2024, my son died in a hit-and-run in Gqeberha.

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Ah, I love this place. “I enjoy just sitting here and let my mind be at ease.” Mostly, however, he says: “I can’t sit still. I have to fix things.” He observed how the Tidewaters public area came under pressure.

“I could not just sit and watch such a lovely place being messed up. “One day, in February last year, I went home and got my plumbing and maintenance tools. I just started fixing the toilets.

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