Richard Gush (1789–1858) was an 1820 Settler. Originally from

Beer Beer is one of the oldest and the most widely consumed type of alcoholic drink in the world, and the third most popular drink overall after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches, mainly derived from ce ...

, a village in

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

, England, he settled in Salem, near

Grahamstown Makhanda, also known as Grahamstown, is a town of about 140,000 people in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is situated about northeast of Port Elizabeth and southwest of East London, Eastern Cape, East London. Makhanda is the lar ...

in the

Eastern Cape Province The Eastern Cape is one of the provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, but its two largest cities are East London and Gqeberha. The second largest province in the country (at 168,966 km2) after Northern Cape, it was formed in 1994 ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. His parents were Thomas and Mary Gush and his grandparents were James and Agnes (née Bucknell) Gush all of whom lived in Devon. He earned renown by saving Salem from

Xhosa Xhosa may refer to: * Xhosa people, a nation, and ethnic group, who live in south-central and southeasterly region of South Africa * Xhosa language, one of the 11 official languages of South Africa, principally spoken by the Xhosa people See als ...

warriors. A devout

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...

, he rode to meet them unarmed. After negotiating with Gush, they never attacked the village again, having previously stolen cattle. These events inspired Guy Butler to write ''Richard Gush of Salem'', a play that was commissioned by the Cape Performing Arts Board in 1968 for performance in 1970 as part of the celebrations of 150th anniversary of the 1820 Settlers' arrival. It was subsequently made into a movie. Gush was a carpenter and built Salem's first church. Only after building the church did he build his house: indeed he and his family lived in a cave for their first seven years in South Africa. Children listed on his Death Notice are Mary Hana (1813), Margaret (1815), Richard Thoma (1817), Joseph Evans (1819), Joseph (1821), Margaret (1824), Richard Thomas Grainger (1826), William (1826), John Grainger (1828) and Elizabeth Ann (1831). A sports house at Westering High School,

Port Elizabeth Gqeberha (), formerly Port Elizabeth and colloquially often referred to as P.E., is a major seaport and the most populous city in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is the seat of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality, Sou ...

is named in his honour.

References

* * * * 1789 births 1858 deaths 1820 Settlers {{SouthAfrica-bio-stub