I wouldn’t really call war memorials a specific interest on my side, but I really enjoy discovering historic sites and attractions. Just about every city and town in South Africa has a war memorial of some sort and Durban is no different. Usually cities have a number of war related memorials and the first one I found in Durban was the city’s South African Heavy Artillery Memorial, one of six around South Africa.
After the end of World War I the Imperial Government presented 6 howitzer guns to the Union of South Africa. The guns were used by the South African Heavy Artillery Association to honour their fallen Comrades-in-Arms and the six South African Heavy Artillery Memorials were created. The six memorials can be found in the following places:
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Johannesburg Zoo – Memorial to 71st (Transvaal) Siege Battery
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Clyde N Terry Museum in Kimberley – 72nd (Griqualand West) Siege Battery
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Company Gardens in Cape Town – 73rd (Cape) Siege Battery
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National Museum in Bloemfontein – 74th (Eastern Province) Siege Battery
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Union Buildings in Pretoria – 125th (Transvaal) Siege Battery)
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Warriors’ Gate MOTH Shellhole in Old Fort Road, Durban – 75th (Natal) Siege Battery
The 74th (Eastern Province) is of course the one that replaced the Obelisk in Port Elizabeth on the MArket Square and was later relocated to St. George's Park, before being sent to the National Museum for restoration.
Sadly from what I hear the 74th (Eastern Province) gun hasn't been restored and is lying rotting in Bloem