I am sure all of us who live in Port Elizabeth drive through Target Kloof between Walmer and the Central / Cape Road area every now and then. Some on a more regular basis than others. But do we ever think about the history of the road and area? Probably not. So here is a tidbit of history. Although I couldn't find any info on where Target Kloof got its name from, I have found that on 22 April 1896…
Third post about the Friendly Stranger this week so by now it's not really a stranger anymore. I met my friends Poekie and Shefetswe for coffee and to discuss a bit of work (seeing that we're all in the same industry). Shefetswe had the breaky while Poekie and I decided to try out their cakes. Ok, so I had a taste before I took the photo.
Somerset East's historic Dutch Reformed Church stand on the main drag through town at the intersection with Beaufort Road. After the village of Somerset (with the East only being added 30 years later) was established, a need started to arise for a church. The corner stone of the church was laid in 1830 and it was completed in 1833. The church in it's current form is the result of extensions made in 1870 with only a few of the…
Down at the bottom of the Baakens Valley in front of the Bridge Street complex, stands a little historic building next to a Wild Fig tree. I joined a couple of friends for coffee there the other day and was just reminded once again what a love little coffee shop this is. But it's not just about coffees and cakes. There menu has some truly delectable dishes on it so next time you're looking for a place to sit and…
Is it just me or does this graffiti figure outside the Friendly Stranger in the Baakens Valley look like Rasputin's ghost?
The view of Hobie Beach and Shark Rock Pier from the Boardwalk Hotel's pool deck
The town of Somerset East lies in the southern Karoo Heartland at the foot of the Boschberg mountain. Somerset East was established by Lord Charles Somerset in 1815 as an experimental farm to provide meat and fresh produce to the soldiers on the Eastern Frontier. The site was chosen over sites in the Gamtoos Valley and Swartkops Valley. The farm was named Somerset Farm. Ten years after being established the project was cancelled and a new Drostdy was declared. The…
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GwzYy__-MDU&w=500&h=400]I'm not a skateboarder. Fell way too hard off my skateboard trying it out as a kid. Drama Princess loves to Jboard though. But that's beyond the point. Anyhow, I was looking for a video to post for this week's Video Friday post and found this one on the King's Beach Skateboarding YouTube channel. Although it's one of their older videos it shows the guys leaving the skate-park behind and hitting the streets a bit, showing off some of Port Elizabeth's…
Back in the early days of Port Elizabeth there used to be a vlei area where Trinder Square in Central is located today. The "Vlei" was a natural drainage point and in the early and mid 1800's it was used to provide water for animals with a lot of farmers coming to do business at the market square bringing their animals here to drink. The Garrison Company's gardens was also laid out on the western side of the vlei. The…
Yesterday morning Errol Somerville posted two old photos of the Beach Hotel on the Friendly City of Port Elizabeth Facebook group. The first one dates from round about 1924, the year the hotel was built. I went to have a look on the Beach Hotel's website to see if they had any history about the hotel on there and found the following:It is believed that the original Beach Hotel and surrounding area belonged to Piet Retief and his family. His…