Although the Nelson Mandela Bay Metro is named after South Africa's first post Apartheid president and a world icon, the city does not have a proper Madiba statue for visitors and tourists to visit. Because of this the Route 67 Madiba figure on the Donkin Reserve has become a must stop for especially international visitors
A lot of the figures in the Voting Line art piece on the Donkin Reserve are based on real people. One of the things I like is the fact that you notice different personal or clothing features on the figures every time you visit.
One of Port Elizabeth's favorite museums is No 7 Castle Hill. The history of the building goes right back to the early days of Port Elizabeth with Rev. Francis McCleland building it as his parsonage and family home in 1825. The house is one of the oldest remaining dwelling houses in Port Elizabeth and is furnished as a mid-Victorian period family home. A lot of the furniture and items in the house comes from the 1840–1870 era to show visitors…
On a walk along Route 67 the other day I popped into St Mary's Cathedral and was reminded that the original gravestone of Captain Francis Evatt was located in the entrance area of the church. Something a lot of people probably didn't know. Captain Evatt was commander of Fort Frederick from 1817 until his death in 1850 and is often called the Father of Port Elizabeth because of the role he played in the early years of the town's development. Among the…
The Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality recently (yeh ok, some months ago already) renamed three of the streets around the PE Opera House to celebrate three of Port Elizabeth's theatre legends. John Kani, Athol Fugard and Winston Ntshona are truly three world icons and worked together on Sizwe Banzi is Dead in 1972 and The Island in 1973. Ntshona and Kani went on to win Tony awards for best actor for both plays while the names of all three have become…
Wedged in between City Hall and the Old Post Office building with the Feather Market Centre on the other side of the right is the Cross of Prester John. The monument has no significant link to Port Elizabeth other than the fact that it was a stop en route to the East for Portuguese explorers who, in addition to looking for a way around Africa to the East, were also hoping to make contact with Prester John as a Christian…
Imagine my surprise when I found an Afrikaans inscription on a plaque behind the baptismal font in the St Augustine's Catholic Cathedral. Very unusual.
I got to see the inside of St Augustine's Cathedral for the first time a few weeks ago while on a tour of Route 67. The church isn't generally open like St Mary's on the other side of the Public Library, so if you want to see it you need to make special arrangements or alternatively just attend a service.
When the first Catholic priest, Father George Corcoran, set foot in Port Elizabeth in 1840 it wasn't just a case of getting off the boat and taking up his position. No, he was shipwrecked in Cape St Francis and had to travel the last 100km to town on horseback. Once he arrived here he found that there were only 42 Catholics in the town. But the show had to go on and in the ensuing years the Catholic community in…
I'm posting this just because I like the photo. I was waiting for Chaos Boy to pass during the Urban Run a while ago and was pointing the camera in different directions. This was one I liked.