Central

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Wrestling with the South African flag

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1ku-HPjTwg&w=500&h=400]People don't want to believe me when I tell them that the Great (South African) Flag on the Donkin Reserve is 15 meters by 10 meters in size.  That's about the size of a tennis court.  Flying at the top of the 65 meter high flagpole it's hard to imagine the size, but when they bring it down in the afternoons you actually get a better idea of how big it is.  Now imagine a flag that size being taken…

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17/07/2015
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Madiba on the Donkin

I haven't been to the historic part of PE for a while and the pictures on PEDP probably shows that.  Between work and family I have just been so busy that I haven't been to try out my new camera in the old part of town.  A quick stop at the tourism visitor centre at the Donkin Reserve to drop off brochures gave me a chance to snap one or two pictures before I had to rush off again.  Just…

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01/06/2015
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Mandela quote

One of the Mandela Quotes way markers along Route 67 on the Donkin Reserve.There is nothing as bad as a leader making a demand which you know can never succeedNelson Mandela (1992)

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27/05/2015
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The Fugart Kite

The iconic South African playwright, Athol Fugard, has very close links to Port Elizabeth.  His famous play Master Harold and the Boys is set in St George's Park where his mother ran the St George's Park Tea Room.  An important part of the play includes a kite which the character Sam makes Hally (Fugard).  Here is my question for you today.  Have you ever noticed the kite "art piece" across the entrance to the St George's Park swimming pool where the tea room used…

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25/05/2015
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This giant South African flag packs a punch

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1ku-HPjTwg&w=500&h=400]After posting about the raising of the giant South African flag on the Donkin Reserve last week, I thought of a video I saw a little while ago of the flag being taken down on a day when the wind was pumping.  I found it and decided to post it for your pleasure this week.  Check our the Prince Alfred Guard soldiers struggling to get the flag under control.  More importantly, check the size of the flag. When it flies…

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10/04/2015
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Raising the great flag on the Donkin Reserve

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvh7GOfUh2M&w=500&h=400]The 60th SAP 5O5 sailing World Championships took place in Port Elizabeth this past week.  The opening ceremony took place on the Donkin Reserve with the Prince Alfred's Guards raising the country's largest flag on the 65 meter tall flagpole next to the Donkin Lighthouse and Pyramid.

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03/04/2015
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The woman with the chair

Route 67 around the Donkin Reserve has some really interesting art pieces ranging from real taxi's mounted on a wall to the 470 square meter Piazza Mosaic next to the Pyramid.  Then there's also the Voting Line with Madiba's figure at the front standing under the tallest flag pole in South Africa sporting a 10 m x 15 m South African flag.   Looking across the reserve towards Algoa Bay stands a lone female figure on a pedestal. (Shouldn't men put all women on pedestals?)  On closer…

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26/02/2015
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Holy Trinity Church fence

Port Elizabeth has some truly beautiful old historic stone churches around Central.  One of them is the Holy Trinity Church next to Havelock Square.  The Holy Trinity Church was established in 1854 when a group broke away from St Mary’s church and started having for services in a small room in Kemp Street.  They later moving to a church at the bottom of Military Road with the first church on the present site opening for worship in 1866.  The original church was gutted when a deranged woman set…

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15/02/2015
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Port Elizabeth’s most iconic site

The Donkin Reserve has always been an iconic site in Port Elizabeth.  It has links to the early history of the town and how it got its name plus who doesn't know the famous lighthouse and pyramid combination on the square.  With the development of Route 67 and its public art pieces on and around the Donkin Reserve, it has now truly cemented itself as one of Port Elizabeth's "must see" iconic attractions.  The Donkin isn't just about history anymore.  Now its…

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16/11/2014