Eastern Cape - Firefly

Winston Churchill’s cousin and the Battle of Elands River

Sir Winston Churchill became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in 1940 and is primarily known for his leadership of Britain during the Second World War. He was a prominent statesman, writer, and orator who rallied the British people and guided the nation through the war. Churchill is also remembered for his inspiring speeches and unwavering determination, even in the face of adversity. But did you know Winston Churchill also had involvement in the Anglo Boer War? Churchill arrived in South Africa as…

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18/04/2025

Firefly Travel Blog

The Anglo Boer War execution in Tarkastad

My son loves visiting old cemeteries and finding war graves from the Anglo Boer War and the two World Wars. So one of the first things he did when we visited him in Tarkastad was to drag me along to the town's cemetery to help him search for a couple of graves he still wanted to find there. A very interesting grave he pointed out to me while we were there was the grave of Pieter Willem van Heerden, whose…

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16/04/2025

Firefly Travel Blog

Visiting Kwaaihoek 500 odd years after Bartholomew Diaz

I think back in the day we all learned about Bartholomew Diaz and how, in 1488, he was the first (known) European to discover what we know as South Africa today. I remember when I was in primary school, how we followed the 500th-anniversary voyage of the replica caravel from Portugal and visited it when it called in the Port Elizabeth harbour. Plus I think most of us have visited the Diaz Museum next to the famous Post Office Tree…

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31/03/2025

Firefly Travel Blog / Port Elizabeth Daily Photo

The sights and sounds of the Elands River Road

I've ventured onto the Elands River Road a couple of times over the years for various reasons, but I've never gone very far down the road. An outing with the Military History Society a little while ago (I really have to catch up on posting everything I have sitting in the "To Post" folder) meant I got to do the first half of the route. The Elands River Road starts at Rocklands just outside Uitenhage. The first roughly 10km is…

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21/03/2025

Firefly Travel Blog

A First World War gun in Tarkastad

Tarkastad isn't a big town with many monuments even though there is a lot of history attached to the town. I was very surprised when discovered an old cannon on the corner of Murray Street and Queen Street, a block away from the Tarkastad War Memorial. On closer inspection I discovered a plaque on the gun reading as follows: CAPTURED IN THE GREAT WAR1914 - 18BY THE ALLIED FORCESAND PRESENTED TO TARKASTADBY THE GOVERNMENT I have searched the internet from…

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14/02/2025

Firefly Travel Blog

Who was Commandant Paul Erasmus of Somerset East?

There's a memorial on the Somerset East Dutch Reformed Church grounds in memory of Commandant Paul Erasmus. But who was Paul Erasmus and why is there a memorial dedicated to him? Paul Jacobus Erasmus was born 21 September 1829 in Somerset East. He married Helena Francina Jacoba Vosloo on 24 January 1853. Erasmus was Commandant of the Somersetters as part of the Colonial Forces in Basutoland during the Basuto Gun War, also known as the Basutoland Rebellion. The was a…

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21/01/2025

Firefly Travel Blog

Tarkastad Dutch Reformed Church – A big church in a small town

The small town of Tarkastad is located between Cradock and Queenstown on the R61. It's off the beaten track and most people passing through are traveling between the Transkei area and the Western Cape. Tarkastad has a PEP stores so it can be termed a town. Anything without I would call a village. It's still very small though and I only got to visit it for the first time recently when my son moved there for his first job. The…

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10/01/2025

Firefly Travel Blog

A Moravian Mission church in Clarkson in the Tsitsikamma

I'd like to think I know most of the western part of the Eastern Cape very well. Places like the Tsitsikamma I know like the back of my hand, so I couldn't figure out why I have never been to the Moravian Church in Clarkson when I saw a couple of photos of it on social media recently. Well, it was time for a detour. The village of Clarkson is a former mission station of the Moravian Mission Society. It…

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30/10/2024

Firefly Travel Blog

Somerset East’s Dutch Reformed Church at the top of Beaufort Street

Whenever I visit a new town the first thing I do is to go and find the town's Dutch Reformed Church. In most small towns in South Africa, they are the oldest church in a place and often a beautiful and interesting building. I did just that the first time I drove into Somerset East. These days I visit Somerset East a couple times a year but I still stop by the church every time to try and get a…

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04/10/2024

Firefly Travel Blog

The beautiful stone Dutch Reformed church in Kareedouw

Kareedouw is the first town you get when driving along the R62 through the Langkloof coming from the eastern side. Like the rest of the region, it's a beautiful area with the Tsitsikamma Mountains to the south and the Kouga Mountains to the north. Standing with its back to the Tsitsikamma Mountains facing the town is the Kareedouw Dutch Reformed Church. The Kareedouw congregation separated from the Humansdorp Moedergemeente on 9 February 1906. The first call for a minister was…

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13/09/2024