monument

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St George killed the dragon

The Cenotaph outside St Georges Park was unveiled in 1929 and was erected to the memory of the men from Port Elizabeth that fell during the First World War.  After the Second World War memorial panels were added to the walls.  The memorial was the work of James Gardner of the Art School.  On two sides of the memorial are different figures - one representing a mother and child and the other St George.  The woman, or warrior's wife, symbolises the protecting of the home,…

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13/01/2015
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Donkin Garden of Remembrance

The Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality has put aside a small section next to the lighthouse on the Donkin Reserve as a Memorial Garden in memory of municipal councilors who have died while serving the public.  The garden was unveiled by the mayor a couple of months ago and it remembers 52 (at the time of unveiling) councilors from different political backgrounds who's deaths while in office range from illness to car accidents and even assassination.

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11/11/2014
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The Prester John Cross – a monument to a mythical King-priest

The story of Prester John is a mysterious one.  In some circles he was believed to be a descendant of the Three Wise Men, some believed he was a crusader-era Christian king based in Ethiopia or possibly a high-born Mongol from the time of Genghis Khan.  Then there were those who said that he watched over Holy Grail, never growing old but wiser and wiser as the years went by.  Whoever this mythical king-priest Prester John was, it was the quest of the Portuguese explorers not…

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06/10/2014
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Queen Vic

One of my absolute favorite historic buildings is the old Public Library across the road from the City Hall and Market Square.  The building was built in 1901 with the façade constructed in England and shipped to Port Elizabeth in numbered blocks to be reassembled in front of the building.  The statue of Queen Victoria was added in 1903 and completed the picture very nicely. 

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22/09/2014
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Port Elizabeth City Hall tower

The Port Elizabeth City Hall truly is a magnificent building and has pride of place amongst a number of other historic buildings in the city centre.  The city hall was originally built between 1858 and 1862, but without the clock tower.  The clock tower was only added in 1883.

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18/10/2013
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St George and the dragon

Most people who have been to or driven past St Georges Park know the Cenotaph (war memorial) in front of the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Art Museum.  I wonder though how many people know that one of the figures forming part of the Cenotaph is St George himself,  sheathing his sword moments after killing the dragon. St George's dragon slaying story is told as follow on Wikipedia: "...a dragon or crocodile makes its nest at the spring that provides water for the city of "Silene"…

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13/10/2013
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The crowning pigeon

I don't quite think I would like to be a statue.  Yes, people walk past you and remember you every day, tourists stop by and take pictures and you have lots of feathered company but the problem is those same feathered friends and what they leave behind when they fly off again.  Passing Queen Vic in front of the Public Library the other morning there was a pigeon sitting on her crown back to front.  I wondered to myself what the…

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01/10/2013
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The Cross of Prester John

The space between the Port Elizabeth City Hall, Old Post Office Building and the Feather Market Centre in Fleming Square and it contains a monument which is the only of its kind in the world.  The Prester John Cross was unveiled in 1986 by the Portuguese Ambassador and is dedicated to the mythical king-priest, Prester John, and the Portuguese explorers who discovered South Africa. It was the quest for Prester John as a Christian ally that led to expeditions to reach him…

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08/08/2013
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193 years of being called PE

If you could go back 193 years in time to this day in 1820, you would see the arrival of Sir Rufane Donkin, Acting Governor of the Cape Colony, in Algoa Bay to oversee the arrival and settling of the British Settlers.  You would also see him look around at the beautiful bay with the small settlement on the coastline and name the town in honour of his late wife, Lady Elizabeth, who died not long before of fever in India.  He also proclaimed the…

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06/06/2013
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The PAG soldier

On the top of the central pedestal of the Prince Alfred Guard Memorial in St Georges Park is a life-size figure of a sergeant-major of Prince Alfred's Guard.  He is dressed in full uniform and is always standing at the ready to "charge".

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28/04/2013