monument

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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
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Wellington Park

One of the things I've discovered since I've taken up geocaching is that even though I thought I knew everything there is to see in and around Port Elizabeth, I haven't.  I've already been to at least three spots I've never visited before and I have another two new places lined up.  One of those I haven't seen before was a corner of Settlers Park called Wellington Park which is quite popular for a short walk with the residents living in…

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22/03/2013
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Brick work chimney

Talk about a structure standing out like a sore thumb.  In this case looks more than one of the other fingers though.  The Despatch brick works chimney was built in 1882 and was once part of a flourishing brick works. Bricks were "dispatched" or rather "despatched" from here along a railway siding (later known as "Hitler's Halt") to Uitenhage and Port Elizabeth. Many of the older buildings in PE and Uitenhage were built with these bricks. Guess where the town's…

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07/03/2013
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Grey Institute windows

The Grey Institute across the road from the Donkin Reserve was completed in 1859 and housed Grey High School until 1915 when they moved to their present site in Mill Park.  Since then the building housed Pearson High School (now in Summerstrand) and then the Albert Jackson Primary School.  Since it was bought by the Mediterranean Shipping Company the building has had extensive renovations done to it although the historic look and feel was kept.  When I got to visit a little…

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23/08/2012
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St Dominic Priory tour

In my line of work I have taken tourists, tour operators, photographers and media from all over the world around this beautiful city I call home.  This past week I got to do a different kind of group.  A group of grade 6 schoolkids from St Dominic Priory in the city.  At first I didn't really know what to expect and was slightly hesitant but as I was asked by a very good friend I decided to give it a…

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18/08/2012
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Anglo Boer War soldier

With the fairly recent upgrade of the market square area in front of the Uitenhage town hall, the Anglo Boer War Memorial have been moved and is now positioned a bit more prominently.  The monument was unveiled in 1904 and contains the names of Uitenhage citizens who died in the Anglo Boer War fought between 1899 and 1902.  The interesting fact about the life-size soldier that forms part of the monument is that it was based on the likeness of an actual soldier…

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05/08/2012
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Feather Market Centre organ

A lot of people know where the Feather Market Centre is but I bet very few have seen the very impressive organ that adorns the front of the main hall.  The concert hall pipe organ was inaugurated in June 1999 and cost R2,6m at the time.  The organ stands 14 meters high, 10 meters wide and 4,5 meters deep, weighs 20 tons and has 5508 pipes.  Pretty impressive.  The organ was designed by Prof Albert Troskie, built by local organ builder…

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16/07/2012