The other day the following comment arrived on our introductory post to this blog:OH MY, OH MY I WAS SEARCHING FOR THE NEW NAME OF PE AND FOUND YOUR SITE. I WAS BORN IN UITENHAGE AND LIVED IN PE UNTIL EARLY 20'S. MY PARENT'S HOME IS NOW A NATIONAL MONUMENT OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT. THE ADDRESS IS 49 HAVELOCK STREET, PE. DO YOU HAVE ANY PHOTOS. I HEARD FROM A COUSIN THAT THE SITE HAS BEEN CONVERTED TO BOUTIQUES ETC.…
All cities go through cycles of growth and decay, and the centre of Port Elizabeth is no exception. Established in 1820, she grew rapidly and a bit haphazardly at first, to become, by the early 1900s, the South African port with the biggest exports. This was mainly because the diamond industry in Kimberley, and the Ostrich feather and mohair industries were all in their heyday, and used PE to export their goods.But as these waned, she was overtaken by other…
The Donkin Reserve, featuring a lighthouse and a pyramid, is one of the iconic landmarks of PE. The lighthouse is no longer in use, and now houses a military museum.Sir Rufane Donkin, arrived here in 1820 to oversee the settlement of the embryo town, having been en-route for England when he was requested to remain at the Cape as Acting-Governor. The pyramid was built as a monument to Elizabeth Donkin, his late lamented wife who had died while he was…