During our December holiday at Cannon Rocks, one of the things that I really wanted to do was to visit the Dias Cross at Kwaaihoek. Bartholomew Dias was the first (known) European to discover what is today known as South Africa. He left Portugal and travel down the west coast of Africa searching for a seaway to the East. He rounded Cape Point without knowing in a storm and first set foot at Mossel Bay in 1488, where he planted…
Situated next to the German Settler Memorial in East London is The Symbol of Multiculturalism. With Wednesday 16 December being Day or Reconsiliation, I thought that this is actually a very relevant post. The Symbol of Multiculturalism was created by Francesco Perilli and was donated by the Nereto Municipality in Italy to the people of the Eastern Cape Province and for the African continent.It quotes Nelson Mandela in saying: "We might have our differences, but we are one people with…
On the Esplanade in East London visitors to the city will find the German Settlers Memorial. It was erected in remembrance of the than 2000 German settlers (men, women and children) who arrived in East London in 1858 as part of the colonial government's plan to try and introduce the black Xhosa speaking people of the Eastern Cape to a European type of society. Originally the British Government offered the colonial government the services of the British German Legion who…
The Campanile was built and completed in 1923 in commemoration of the centenary of the arrival of the British Settlers in 1820. The site on which it stands used to be the landing beach where the settlers were offloaded before their long journey to the Grahamstown district. The tower is 51.8 meters high and has 204 steps to the top. It also has a carillon of 23 bells.
Fort Frederick can be found on the hill overlooking the Baakens River valley and Port Elizabeth Harbour. It's a stone fort built in 1799 by the British Forces to defend the mouth of the Baakens River to prevent a possible landing of French troops to assist the Graaff-Reinet rebels. It was named after Frederick, Duke of York and was commanded by Captain Francis Evatt. Even though the fort was built to defend the Bay, ironically, no shot was ever fired…
To the memoryof one of the most perfectof human beingswho has given her nameto the Town below The plaque on the Donkin Memorial (Donkin Pyramid) on the Donkin Reserve. The pyramid was put up as a monument by Sir Rufane Donkin in remembrance of his wife, Lady Elizabeth Donkin. Sir Rufan named Port Elizabeth after his wife on his visit to Algoa Bay in 1820.
Spending some time with the FIFA city profile film crew last week gave me the opportunity to observe the camera men very closely which gave me a lot of tips to try with my own photography. One of the spots they filmed at was the Horse Memorial here n Port Elizabeth. There is always lots of pigeons around and the camera man used two loaves of bread to attract them to the monument just to frighten them off again for…
The reflection of the City Hall clock tower in one of the windows of the Feather Market Hall
St Andrews College in the town of Grahamstown was founded by Anglican Archbishop Armstrong in 1855. Much of the early architecture was based on stone, one of these being the Clock Tower – a memorial to old boys who fell to the Great War. St Andrews is one of 4 South African schools who have the right to elect a Rhodes Scholar to Oxford each year.
The old Port Elizabeth Main Library was opened in 1902 and has some magnificent stained glass windows which was restored a couple of years ago. One of the stained glass windows in the library The stained glass dome in the roofWhen we were small my mom used to work across the road from the library and we often got to visit it. We used to sneak up on the gallery walkways to enjoy the view from the top. I still…