The Prince Alfred's Guard Memorial stands in St Georges Park and was erected in 1907 in remembrance to men from the guard that died in four different wars. On each of the four corners of the base of the memorial is a tablet bearing the names of officers and men who fell in the Transkei War, 1877 ; Basutoland War, 1880-1881; Bechuanaland War, 1897; and the Anglo Boer War 1899 - 1902. At the foot of each tablet is a…
The Hector Peterson Memorial is situated in the heart of Soweto. Soweto is South Africa's biggest township and is part of the city of Johannesburg. Hector Peterson became the iconic image of the 1976 Soweto uprising in apartheid South Africa when a news photograph by Sam Nzima of the dying Hector being carried by a fellow student, was published around the world. The young man carrying Hector went to ground immediately after the photo was published, fled to Mozambique and…
I am having one of those days where I don't have anything new to show and going through all my stock I can't really find something that tickles my fancy tonight. "Not good enough, boring, too plain, not artistic enough..." I'm sure you all know the feeling. So as I'm looking through all my pics and remember past travels, I encountered a couple of heavenly beings that are ideal for my "Random ..." theme. The Angel Statue (Boer War Memorial)…
One of my favorite spots in Cape Town is the Rhodes Memorial on the slopes of Table Mountain. The monument was erected in memory of Cecil John Rhodes (1853 - 1902). Rhodes was an English born South African businessman, mining magnate and politician. He was Prime Minister of the Cape Colony from 1890 and Rhodesia (today Zimbabwe and Zambia) was named after him. The memorial was built in the shape of a Greek temple. There are 49 steps (one for…
One of my favourite monuments in Port Elizabeth is also one of the least known one's in the city. Ask somebody where the Prester John Monument is and they will probably never have heard of it. Refer to the monument with the cross behind the City Hall and they would all have seen it.The monument is dedicated to the mythical king-priest Prester John and the Portuguese explorers who discovered South Africa. Although the Portuguese were looking for a route to…
Just prior to the arrival of the British Settlers in Algoa Bay in 1820, Sir Rufane Donkin took up an acting position in the Cape Colony as Governor. He travelled to Algoa Bay to welcome the Settlers. Sir Rufane lost his wife, Lady Elizabeth Donkin, to the fever in India two years previously and was still mourning her loss when he took up his position at the Cape.When he arrived in Algoa Bay he found a small settlement without a…
Very few people would have heard of the little dusty Karoo village of Nieu-Bethesda if it wasn't for The Owl House. Nieu-Bethesda is situated about 3 1/2 hours north of Port Elizabeth close to the town of Graaff Reinet. The house belonged to a woman named Helen Martins. Martins became bored with her "dull" life and resolved to transform the environment around her. She began an obsessive project around 1945 to decorate her home and garden and used cement, glass…
When I went to visit my sister in hospital the other night to see my new niece, I drove by the Donkin Reserve and had to stop to take this pic. The moon was beautiful in the sky and the floodlights on the lighthouse made it a pretty sight. I have posted a day pic of the Donkin Reserve before here: http://fireflyafrica.blogspot.com/2008/07/pe-monuments-1.htmlI found that the pic wasn't exactly what I wanted it to be. I also tried to take one…
Today I want to continue showing off some of better known monuments and historic buildings in Port Elizabeth. Situated on Market Square in the historic heart of the city is the Port Elizabeth City Hall. Completed in the 1862 and with the clock tower added on in 1883, the building burned down in 1977 and was restored to its former glory shortly after. The tower sticking out behind belongs to the Old Post Office, opened in 1900, while the cross…
Port Elizabeth is a city with a rich historical and cultural background. It has many monuments going back to the colonial days as well as some more recent ones. Todays I want to show of a couple of our better known monuments.Fort Frederick is the oldest building in the city. It was built by the British in 1799 to defend the Bay from French invasion and still overlooks the Port Elizabeth harbour.The Pyramid or Donkin Memorial is situated on the…