St George’s Park Ox wagon

I'm sure most Port Elizabethans who grew up here would have played in the playpark at St George's Park at one stage or another as a kid and would remember the oxen and wagon. I remember playing on it and so do my kids. After taking a walk around Art in the Park on Sunday, Miggie couldn't wait to hop on just for the fun of it.

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Happy Valley figures

I took a walk up Happy Valley last week while I was doing a recce for an Amazing Race I organised.  Early morning and with no wind walking there was absolute bliss.  Not a soul in sight, birds chirping and the cool air on my face. What a spot and so under-utilised.  The lawns were cut, gardens mostly well looked after and the pathways cleaned.  A little maintenance is needed on two or three of the figures and some of…

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St George’s Park fountain

The centre piece fountain of the Pearson Conservatory in St George's Park was made by Andrew Handyside at the Duke Street Foundry "Britannia Iron Works" in Derby in the UK around the same year the Conservatory was built in 1882.

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How old is St George’s Park?

I took a walk through St George's Park a week or so ago and along the way I wondered how many people actually know how old St George's Park is.St George's Park was laid out and opened on 6 August 1861 to commemorate the visit of Prince Alfred, second son of Queen Victoria, to Port Elizabeth exactly one year earlier.Flags and streamers were flying in every direction, all shops were shut, people dressed in holiday attire, and expectation stood on…

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Conservatory lines

I just can't get enough of the lines in the Pearson Conservatory in St George's Park.  Great for photography.

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Garden stroll

A weekend or two ago we went for a photo shoot in St Georges Park.  No, I don't mean I went to take photos in St Georges.  In February the Damselfly gave me a voucher for a couples shoot with Champayne Creations for Valentines Day and we were in St Georges to have our photos taken.  I'm not one who always like photos being taken of me, especially posed ones, but Lundi did an amazing job and the pics look stunning.…

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Looking down the Baakens Valley

At had a meeting with Nadine of Passing the Open Window, a fellow travel blogger, yesterday and got to take this photo from their balcony looking down the Baakens Valley towards the harbour.  Nice!

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The park named after John Shelton

For the second time in a week I visited a park with a little monument and plaque while Geocaching.    This time it was John Shelton Park in Humewood.  So who was John Shelton? John Shelton was the Director of Parks for Port Elizabeth until his retirement in the late 1970's and played an important role in the establishment of Mannville Open Air Theatre in St. George's Park in 1972.

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British Settler John Parkin’s farm

This morning a quick Geocaching outing took me to a small park in Fernglen where I found an equally small monument located to the one side of the park.  The monument stated:IN MEMORY OF JOHN PARKIN1787 - 1856LEADER OF A PARTY OF SETTLERSFROM DEVON TO SOUTH AFRICA IN 1820,AND PROMINENT IN THE EARLY DEVELOPMENT OF PORT ELIZABETHTHE SUBURBS IN THIS AREASTAND ON WHAT WAS ONCEJOHN PARKIN'S FARM OF 1421 H.A.WHICH HE ACQUIRED IN 1826.I never knew this little monument was here not…

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