I've been wanting to see the soldiers from the Prince Alfred Guard either hoist or lower the giant flag on the Donkin Reserve for a while now but just haven't had a chance to do so. Big was my excitement when I was standing on top of the Donkin lighthouse with a media crew the other day when the soldiers arrived to lower it. Yay! If you look carefully at the base of the flagpole you will see six soldiers standing…
This past Sunday the inaugural Donkin Downhill Dash took place at the Donkin Reserve here in Port Elizabeth. Since the upgrade at the Donkin Reserve local skateboarders have discovered that the new winding path from the lighthouse down towards Chapel Street is the ideal skateboard run. The n_mb city project approached the Mandela Bay Development Agency who was responsible for the upgrade to support a downhill skateboard competition and they agreed. The rest, as they say, is history. I posted…
Standing on top of the Donkin Lighthouse and looking east towards Algoa Bay the new winding walkway leading up from the city centre is visible. The walkway is part of the Route 67 development and lately the skateboarders have discovered it and the fact that its a perfect downhill run. There has even been a submission to council to hold a skateboard competition there.
One of the new art pieces on the Donkin Reserve forming part of Route 67 is a 470m2 mosaic which is seen here from the top of the lighthouse. The mosaic represents the multi-cultural heritage, diverse history and the abundant fauna and flora of both the city and the province of the Eastern Cape.
I have posted a couple of pictures in the past that included the enormous flag pole and South African flag standing on the Donkin Reserve and whenever I tell people that the flag is about as big as a tennis court they tend to look at me in disbelief. Well, viewing the Donkin Reserve from on top of one of the buildings in the city centre the other day I could actually photograph the flag and put it into a better…
A different view of the giant South African flag on the Donkin Reserve. This time seen through the Donkin River memorial piece.
One of the new art pieces that has been installed on Route 67 is a freeze by artist Mpumzeni Ezra Gwazela. The freeze represents the proud history of creativity in Nelson Mandela Bay and the Eastern Cape and is located just outside the entrance of the Campanile which is also the start of Route 67.
A beautiful blue sky day (not taken today though looking out the window at the overcast Friday sky) on the Donkin Reserve with the Donkin Lighthouse and Pyramid on the right and the highest flagpole in South Africa on the left.
The art project currently on display at the Athenaeum building in Central is a project called Conversations with Victoria. Once the project has been implemented it will consist of a number of life-size figures of both political figures as well as ordinary people placed around the statue of Queen Victoria in front of the Public Library in the city centre. It will seem as if they are in discussion with the Queen regarding the past, present and future. Perhaps a little…
The Athenaeum in Port Elizabeth was founded in the 1850′s to promote cultural activities but sadly died out in the 1880′s. In 1893 the Young Men’s Institute, the School of Art, the Naturalists’ Society and the Camera Club came together and re-assert the right of the Athenaeum to occupy a part of the City Hall. The then Town Council offered to bear most of the cost to erect the present building which was opened in 1896. In the early years of the 1900′s it…