In PEs early days, it was the major port for the export of hugely popular ostrich feathers. The ostrich industry was thriving, and a huge hall was built close to the harbour at which the feathers were auctioned. Over the years the industry declined, and the hall was used for concerts and other public gatherings. When we moved here in the late 70's we went to a Janis Ian concert there (remember Fly too High, and at 17?), at that…
We have started a new City Daily Photo Blog. It is called St Francis Daily Photo. St Francis is about 100km west of Port Elizabeth, and is a delightful little coastal village (well 2 actually.) As we adore the place and spend lots of time there, and have TONS of photos, and as there are so few places in Africa represented in the community, we thought we would go for it, so pop across and see what a stunning little…
A ship is brought into the harbour at sunrise, to the right you can see one of the two tugs which shepherd it into its berth.
This view of the Baakens Valley shows a few interesting historic features. On the left you see a few graves on the road verge, beyond the shadow of the large building. These belong to Muslim members of the old South End Community, mentioned when we showed you the Pier Street Mosque. Inside the walled St Mary's Graveyard to the far left were the Christian members of the community (again the strange segregation of bodies...)To the right is a building which…
This is an exhibit in the fascinating Red Location museum. It shows anti apartheid posters which were circulated when the restrictions were at their worst, anyone found with one of these would have been in for a very bad time! The books on the little tables are transcripts of the proceedings of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, chaired by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, with the intention of bringing into the open the atrocities committed during the apartheid era. They make very…
Hi there, would you like to travel with us? We are in Port St Francis for the weekend, and thought you might like to come along for the ride! It is home away from home for many Port Elizabethans who have properties here, as it is just an hour away on a good freeway, and has a delightful laid back holiday village atmosphere.St Francis, as it is affectionately known, actually consists of Port Saint Francis, St Francis Bay and Cape…
One of the prime beaches in Port Elizabeth in the early years was the North End Beach. If you look at this article on tall ships wrecked in a massive gale, the ships shown in the vintage photographs were stranded on North End Beach. Sadly the land was taken over by the Railways, and a large portion along the beautiful beach was reclaimed, and is now taken up by railway lines and overhead cables. (Our city fathers in the town…
This sports oval, now host to many school sports days and track and cycle events, started out as a muddy vlei (wetland) known in the late 1800s as "Russell Road Dam". It is right next to the lands which belonged to the London Missionary Society, where bubonic plague broke out in 1902. The vlei was drained in 1899 and a cycle track constructed, but it must have fallen into disrepair, because in 1911, the PE Amateur Athletic and Cycling club…
Another of the "Kloofs" in PE which carries a major arterial road used to be called Coopers Kloof, until Albany Road was built through it. Construction began in 1865. This building is Port Elizabeth's Old Fire Station, built in 1930, which has been replaced by a modern new facility in Summerstrand. It is now used as an office complex. Behind it, you can see the cliff face that formed part of the river valley. Above it is the Old Erica…
One of the main suburbs of Port Elizabeth is Walmer. In the early days, it was a seperate village with its own Town Hall, but it has long since been absorbed into the PE Metropole. Because much of the coastal part of the city is built on a series of sandstone hills, bisected by fairly steep river valleys (known locally as kloofs from the Afrikaans, and pronounced more or less clue-if, with the two syllables flowing together) the main arterial…