south end

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Historic South End Cemetery

I find a certain calmness when I get to stroll through a historic cemetery.  Its not quite the same soul soothing feeling I get when I am in a forest, but it is better than the hustle and bustle of the city.  South End Cemetery was established in 1882 and was one of two large multi-denominational and multi-ethnic cemeteries laid out in Port Elizabeth at the time.  The other was North End Cemetery in 1863.  At South End a simple fourfold division between the Church of England, Nonconformist, Roman…

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18/03/2015
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The Great Gale Memorial in South End Cemetery

"Never before in its history has this port suffered under such overwhelming disaster as we record today. On Sunday morning some 38 craft rode at anchor under the leaden sky. Heavy rains had fallen and the wind gradually rose until, as the shadows of evening hid the shipping from view, a fresh gale was blowing in from the south-east, which, as the midnight hour was reached, had developed in to a hurricane. As the turmoil of wind and wave continued,…

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23/02/2015
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Fishing in the Baakens Mouth

A week or two ago we went for lunch at This is Eat at the Port Elizabeth harbor and I was watching a couple of fishermen fishing where the Baakens River (Mouth) and the harbor meets.  Going back to the pre-1960's this whole area around the harbor was where the residents of the old South End used to fish and feed their families from.  The guys didn't have any luck while we were there but I hope they pulled something out…

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10/02/2015
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Musicians at South End Museum

I went for a stroll through the South End Museum a week or two ago and realized just again how under utilized and appreciated places like this is with general folk out there.  It's at times like this that I wonder how many of those who often complain that there is nothing to do and nowhere to go in Port Elizabeth have actually been here.  One of the display rooms in the museum is dedicated to music and musicians from the…

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12/11/2014
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The South End Museum

 South End, as a suburb, was once a cosmopolitan community. Men, women, children and families lived harmonious lives in the epicentre of cultural diversity.  Blacks, whites, coloureds, Indians, Chinese, Jews, Greeks and many more were united in their attitude towards family values, faith and morals, despite the diversity of religion, language and race.  This all changed with the Group Areas Act coming into being in the 1950's.  South End was classified as a "whites only area" and everybody of colour…

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03/11/2014
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Lower Baakens entrance

Most people who access the Baakens Valley do so from How Avenue off Park Drive, Wellington Park or Walmer, but I wonder how many know that you can also do so from an entrance just off Brickmakerskloof.  I took a walk into the park from here the other day and you quickly loose sight of all signs of civilisation except for the towering Knysna apartment building on the Walmer side of the valley.

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02/08/2014
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Flowering succulent

By now I'm sure you all know that I do Geocaching.  One of the things I like most about Geocaching is the fact that it takes one to places you may not otherwise have gone to or seen.  Things you may never have discovered.  On this occasion I was searching for a container at the top of Upper Valley Road when I came across this flowering succulent growing up against a stone.  I'm not sure what it was but it…

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11/06/2014
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The remains of Stuart Township

 I think most of the regular PE Daily Photo readers know by now that I am an addicted Geocacher.  One of my own caches is situated close to a old footbridge over the narrow gauge railway line next to the South End Cemetery.  Between the cemetery and the railway line used to be a residential area with only a few remains still visible today.  After publishing the cache one of my fellow cachers sent me a link containing some information…

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10/10/2013
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Green Mosque Minaret

The minaret of the Pier Street Mosque next to the Settlers Freeway in South End.  The mosque nearly made way for an off ramp in the 1970's with the minaret already removed by the time that the international community got involved and stopped the Apartheid government from proceeding with the demolition.  The Masjied-Ul-Aziz, (Pier Street Mosque) was officially opened in July 1901.

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18/09/2013
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South End Tree

Across the road from the South End Museum stands an old Wild Fig tree which is thought to be over 100 years old. The tree stands next to what used to be Chase Street in the old South End and back in the days the kids used to climb the tree while the older people sat in it's shade. When the people were removed and the buildings in the area demolished, the fear was that the tree would also be chopped down or…

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03/03/2013