WW2 observation post

Port Elizabeth has arguably the most complete collection of surviving coast artillery buildings and equipment dating from the Second World War (1939-45) of any port in South Africa. Before the Second World War the Port Elizabeth Harbour actually had no defence in place except for Fort Frederick which was built in 1799 to guard the original landing place … Continue reading WW2 observation post →

Steve Biko’s cell at Walmer police station

Today is the 35th anniversary of the death of Steve Biko, anti-apartheid activist and founder of the Black Consciousness Movement. I was invited to visit the police cell at the Walmer Police Station where Biko was kept after his arrest in 1977 before he was taken to the Sanlam Building in town where he was tortured. … Continue reading Steve Biko’s cell at Walmer police station →

Sleeping feline

My sincerest apologies to those who follow both this blog as well as The Firefly Photo Files for the double post of this picture this week. I've had a corrupt Windows files which meant that my hard drive crashed and its going to take a little bit of time to load all the programs again and then check … Continue reading Sleeping feline →

Feather Market Centre organ

A lot of people know where the Feather Market Centre is but I bet very few have seen the very impressive organ that adorns the front of the main hall. The concert hall pipe organ was inaugurated in June 1999 and cost R2,6m at the time. The organ stands 14 meters high, 10 meters wide … Continue reading Feather Market Centre organ →

Rev Francis McCleland’s grave

Over the last two years every time I visited the St Mary's Cemetery I've had a look for Rev Francis McCleland's grave without any success. Grizel Hart, the curator at No.7 Castle Hill, explained to me where to find it and on my last visit - after again walking right past it twice - I found … Continue reading Rev Francis McCleland’s grave →

Fisher’s building

Fischer's Jewellers in Port Elizabeth are one of those businesses that has been around for just about forever. In 1858 Edward Preiss from London advertised in the "Eastern Province Herald" that he has taken premises next door to the newspaper's office in Main Street and started business as a watchmaker and jeweller. In 1859 Alwin Fischer and … Continue reading Fisher’s building →

City Hall clock

The Port Elizabeth City Hall must be one of the most beautiful historic buildings in the city. It was originally built between 1858 and 1862 with the clock tower being added in 1883.

Rivonia Trialists

I had to visit the Nangoza Jebe Hall (previously Centenary Hall) in New Brighton for a meeting the other day and took a couple of minutes to study and photograph this painting of the Rivonia Trialists in the foyer. The Rivonia Trial during which ten leaders of the African National Congress were tried for 221 acts of … Continue reading Rivonia Trialists →

The Prince of Wales Obelisk

The Obelisk standing outside the entrance to Bayworld has a very interesting history and is probably the only "second hand" royal memorial in the world. The obelisk was carved in France out of stone similar to granite for the London World Exhibition in 1862. It was then acquired by John Paterson, who started the Eastern Province Herald, … Continue reading The Prince of Wales Obelisk →

Rows and rows of books

I love reading and I pop into the Walmer Library every couple of weeks to see if there is anything interesting on the shelves. I've been wanting to take a photo like this for a while now, but keep on forgetting. So here it is, a photo between the shelves of the Walmer Library.