Crossroads

This is the St Philips Anglican Church in Richmond Hill, with a commanding view of the sea from the brow of the hill. As you can see from the sign, it is directly opposite Richmond Park. In the early days of PE, this hill used to be a location covered with traditional M'Fengu beehive straw … Continue reading Crossroads →

In the beginning…….

Here are 3 fascinating pages found amongst the collection of historic documents at our main library.They are from the original fragile land books of the early 1800s in which all grants of land by the Colonial Government to the city were detailed. They are hand written in flowing copperplate, and accompanied by hand drawn maps … Continue reading In the beginning……. →

The sailor who did not return – Graveyards #2

Another in our new series on Graveyards. This head stone, at St Mary's Cemetary, South End, bears mute testimony to George Urquhart, master of the barque Shepherdess who drowned off Cape Recife in 1859. This was before the Cape Recife lighthouse was built. Cape Recife has some treacherous currents and reefs and has claimed many … Continue reading The sailor who did not return – Graveyards #2 →

The Feathermarket Centre

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. … Continue reading The Feathermarket Centre →

The Baakens Valley

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 … Continue reading The Baakens Valley →

The Old Fire Station

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 This building is Port Elizabeth's Old Fire Station, built in 1930, which has been replaced by a modern new facility in Summerstrand.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 … Continue reading The Old Fire Station →

The Bubonic Plague…

Continuing the Richmond Hill story from yesterday (and if you are new to this thread, go back to the post called Places of Worship #6 for the background history), the area known as the Strangers Location and the lands owned by the London Missionary Society had an outbreak of Bubonic Plague in 1903, and were … Continue reading The Bubonic Plague… →

Old House

The other day we gave a brief description of the history of the Richmond Hill area. We mentioned that part of it was called the Strangers Location, and next to it was a section owned by the London Missionary Society, and used to help house workers, mostly employed at the Port. Here is an old … Continue reading Old House →

Places of Worship #6

Part of Richmond Hill was originally known as "The Location for Native Strangers" and was set aside in 1855 for the Khoi San and Mfengu workers who mostly worked on loading and unloading the ships at the fast growing Port. (Yup, I’m afraid the British Colonial Government established Apartheid long before the Nats actually gave … Continue reading Places of Worship #6 →

Misty morning in the Graveyard

This morning we woke to a shroud of mist. This usually means that the day will be a scorcher (in fact we have been warned to expect a 3 day heat wave with temperatures going up to 35 degrees C!) so we took the opportunity for a stroll before it warmed up too much. This … Continue reading Misty morning in the Graveyard →