Port Elizabeth (Donkin Heritage Trail)
I awoke bright and early on Monday morning as, according to the Tourist Information Office, the South African Air Force (SAAF) Museum only closed at Christmas and New Year. There was also a 'Heritage Trail' to follow around the old town which sounded interesting. Despite this being another public holiday I thought I would have a good day. Alas, when I arrived at the SAAF Museum it now closed every Monday! I headed back to Beach Road and followed it in the direction of the town to see if I could find the park and the 'trail'. I found myself at the Market Square and turned left up the hill. This proved fortuitous as I ended up parking next to a large open grassed area.
As you can see from the photographs I wandered around discovering a Tourist Information Office in the base of the Lighthouse. Enquiring about the Heritage Trail a guide was produced entitled 'Donkin Heritage Trail', R30.00 please. I discovered that I was, in fact, on the Donkin Reservation about two thirds of the way along the 'trail'. It actually starts down at the Public Library at the end of Main Street next to Market Square. I am using street and place names from the map in the guide but, on finding locations on Google Maps it would appear that some have been renamed to reflect the native South African influence just as Port Alfred now seems to be referred to as 'Kowie' now.
I decided that I would walk to the end of the Reservation to find somewhere to sit and have a coffee whilst perusing the guide. The Pyramid turned out to be a memorial to Sir Rufaine Donkin's wife Elizabeth. Sir Rufaine was the acting governor of the Cape in 1820 and decreed on June 6th of that year that the settlement would be named after his late wife. She died in India and never set foot in South Africa. Pre-dating the English settlement Bartolomeu Dias had sailed into the bay in 1488 on his epic voyage from Portugal anchoring off Santa Cruz, now known as St Croix, island and Vasco da Gama sailed past some nine years later. For hundreds of years, however, Port Elizabeth was refered to on navigational charts only as a 'landing place with fresh water. It is now 'Nelson Mandela Bay.
Diagonally opposite the King Edward Hotel which once was a magnificent place and, sadly, is now offices, I discovered the 'Grand' sometimes referred to as the 'Grand Garden' Hotel. This proved to be a real gem having been lovingly restored to complement its origins. Having paid R1000.00 the previous night I could have stayed here for some R500.00. The staff were really hospitable and helpful so I decided to return there for lunch meeting a friendly group of students on a weekend course. I explored the area and found that several of the buildings marked on the trail were in this area including Donkin Street where I met up with a minister of the cloth who gave me a tour of some of the older buildings in the area not marked on the trail. Of course, being a public holiday those buildings converted to museum status were closed. I was particularly amused when I came across the Electric Company power station, no messing about there!
Eventually I drove the car back down the hill in order to explore the start of the 'trail'. Being a public holiday I managed to gain entry to the Civic Building but, later, not into the Railway Station – come back tomorrow when the train to Johannesburg is running. Apparently they run three or four times a week but there appears to be no other destinations available. The rest of the once mighty network is now closed or used solely for freight. I hope that you enjoy my photographic tour, just as in any English town or city centre the main streets are converted at ground level and the grandeur remains above.
There is a lot more to see on the Donkin Heritage Trail, the Tourist Information Office said that you could do the trail in about 4 hours but I think it needs a day to make it worthwhile. The guide was written by the Historical Society of Port Elizabeth and contains a wealth of information relating to the history, development and growth of Port Elizabeth as well as a paragraph on each of the buildings and monuments pinpointed on the trail. I am sure that you will also find other things of interest along the route just as I explored the architecture of Main Street.
I returned to Port Alfred along R76 surprised to pass through 'Clover' country, “You'll never get a better bit of butter on your knife” if I recall correctly – not just in Ireland then!
When previously exploring I had wondered what was at Alexandria, apparently an imposing church and not much else. This will be my last 'post' for a couple of weeks as I am 'confined to camp' whilst Norma and Toby visit his parents in the north. See you in May.
The photographs for this post appear after those for 'Port Elizabeth (modern) in the same album.
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