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Eastern Province - Port Elizabeth |  |
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Port Elizabeth ranks as the country's third largest seaport and fifth largest urban centre. It lies on the shores of Algoa Bay, a superb 40-kilometre sweep of golden beaches lapped by the warm blue waters of the Indian Ocean. It is a paradise for sunbathers, the watersport and the whale-watcher, these giant marine mammals (mostly of the southern wright type) come inshore in number to breed and to give birth to their young between June and November each year. Greater Port Elizabeth (which embraces Uitenhage) is the economic heart of the Eastern Cape, principal home to South Africa's vehicle industry, its satellites and about 1000 manufacturing plants. Much of the activity revolves around the splendid harbour, which started life (in the 19th century; the artificial dock-basin came on stream only in 1938) as the main outlet for the hinterland's beef, butter, mutton and, above all, for the products of the merino sheep and angora goat but which now handles an enormous volume and variety of traffic. It doesn't, though, meet all the region's needs and construction will soon begin on a big, brand-new deep-water harbour at Coega, on the bayshore just to the north. The central city area, increasingly deserted by the bigger department stores of yesteryear in favour of the suburbs, and visually a bit spoiled by freeways and a flyover that cuts it off from the harbour, is brisk with cars, buses, trucks, pedestrians and a melee of informal traders. However, it has a colourful, vibrant quality about it, and still manages to retain some of the charms of the past - a legacy most evident in lovely mid-Victorian buildings (including the imposing City Hall) around Market Square. A bit farther out you'll find Regency-type houses (in Cora Terrace), the filigreed balustrades and verandas of early Victorian colonial homes (in Donkin Street and elsewhere) and a scatter of gracious villas around St George's Park. The main thoroughfare, which runs parallel to the freeway, was recently renamed Govan Mbeki Avenue in honour of the South African state president's illustrious father.
Port Elizabeth began life in 1820, when the first of around 4000 British settlers, brought in to stabilize the then troubled far-eastern frontier of the Cape Colony, landed on the shores of Algoa Bay. At the time, the only sign of a permanent European presence in the area was Fort Frederick , built 20 years earlier. There to meet the immigrants, and to proclaim a township, was the acting governor of the Cape, Sir Rufane Donkin, who named the camp in honour of his late and very much lamented young wife (she had died of fever, in India, a couple of years before). The newcomers were immediately dispatched to the inland allotments, eventually to found their own settlements (they were largely responsible for Grahamstown's growth), and Port Elizabeth remained largely forgotten for some years - George Thom, a leading light of the London Missionary Society, visited the new town in 1823 and recorded that, though it had a number of solid houses and two Inns, it lacked water and predicted that ‘this bleak and barren place' would never amount to anything. But the town slowly developed. The residents began erecting the first jetty in 1837, completed it four years later, and watched as a gale destroyed their masterpiece in 1843. Vessels continued to ride at anchor in the bay, while ship-to-shore lighters transported passengers and freight - an inconvenient and, in stormy weather, downright dangerous exercise. Work on a breakwater started in 1856, at which time Port Elizabeth's population stood at around 5000. An impressive Commercial Hall, complete with a spacious meeting chamber, had been erected in 1845; by 1861, when the town received full municipal status (a sign of the region's growing prosperity), a grand new town hall, a hospital and some fine homes had made their appearance. The railway station received its first passengers in 1875. Then, in the mid -1920s, the Ford Motor Company opened the country's first motor assembly plant (in Grahamstown Road) to turn out 12 ‘Tin Lizzies' (Model Ts) a day to inaugurate the industrial era. Two years later General Motors also launched its local production line.
Port Elizabeth is in the transitional zone between the summer- and winter-rainfall regions and receives rain throughout the year (but mostly in winter). Average daily sunshine: 7.5 hours. Temperature: average summer (January) daily maximum 25.4 degrees Centigrade; winter (July) daily maximum 19.5 degrees Centigrade; extremes recorded 41.3 and 2.8 degrees Centigrade.
Beaches: Port Elizabeth and the coasts to either side are famed for their lovely stretches of golden sand. The waters of the Indian Ocean are warm (22 degrees Centigrade in summer), the bathing safe; the rollers, in many places, ideal for both casual and competitive surfing; scuba divers and snorkelers revel in the clear waters. Algoa Bay is sometimes storm-tossed but more often calm enough to attract yachtsmen and anglers. There's also good angling from rock and surf, and game-fishing in the open sea. The main city beaches, from north-west to south-east (that's to say, from the harbour down), are King's, Humewood, Hobie and Summerstrand. Also attractive are the McArthur Pool complex, Pollock Beach, Bluewater Bay, Brighton Beach and St George's Strand. Sardinia Bay, farther along Marine Drive and known for its vast sand-dunes, is a wonderful venue for those who like to commune with the wilder spirits. King's Beach is especially good for sunbathing and swimming, and has a paddling pool. Humewood hosts a pleasant recreation area called Happy Valley, colourfully illuminated on summer evenings and popular with the kids for its nursery-theme gardens, lawns, ponds and (with grown-ups) for its giant chess-board. On the beachfront is the Boardwalk entertainment complex; and the casino is across the road. Also on the seafront (Beach Road), between King's and Humewood but closer to the latter, is Bay World which houses the Museum, Oceanarium, Dolphinarium, Tropical House and Snake Park. Brookes Pavilion is next door - where one will find many good restaurants. Hobie Beach is home to bright-sailed leisure craft, Summerstrand is broad and long and marvellous for walking and lazing.
Fort Frederick: On Belmont Terrace; a sturdy stone edifice built to overlook the Baackens River mouth in 1799, just four years after the first British occupation of the Cape. The fortress, named after the grand old Duke of York, was designed for a garrison of 350 men and eight 12-pounder guns, so placed to defend the bay (and more particularly the estuary) against attack from either sea or land, but it never fired a shot in anger, and by the time the 1820 immigrants made their landfall the outpost had been reduced to a mere handful of men. Open to visitors. Among the reserves and areas of special note are: Cape Recife, south of Port Elizabeth, next to popular Summerstrand beach; conserves a fragile shoreline and its dunes; areas of fresh water attract a myriad waders and other birds. Marine life is especially prolific. Sardinia Bay, the next-door marine and nature reserve, also has a rich bird-life. Maitland Nature Reserve, at the mouth of the Maitland River, protects the indigenous coastal forest and bush (self-guided trail; camping facilities). Seaview Game Park, a private reserve, is home to lion and cheetah, giraffe and other large animals. Van Stadens River Area: renowned for its stunning scenery, and for the lagoon at the estuary. A little way upriver is a dramatic gorge straddled by a bridge from which one can look down a dizzy 125 metres to the tumbling waters below. You reach the bridge via a pass that is no less spectacular. Close by is the Van Stadens wild flower reserve whose ericas, proteas and watsonias are a delight in spring, and indeed at any time between April and September. Paths and picnic spots have been laid out. |
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PORT ELIZABETH Western Cape
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