Port Elizabeth - a century of being a city

Exactly one hundred years ago, on 28 July 1913, Port Elizabeth was declared a city.  It doesn't mean that Port Elizabeth is 100 years old, because its not.  Its much older than that.  The first settlement in Port Elizabeth started to develop around Fort Frederick after its completion in 1799 and it was officially named by Sir Rufane Donkin after his wife Lady Elizabeth in 1820 when he came to Algoa Bay to oversee the landing of the British Settlers.  A couple of events have been planned for the city to celebrate the city centenary and the South African Post Office is bringing out a beautiful set of commemorative stamps to mark the occasion.  I tried to do some research to find out what the significant reasoning was to warrant the occasion of declaring Port Elizabeth a city in 1913.  There isn't a lot of info available but according to historian Margaret Harradine it would have been done by an official proclamation because of the size of Port Elizabeth at the time and the fact that it could carry the right to be called a city was quite prestigious back then.  Happy city anniversary Port Elizabeth!!!