A new Welcome to Despatch

The waterwheel at the PE side entrance to Despatch has recently been taken away and renovated.  A few weeks ago an old photo of mine was reposted by somebody on Facebook and my sister messaged me asking if it was a picture of the old or new one as it didn't look the same.  So the other day I was heading to Uitenhage and did a quick detour into Despatch to go and take an updated photo to share with you.  And yes, there is a Geocache located somewhere around there...

The town of Despatch

The Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality is made up of Port Elizabeth, Uitenhage, Despatch and the surrounding area.  But how much do you really know of Despatch?

The Despatch area was originally occupied by a flourishing brick industry based here due to the rich clay soil you find in the district.  It got its name from the fact that bricks got dispatched form the original railway siding that connected to the main line running to Port Elizabeth from Uitenhage.  Many of the old buildings in PE and Uitenhage was built with bricks from Despatch.  These days the only reminder of the town's original brick industry past can be found in the form of the old Brick Works chimney built in 1882 and standing in the field nexy to the railway tracks just below the town.

The town of Despatch developed in 1942 and offered a cheaper housing alternative for the fast growing Uitenhage and Port Elizabeth nearby.  In 1945 the town became a municipality and in 2001 it became part of the metro.

Winter is back... or still here

Just yesterday I asked somebody if they also thought that we didn't have a very cold winter this year as I stood sweating in the sun outside the lodge at Mount Camdeboo Game Reserve outside Graaff-Reinet.  This morning we woke up to a freezing wind and snow on the mountains in the area.  On my way back this afternoon I heard it hailed in some parts of Port Elizabeth. I pulled off the freeway and made a quick stop in Despatch (for a Geocache) and snapped this pic of an empty play park and the approaching clouds.  Cold and abandoned.  In black and white it feels even colder.  Winter just reminded us that she's still here and not leaving just yet.

Despatch at sunset from the air

It's not often that you find much about Despatch on the internet and definitely not many videos.  So I was quite surprised to find this one done by Renaldo Gouws featuring some aerial footage he shot with his drone over the town at sunset.

Despatch's second entrance

Coming from Port Elizabeth side there are two entrances to Despatch.  At the first entrance there is a waterwheel while the second entrance, the lesser used of the two, there is a sundial.

Welcome to Despatch

Originally developed in 1942, Despatch is regarded as a relatively young town and only officially obtained municipal status in 1945. The name of the town was derived from the brick industry, as it was from a railway siding (later known as “Hitler’s Halt”) in the late 1800’s near Uitenhage, that bricks were “dispatched” or rather, “despatched’. Many of the older buildings and houses in Port Elizabeth and Uitenhage were built with these very bricks. Sadly, the brick business is now a remnant of the past. Offering the charm of a rural town in the heart of a city Metro, Despatch currently has a resident population of about 30 000.

Brick work chimney

Talk about a structure standing out like a sore thumb.  In this case looks more than one of the other fingers though.  The Despatch brick works chimney was built in 1882 and was once part of a flourishing brick works. Bricks were "dispatched" or rather "despatched" from here along a railway siding (later known as "Hitler's Halt") to Uitenhage and Port Elizabeth. Many of the older buildings in PE and Uitenhage were built with these bricks. Guess where the town's name comes from.

Hanging (tomato) gardens

This is the last post in this short series featuring the UDDI's Despatch Eco-Hub.  Part of their vegetable garden project is a very innovative hanging tomato garden.  The tomato seeds were first planted  together before its going to be replanted into cut off plastic two liters cold drink bottles.  These containers will then be hung on the fence with wire creating a tomato "hedge".  Very good idea if you are short of space.

Tyre veggie garden

One of the main projects at the UDDI's Despatch Eco-Hub is a very innovative tyre garden.  Two tyres are fixed onto of each other, filled with soil and veggies planted in them.  It a great way to recycle tyres as well as establish a veggie garden where the soil may be of bad quality or there may not be enough space for a garden.  They can quite easily be moved around as well.  The other thing tyres are used for at the Eco Hub is the making of compost.  Three tyres are fixed together and closed up at the bottom with a piece of wood.  The tyres are then filled with grass cuttings and other plant and left over food material, closed up with a lid and left to decompose.

Despatch Eco-Hub Recycling

The Uitenhage Despatch Development Initiative (UDDI) recently established their first Eco-Hub as a pilot project in the Despatch township of Khayamnandi.  The project is about "transforming hot spots into green spots" and involves the empowerment of members from the local community to do something for themselves, their community as well as the environment.  One of the components of the project is a recycle station where residents can separate glass, paper, plastic and cans with a fifth bin for grass cuttings that are used in the making of compost.

Brickworks Chimney

The town of Despatch doesn't have too many historic attractions.  One of those that it does have is a peculiar one.  Its a brick chimney dating back to 1882 standing all by its lonesome self out in a field.  Perhaps I should add, "like a sore finger".  It dates back to the days when bricks were produced here and "despatched" to Port Elizabeth.  The chimney was recently restored as it has very close links to the history of the founding of Despatch.  Unfortunately you can't get to it, but I heard the other day that there are plans afoot to build an access road for visitors.

Despatch Museum

One of the things that Despatch is well known for is the amount of top sports personalities that have originated from the town.  Despatch is synonymous with names such as Danie Gerber, Adri Geldenhuys, Rudi Koertzen and Charl Matthys to name only a few.  Its for this reason that a big part of the Despatch Museum has been dedicated to the top sport men from the town and numerous sporting memorabilia has pride of places on its wall. Amongst them six rugby Springbok blazers.  The museum also boasts a mini model of the Algoasaurus, which was discovered in Despatch in 1903. The original dinosaur bones and a full size model is currently on display at Bayworld.  Alongside it are also examples of the original bricks produced in the town and transported to Port Elizabeth in the late 1800's and early 1900's for use in construction.

Chimney

I'm sure you all know the saying "standing out like a sore finger".  One of Despatch's main landmarks literally and figuratively embodies that saying.  The Despatch Brickworks Chimney was built in 1882 as part of the area's flourishing brick making industry.  In the last 1800's a railway siding was built forking off the main railway line between Port Elizabeth and Uitenhage.  This siding was used to dispatch bricks from the brickworks to Port Elizabeth where most of the buildings of the time were built from bricks out of this area.  The bricks business is very much a remnant of the past and the chimney now stands there as a monument to the town's early history.

Bay FM Burger Opskop

The annual Bay FM Burger Opskop took place in Despatch today. Bay FM is our local community radio station and broadcasts mainly in Nelson Mandela Bay as well as the surrounding areas. A couple of years ago BAY FM was a struggling radio station with serious financial problems, but that was until Jacques Arendt took over as station manager and shuffled things around a bit. He knew that there was a serious need for Afrikaans music to be played on the radio in this area and tuned into it. Although the station still plays mainly English music, it plays a lot of Afrikaans music as well (it actually caters for all the communities of the metro and their music tastes with different types of music being played throughout the day and night). But it is the Afrikaans listeners that probably support the station the most. One of the station's main fund raising events is a day long Afrikaans music festival that gets rotated between the three centres of the metro. This year the Opskop took place in Despatch and as it was a Sunday and hosted on a school field it was decided to try something radical. They made it an alcohol free day. Big shock? Not at all. My guess there were about 7000 to 8000 people there today enjoying a "drink" free day and supporting some of the top Afrikaans music talent this country has to offer. I for one can't wait till next year's event.

GPS: 33°47'55.69"S, 25°26'19.91"E

Despatch Brickworks Chimney

The brick chimney was built in 1882 and was once part of a flourishing brick works. Bricks were "dispatched" or rather "despatched" from here along a railway siding (later known as "Hitler's Halt") to Uitenhage and Port Elizabeth. Many of the older buildings in PE and Uitenhage were built with these bricks. When a town was developed in 1942, the name Despatch was chosen. Despatch became a municipality in 1945 and as everybody knows, today forms part of the Nelson Mandela Bay metropolitan municipality. Sadly the brick business in Despatch is now a remnant of the past. The brick chimney can still be viewed standing tall and serene in a field on the outskirts of town alongside the railway line. Ask anybody in town if you can't find it. They will point you in the right way.

Despatch chimney

The town of Despatch, just outside of Port Elizabeth and part of Nelson Mandela Bay, had its origins in the brick making industry. Most of the bricks used in the construction of buildings around Port Elizabeth was made in Despatch. The railway line from Uitenhage to PE ran past Despatch and a sideline led to the brick works. It was from here here that the bricks got dispatched to PE by train, hence the name of the town, Despatch. On the outskirts of town standing next to the railway track, visitors to the town will find a brick chimney which was built in 1882 and formed part of those early brick works. A very extensive restoration project on the chimney has just been completed.

purple glory

Port Elizabeth has two satellite towns, Uitenhage and Despatch. Both are about 30 minutes drive inland, and rely heavily on the motor industry. They are both included with PE in the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality, which runs the metropole.

Uitenhage is older than PE by a few years, and has some great old buildings. And at this time of year, it also has some glorious Jacaranda trees, which thrive in South Africa, although they are originally from South America.