Humewood Skyline

The Humewood skyline with Shark Rock Pier in the foreground as seen from Pollok Beach

Happy Valley figures

I took a walk up Happy Valley last week while I was doing a recce for an Amazing Race I organised.  Early morning and with no wind walking there was absolute bliss.  Not a soul in sight, birds chirping and the cool air on my face. What a spot and so under-utilised.  The lawns were cut, gardens mostly well looked after and the pathways cleaned.  A little maintenance is needed on two or three of the figures and some of the railings next to the Shark River but otherwise Happy Valley is still as beautiful as always and crying out to be enjoyed.

A day on the beach at Denville

It's summer and that means warm weather and lazy days on the beach

The park named after John Shelton

For the second time in a week I visited a park with a little monument and plaque while Geocaching.    This time it was John Shelton Park in Humewood.  So who was John Shelton? John Shelton was the Director of Parks for Port Elizabeth until his retirement in the late 1970's and played an important role in the establishment of Mannville Open Air Theatre in St. George's Park in 1972.

Humewood Station standing empty

The difference between the Port Elizabeth Railway Station (opened in 1899) and the Humewood Railway Station (opened in 1905) is that Humewood was built to accommodate narrow gauge - 2 ft (610 mm) - trains that made use of the Avontuur Railway (or Apple Express line as most of us know it) to the Gamtoos Valley, Kouga area and Langkloof.  Sadly since the line has been closed after flooding the station has died, most of the buildings demolished and all the old rolling stock parked there sold off.  I'm sure there are a couple of developers around who would love to get their hands on that piece of prime land.

Then and Now: The Humewood Slipway

Last week I did a post Then and Now : Humewood Beach showing a couple of historic photos of Humewood beach along with a modern one.  I purposely didn't post the two historic photos of the Humewood Slipway below as they were taken from a different direction and I decided to make a separate post for them. 

The pillars and old slipway you can still see at Humewood Beach was built long before Port Elizabeth had a harbour.  Construction on the Harbour Board Slipway started in 1899 and it was opened in 1903.  Ships would sail between the six pillars to be steadied before a cradle was lowered underneath the ship and the ship then pulled onto the slipway by steam-driven hauling gear for repairs.  The slipway was used until 1939. 

This is a very nice picture showing a tug that has been pulled onto the slipway

The Humewood slipway and pillars as it stands today.  A famous Port Elizabeth beachfront landmark although most people don't know what it used to be. 

Then and Now - Humewood Beach

Humewood Beach is one of Port Elizabeth's flagship beaches and one that is popular with just about everybody.  Being a Blue Flag Beach it has to adhere to international standards of safety and cleanliness and with the bridge overhead creating shade and nearby parking it's a great family beach.  But where did Humewood get it's name from and has it always been popular beach?

Humewood Beach obviously got it's name from the suburb of Humewood which in turn was named after William Hume.  Hume was born in Grahamstown in 1837 and died in Port Elizabeth in 1916.  He was a member of the Harbour Board and the Legislative Council in Port Elizabeth and obviously was a person of fairly high standing in the town back then otherwise the area would never have been named after him.  Another interesting fact I picked up is that part of Humewood around the Shark River (Happy Valley) used to be a farm called Gomery.  Now you also know where Gomery Avenue in Summerstrand got it's name from.  The popularity question you can judge for yourself by looking at the historic photos.

This is Humewood Beach in the early days.  Humewood used to be right out away from town (probably something like Sardinia Bay is today) and the railway line ran from town and stopped at Humewood.  The river in the picture is the Shark River that runs through Happy Valley.  Although the Shark River got it's name from the Dutch referring to the fact that it used to "sak weg" (sink away) in the sand during drier times, it was a proper stream flowing into the sea back then

The pillars and old slipway you can still see at Humewood was built long before Port Elizabeth had a harbour.  Construction on the Harbour Board Slipway started in 1899 and it was opened in 1903.   The buildings were part of a small ship building and repair yard.  Ships would sail between the six pillars to be steadied.  A cradle was lowered underneath the ship which was then pulled onto the slipway by steam-driven hauling gear.  The slipway was used until 1939.  The little white building on the beach on the right was the ladies bathing house.

As can be seen in this later picture, the slipway used to stretch all the way up to the old Humewood parking area.  Today that area is the grassed section between Humewood and Hobie Beach.

Humewood seemed to be a very popular spot even back then

The big building in picture is the Bathing House which was opened in 1913.  The building was built right on the beach with a foundation of reinforced concrete on rock and the waves washed up against the building at high tide.  Bathers would pay to go inside and change into their costumes in their own private cubicles.  The old ladies bathing house was removed when this building was built.  The Bathing House was demolished after the 1968 flood. Notice the road now on top of the railway line. 

Today the pillars are still there and so is the slipway, although a lot shorter than what it originally was.  Shark Rock Pier at Hobie Beach is visible in the background and so are the Courtyard Hotel and Boardwalk on the right along with the Summerstrand beachfront buildings.  The beach itself perhaps not as busy as normal as it was late afternoon and most people had headed home already.

I sadly don't know who to credit for the historic photos and have pulled most of them off albums on the Ex PE 60's,70's,80's and The Friendly City of Port Elizabeth Facebook pages as well as nicked off the awesome Millers Local website.  I got some of the info from Margaret Harradine's Port Elizabeth - a social chronical to the end of 1945.

I just love the PE beachfront

I just love the Port Elizabeth beachfront.  I love that you can walk or go for a jog all the way from the harbour wall to the lollipop beacon in Summerstrand.  I love that we have a clean beachfront.  I love that it isn't over developed.  I love the stunning views.  I love our swimming beaches.  I love that so many different watersports can be done on our beachfront.  I just love the Port Elizabeth beachfront.

Humewood at night

Looking along the Humewood coastline from the pier at night

Humewood skyline

The view of Humewood as seen from Shark Rock Pier at dusk.  Yet again, as I have said before, I am so glad we don't have an over-developed beachfront.  Oh look, visitors arriving.

Brookes-on-the-Bay view

Earlier this week I had a coffee meeting at Primi at Brookes-on-the-Bay.  Just for those who don't know where Brookes-on-the-Bay is.  It used to be called Brookes Pavilion.  Heading back down the outside steps to my car I just had to snap this pic with my mobile.  You can't but help love the stunning views the restaurants in the complex has of King's Beach.

Lights in Happy Valley

The peak summer holidays might be over but it doesn't mean that we have to stop going out to explore and experience out beautiful city.  That we can do all year around.  Something you can't do in winter though as the lights are only on in summer (unless they change that in future) is Happy Valley. So if you haven't been to Happy Valley this summer, why not get a few family, friends and kids together and head down there next weekend.

Happy Valley - wish I was happy

Today was one of those days.  You know, those where you just want to disappear off the radar for a while so nobody can find you.  I feel tired and stressed and its all thanks to having my car stolen last week.  Not just my car but also my backpack that was in the boot with my whole life in it.  Except for the fact that we're going to have to make debt to buy a new car.  The car was worth next to nothing, hence the insurance will pay out next to nothing, but it got me where I needed to go.  Its also going to take me weeks to replace all the lost cards, my ID, driver's license and everything else that was in there.  Did I mention that my camera was in my bag? #nuffsaid.

Walking through Happy Valley

After yesterday's post on Happy Valley there was a comment by Grunt saying - "I understood that visitors get mugged when visiting Happy Valley. Used to love it as a child, but based on what I have heard, I tell visitors to avoid it."  There probably hasn't been a mugging in Happy Valley for close to a decade. Yes, it was a problem area but it has been cleaned up and sorted out.  The municipality even has two security guards stationed at Happy Valley to prevent it from happening again.  Would it never happen again?  Nobody can answer that question but people can get mugged on the street in front of their homes so anything is possible.  I go for a walk up Happy Valley during the day quite often.  Its quiet and the combination if running water and birds calling relaxes me.  Will I go and walk up Happy Valley at night in winter when there is nobody around and the lights are off.  Of cause not.  That is asking for trouble even if you are in the safest places in the world.  Will I walk up there to see the lights with the family on a warm summers weekend evening? Any time.  I often think PE's biggest problem is it's own residents, specifically those who never get out and about and don't get to experience what this beautiful city has to offer.

 

Excuse the blurry photo.  I don't have a SLR camera and my midrange struggles in low light.

Visiting Happy Valley in the evening again

As some of you might know, I have a very special place in my heart for Happy Valley and it was the best news ever when the NMB Municipality fixed it up before this year's summer season started.  I walk up Happy Valley quite often but with the Damselfly's operation we didn't really get a chance to go over the December holiday.  A week or so ago we had a perfect Saturday evening and we bundled the KidZ in the car and headed down to Humewood.  It was so great to be able to walk up the Valley at night again with the lights on.  We also weren't the only ones who thought so with lots of other people around as well.  Now I just hope the vandals don't mess it all up for the rest of us again.

The sad remains of Boet Erasmus Stadium

I remember the good old days of supporting the then EP Mighty Elephants at the Boet Erasmus stadium as a kid and later the Not so Mighty Elephants as a young adult.  I remember sitting on the cement steps of the open pavilion and buying peanuts and those little orange dried spaghetti snacks.  I have good memories of the Boet even if the EP team wasn't doing very well and there were only a couple of hundred people rocking up to watch a match.  Now its all different.  The Mighty Elephants are now known as the EP Kings and they are playing their home games in the new Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in North End.  The Boet Erasmus Stadium in the mean time has been abandoned and stripped of all its dignity by thieves and plunderers while the municipality seems to turn a blind eye and not know what they want to do with this prime piece of real estate.  A couple of weeks ago I went for a walk through the old stadium looking for a Geocache in the area and ventured onto this ones respected field, walking through knee high grass right out to the middle.  I did shed a tear for what has become of this once revered field.

I borrowed this off the Geocache listing done by fellow cacher ChrisDen who got the information from the Weekend Post and Wikipedia.

Port Elizabeth’s rugby stadium, for years fondly known as “The Boet” survived floods and an embarrassing blackout while the world watched, but it was the 2010 Soccer World Cup that brought it to the end of its 46-year lifespan. It was the third oldest stadium in the country, officially opened on April 30, 1960, when Scotland played against the Springboks.

It was originally called the Boet Erasmus Stadium after a former Mayor of Port Elizabeth, but the stadium’s name was changed to Telkom Park in 1997 and then to the Eastern Province Rugby Football Union Stadium six years later, when Telkom withdrew its sponsorship. Eventually it became the EP Rugby Union Stadium when the governing body of rugby in the province followed the policy taken by the SA Rugby Union in deciding to drop the “football” from its title.

On September 1, 1968, the stadium was struck by flash floods which uprooted trees and damaged buildings. After donations from other rugby unions around the country, the stadium was repaired. Various developers have warned over the years that although the land is situated in a prime position, it is vulnerable to flooding. The ground received a facelift in 1985 when executive suites were built and the main stand was revamped. A hotel group expressed interest in buying the site, but plans never materialised.

The stadium was a happy hunting ground for the Springboks over many years. They have lost only one Test there throughout its existence.

The stadium is also infamous for the two historic battles that took place there. In 1974 there was the “Battle of the Boet”, one of the most violent in rugby history and a direct result of JPR Williams literally running from the other side of the pitch and launching himself into an unsuspecting Bok after a 99-Call.

The 99 call, used by Willie John McBride and the 1974 British Lions, was a pre-arranged all-out attack on the South African team if one of the South African players was deemed to have committed a violent infraction that had gone unpunished by the home referees.

Upon hearing the call of “99”, each player would find the nearest opponent and attack him. This was based on the correct assumption that the referee would not dare to send off all the Lions if they all resorted simultaneously to violence. The Lions won that game, which decided the series.

Another Battle of Boet Erasmus took place on 3 June 1995 during the 1995 World Cup fight between South Africa and Canada. (Although they did play rugby as well!) This match will also be remembered as the one that featured a 45 minute power failure just before kick off.

Pieter Hendriks, Springbok understudy for Chester Williams on the wing and his opposite number, Winston Stanley, tussled their way into touch, the latter being shoved though the advertising hoardings. Referee David McHugh was on hand and that should have been that. But Canada's fullback Scott Stewart charged in from some distance and struck Hendriks from behind. Then all hell broke loose. At the end of it all Dalton, Rees and Snow, seemingly being picked at random by the referee, were given their marching orders and 30 day suspensions. Hendriks, for kicking, and Stewart, as the originator of the brawl, were cited the following day and later suspended for 90 and 60 days respectively.

The Boet Erasmus surface had always been regarded as one of the best in the country. It could rain for up to an hour before the start of a game and it would still be fine. And rain it did on a wet and cold June day in 1980, when Naas Botha kicked a conversion which won the match for South Africa against the Lions 12-10, making the series safe. And who, fortunate enough to have been present at the stadium in 1970, could forget the two glorious tries scored by Springbok wing Gert Muller when the Boks downed the All Blacks at The Boet.

In 1991, several Kaizer Chiefs players narrowly escaped serious injury when retaining walls collapsed under the weight of fans leaning over the entrance of the stadium's tunnel. The walls and the spectators fell on top of four Chiefs players who had been going onto the field for a match against Orlando Pirates. Players, including international star Doctor Khumalo, were pinned to the ground but did not suffer serious injury.

The stadium was also home to Eastern Province which at one time was among the top four or five provincial sides in the country. It was a particularly imposing venue for touring international sides who traditionally had to play EP first on their tour - a system some criticised as being designed to “soften up” the team prior to the big matches.

The stadium has been abandoned and has been dismantled by vagrants and thieves. All that remains is the cast concrete structures.

References
Weekend Post 1 April 2006

Wikipedia

Happy Valley gardens for a Happy New Year

Another year has come and gone and 2014 is something of the past. I would like to wish all the Port Elizabeth Daily Photo readers and followers a Happy New Year and a prosperous 2015.

What is your New Year's resolution for 2015? 

Riding the Happy Valley dolphin

This week is probably the busiest week there is for Port Elizabeth.  Thousands of holiday makers descend on the city over the school holidays with the week between Christmas and New Year being the peak of peak season.  As I have a special place in my heart for Happy Valley and the fact that a lot of effort was done to get Happy Valley back as close to its former glory as possible, I have decided to dedicate a mini series to it this week.  So over the next few days I would like to post a couple of photos I took on a walk up the valley with the family one Sunday morning before the hordes hit us.  The little girl riding the dolphin can be seen right by the entrance as you come up from Humewood Beach.

Narrow gauge sheds

The Transnet Humerail Diesel Depot is situated between Humerail and Humewood in the same valley that the narrow gauge line going west runs.  It is here that a couple of dedicated people are painfully trying to restore the Apple Express with the hope that Transnet will repair the line and allow this iconic train to run again.  The view in picture is just off Driftsands Road after a short walk along a path.  Something I discovered while out looking for, yes you guessed it, a Geocache. 

Happy Valley is still around

One of the things that irritate me most are people who goes around pretending to be so passionate about Port Elizabeth but uses every opportunity they get to ridicule, belittle and critisise it around every corner.  One of the only things that irritate me even more than that are those people who always say there is nothing to do or see in the city.  And when you combine the two above... Gosh, don't let me start.

 

Over the last month or two there have been two occasions where somebody mentioned Happy Valley on a PE related Facebook page which I really enjoy.  Problem is people just used the opportunity to jump on their high horses and slated Happy Valley calling it a crime nest, a place where you only go if you want to loose your life, a disgrace to the city, broken and not cared for and more.  What did I do? I jumped to its defense.  Why? Because unlike those people who haven't been there in probably over a decade and slating it, I've been there recently.  At this stage I have to add that even though I  had been there and had the proof, there were still some people who told me I don't know what I was talking about and that I was living in a dream world.

 

So this is what I found.  Happy Valley is still stunning.  The municipality is tending the gardens, mowing the lawns and keep the place very tidy.  There is security near the entrance of Happy Valley and they do walk around to check things.  They will also be happy to take a walk up the valley with you if you feel like you would like to have an escort and ask them nicely.  The characters have all been redone in the last few years with touch-ups recently.  I think I saw two damaged characters (poor Timone lost an arm) plus Dogmatix took a walk and is hanging out with the Three Little Pigs.  Unfortunately you find people all over the world who will vandalise things and its not always possible to fix it immediately.  I didn't feel unsafe and was comfortable walking alone.  I know there were incidents in Happy Valley a number of years ago but nothing has happened in the last few years.  Just like you can get hit by a car walking across the road if you don't exercise precaution (as in looking left and right) I would still recommend going with other people and being observant and conscious about what is going on around you. 

 

The only snag they have at the moment is the lighting.  The electric system was stolen a year or so ago but everything was on course to be ready for this coming season when it was vandalized and spotlights stolen again a few weeks back.  I spoke to the Beach Office this morning to get the latest update and was told that the front section (the two lawns) will have lights and that the new Happy Valley sign is going up in the next week or so.  They are looking at alternatives to get the back lit up at this stage.  Walking up Happy Valley on a warm summers evening with the kids has always been a Port Elizabeth institution but even if you won't be able to do so at night this coming season, it shouldn't stop you from doing so during the day.

 

Long live Happy Valley!