North End Defense Force Memorial

One of the things I discovered while in North End Cemetery is a Defense Force Memorial remembering soldiers who died in service of their country during the first and second World Wars.  According to the main plaque the memorial stones commemorate soldiers that were buried elsewhere but who's glory won't be forgotten.

The Jewish Cemetery at North End

One of the things that really interested me when I visited the North End Cemetery the other day was the walled off Jewish Cemetery.  I didn't get to explore it though as the sign by the entrance says, "Code of Conduct. Please note that all visitors to the cemetery must wear appropriate dress. Men and women must cover their heads".  Turned out I didn't even have a cap in my car so I went no further than the door.  I did do a bit of a search on the net for more info and found some interesting info.  

The first interesting tidbit I discovered was that the cemetery was referred to as the Creek Jewish Cemetery.  Looking at an early layout diagram of the cemetery the creek next to it is quite prominently indicated.  Now I'm wondering, was the North End Cemetery not perhaps referred to as the Creek Cemetery in the early days?  Something to look into a bit more.

Land for the North End Cemetery was set aside in 1861 and the cemetery was laid out in 1863.  As early as 31 July 1861 the Council received a letter of application for a piece of land in the newly granted North End Cemetery.  At that stage the Jewish community had to go to great expense to convey bodies to Grahamstown for burial in the Jewish Cemetery there.  

A report in the "Eastern Province Herald" dated 31 July 1863 states: "The Jewish Burial Ground at Creek has been used for the first time on the occasion of the burial of the child of Mr. E.H. Solomon on Wednesday, 29 July 1863." The grave of this child, Aaron Solomon aged 8 years, is to be found in Row 4 of Section A. The other graves in that row cover the period up to 1871 and include one for 1903. This indicates that burials did not take place in a specific order and that they seem to have worked from the "center" out which is usual for all cemeteries of that period. 

The history of North End Cemetery

Over the years my interest in cemeteries has taken me to most of the cemeteries around town with the notable exception being the North End Cemetery.  Not because I didn't want to but rather a case of never really being in that part of town with time to go.  A week or two ago I found myself there though in search of information I needed as part of a Geocache multi cache put together by Commaille.  I was really surprised at how well maintained and neat the cemetery is plus I didn't feel unsafe at all.  My quest for the necessary information took me, among others, to the pauper section of the cemetery.  A section that stands in stark contrast to the rest of the cemetery.

I found the following about the history of the cemetery. With the exception of the individually walled and accessed Jewish and Muslim sections at North End, only interior carriageways separated the various Christian denominations.  Subsequent extensions to the North End Cemetery made provision for the members of the Dutch Reformed Church and the Chinese community in the early twentieth century, as members of the two groups migrated to the town. The arrival of the Indian community, late in the nineteenth century, necessitated comparatively little adjustment, as the majority were Hindus. A crematorium for their use was duly built at North End on the seashore. The unused Moslem section of the cemetery was then adopted as the site for scattering ashes. Indian members of the Christian and Moslem faiths joined their co-religionists in death. A special isolation cemetery was laid out at the Infectious Diseases Hospital in the 1890s and named after the bubonic plague outbreak of 1901.  These days the crematorium is no more with only foundations and a concrete slab remaining.

Then and Now - North End coastline

North End Beach back in the days.  A stretch of sand all the way to the Swartkops River which could possible have become one of Port Elizabeth's prime beachfront real estate areas if it didn't fall in the hands of Railways and municipality.  This pictures dates back to 1902 right after the Grate Gale when 21 ships ran aground along North End Beach.

Today North End Beach is no more.  The beach and coastline was reclaimed, railway tracks, Settlers Freeway (M4) and the N2 was built along it and the sea is held back by dolosse.  Sad really when you think of the potential this area could have had.

I know the angle of the Now photograph isn't the same as the Then, but I just haven't been able to find a spot with uninterrupted views of the whole coastline like this one from Richmond Hill.  The houses in the foreground is just above Albany Road.

North End Lake picnic spot

I found myself in North End today, driving on the road adjacent to the North End Lake.  I haven't been here for a while and stopped for a look around before heading off again.  I realised that where I was standing was an angle you don't see that often.  It's always either looking across the lake to the stadium or looking at the lake from the stadium.  So here is an angle from the side of the lake.

North End view from Parsons Hill

I stopped in Parsons Hill to do a Geocache last week and ended up spending time enjoying the view across North End towards Algoa Bay.  

Yes, I always have my camera with me so I can share the view with you.

North End view across Albany Road

A couple of weeks ago I was in Richmond Hill one Saturday afternoon for a function.  I had a couple of minutes before things started and took a drive over to the old Erica Building.  This is the view across Albany Road towards North End and Algoa Bay.  The Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium is just out of view on the left and you can see the Red Tide that was hanging around for a week or so along the coast line.

Stadium view

Last weekend on a Geocaching outing with the KidZ we swung through the Parsons Hill area to pick up a couple of caches and I snapped this photo looking down on North End with the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in the middle and Algoa Bay in the back.  Yes I know it's skew but I uploaded straight from my phone so I didn't get a chance to edit the photo.  Just tilt your head slightly and it will be fine. *wink and smile*  

Looking down Langenhoven

Some people just know CJ Langenhoven Drive as the road that goes beneath The Bridge Shopping Centre, but its also the road that links Newton Park down towards the Korsten and North End area, becoming Kempstone Road at the bottom by Mercantile Hospital.  A caching expedition over the weekend took us to a church just behind Greenacres and this view along with it.  A view looking down Langenhoven.

Stadium view

I was in the North End area a week or so ago with a visitor who has never seen the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium before and drove around the North End lake to show them the view.  Just in case you haven't seen this view, here it is.  If you have seen it, just a reminder of how beautiful the stadium and view of it is.

Stadium view

With the completion of the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in 2009 it immediately became one of Port Elizabeth's most recognisable landmarks.  This is the view of the stadium and North End Lake from the Mount Croix area.

North End view

This is the view looking across North End from Richmond Hill just above Albany Road.  Algoa Bay stretches away along (what used to be) North End beach towards the Swartkops River and Bluewater Bay just out of view in the background.

Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium lake reflextion

Today is the start of what must be the biggest event ever staged on the African continent. The 2010 FIFA World Cup opening game between Bafana Bafana (South Africa) and Mexico takes place in Johannesburg this afternoon (11 June 2010) while the first of 8 games in Port Elizabeth is tomorrow (Saturday 12 June 2010) between Greece and South Korea.

The games in Port Elizabeth take place at the magnificent new 48000 seater Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium next to the North End Lake. My favorite view of the stadium is across the lake at night when the lights are on.

"Relic" from the past

One of the few old buildings from "yesteryear" still standing in North End. It might not look like much, but judging from the security company signs it must contain something of value.

The wheels of Justice ....

This bright and cheerful looking building is part of the new section of the Law Courts in North End. It is a bit misleading, because most people who are going inside are far from cheerful. Whether you are a defendant, or a witness, usually the process of the trial is taxing for all.

Max and I found ourselves there this week to give evidence against an intruder we caught in October 2006. (18 months ago!!!!!) If you want to know more, you can read about the incident and the court here. I had to put my camera in a locker, but our cellphones with cameras were allowed....?!

Graven Images

A PE scene which greets one on arrival into town from the main Settlers Freeway always arouses mixed feelings in me. On the left is a lovely sweeping view of the city and harbour across a sweep of the bay, and to the right is the North End Prison, overlooking a graveyard! This view has always struck me as particularly gloomy. I have been wanting to capture the mood of this for a while now, and Sunday presented the perfect opportunity, the roads were quiet, and it was a gloomy cloudy day. In the end, we actually went in and drove around inside the graveyard, and found some fascinating graves and odd discrepencies, so I'm sure there will be more on this 'grave' subject to follow, hope we don't freak you out! We even thought of doing a series on 'interesting headstones', because there is such a world of human history to be found in these places.

Here you see the North End Prison building, built in 1949, looming over the new section of the Jewish Graveyard. (Actually, to be fair, when we were there taking these pictures, there was a church service going on in the prison, and a lot of cheerful singing could be heard, so it wasn't quite as bleak as I have portrayed it!)