Govan Mbeki Road on a Sunday morning

I don't get down to Govan Mbeki Road that often and most of the time just driving through.  A little while ago I was in the area on a Sunday morning which means it was nice and quiet with very few people around.

The Cathedral Church of St Mary the Virgin

Before the arrival of the British Settlers in 1820 the needs of the British garrison in Algoa Bay were served by chaplains in passing ships. By 1825 the town of Port Elizabeth had grown to about 500 people and Revd Francis McClelland was appointed Colonial Chaplain.  The foundation stone for the Collegiate Church of St Mary the Virgin was also laid that year.  The church was finally opened for worship in 1832.

Under the freeway

Strand Street under the Settlers Freeway isn't really a place where many of Port Elizabeth's suburban inhabitants wander but if you do you'll encounter interesting scenes, vendors and shops that you won't really find anywhere else. The painting on the freeway support pillar is one of a series of colourful and evocative portraits that depict young South Africans from a range of cultural backgrounds.  It forms part of Route 67 and is called IDENTITIES.

The 76 Youth remembered on Route 67

As one follows Route 67 from the city centre up towards the Donkin Reserve you pass the Public Library and St Mary's Cathedral before climbing a set of steps up to Winston Ntshona Street (previously Chapel Street).  The art piece on the wall by the steps is a statement about the 76 generation (referring to the 1976 Soweto uprising) and represents the spiritual journey undertaken by those who fought against oppression.  The art piece takes the form of a pile of newspapers being blown away in the wind and the pages tell the story of the youth. 

It's sad though to see that a number of the newspaper sheets have been removed from the lower section of the piece.  Very disappointing to see their remembrance defiled like this.

The Public Library renovation finally got going

The historic Port Elizabeth Public Library in the city centre has been closed to the public for over three years now with promises of renovations but excuses of no budget.  Well, if you had to pass the library today you won't be able to see the scene in the photo.  It is because the library has been closed off and work seem to have finally started.  Or at least I hope.  An article in the Herald about two weeks ago says work on the structure has no finally started with the completion date around mid 2021.   

Campanile Frieze and Wall of Texts

If you started a walk along Route 67 at the Campanile then the Campanile Frieze and Wall of Texts would be one of the first art pieces you'll see.  Both of these are done by artist Mkhonto Gwazela.  The frieze at the top celebrates the indigenous heritage of Nelson Mandela Bay and the Eastern Cape with the sculpted visual image being cast in concrete along the curved wall.  The poem just below is engraved into locally-sourced granite.

St Mary's front on Govan Mbeki Road

Anybody who knows Port Elizabeth and has been down to Govan Mbeki Road (Main Street) in the city centre, would know St Mary's Anglican Cathedral near the Public Library.  But not just know it.  Also be aware of the old United Building Society building that stands on the corner in front of it blocking a proper view of the whole church and causing the front of the church to look like it's standing on its own between the high rise buildings away from the rest of the cathedral behind.

In 1843 St Mary's Church had to sell off pieces of its land to fund a building project and by doing so lost possession of some extremely valuable frontage to Main Street.  At that stage there was a servitude upon the property which prevented the stores built upon it from being raised high enough to block out St. Mary’s Church from the Main Street, but this eventually changed in later years which led to the situation we have today.

Donkin Reserve seen from the Campanile

And with that 2017 is gone and 2018 have arrived.  I have seen a lot of people say that they are glad 2017 is over and done with and I took a little time to contemplate my own 2017.  I came to the conclusion that it actually wasn't a bad year for me at all.  It was very busy though both from a personal as well as a work point of view and right now I can't see 2018 being any different.  I will just have to work smarter and not necessarily harder.  One of the things I really need to do is find some more time for both my blogs.  PE Daily Photo took a slight break in 2017 and I'm not pressuring myself to post something every day anymore.  Unfortunately I totally neglected Firefly the Travel Guy though and I really need to focus on it a bit more than I did last year.  But all in all here's to 2018.  May it be a great year full of all things nice. Health, wealth, family, friendship and all kinds of blessings. 

I'm kicking 2018 off with a picture featuring one of Port Elizabeth's most iconic sites, the Donkin Reserve.  This time seen from the top of another iconic site, the Campanile.

City Hall clock tower

The Port Elizabeth City Hall was built between 1858 and 1862 but the clock tower was only added in 1883

The Prester John cross figures

Following on the post about the Cross of Prester John and the Portuguese Explorers between City Hall and the old Post Office building, I decided to post a more closeup picture of the two figures sitting inside the cross.  The figures represent Prester John on the one side and a Portuguese explorer on the other side.  There is a whole lot more symbolism on the cross, but I'm going to have to do a little more research before posting about that.

The cross of Prester John and the Portuguese Explorers

Wedged in between City Hall and the Old Post Office building with the Feather Market Centre on the other side of the right is the Cross of Prester John.  The monument has no significant link to Port Elizabeth other than the fact that it was a stop en route to the East for Portuguese explorers who, in addition to looking for a way around Africa to the East, were also hoping to make contact with Prester John as a Christian ally.  A local philanthropist paid for the monument which was unveiled by the Portuguese Ambassador to South Africa in 1986. 

The story of Prester John is a mysterious one.  In some circles he was believed to be a descendant of the Three Wise Men, some believed he was a crusader-era Christian king based in Ethiopia or possibly a high-born Mongol from the time of Genghis Khan.  Then there were those who said that he watched over the Holy Grail, never growing old but wiser and wiser as the years went by.  Whoever this mythical king-priest Prester John was, it was the quest of the Portuguese explorers not just to find a sea route around Africa to the East, but to also find and make contact with Prester John as a Christian ally. 

Prester John (Latin: Presbyter Johannes) is a legendary Christian patriarch and king popular in European chronicles and tradition from the 12th through the 17th centuries. He was said to rule over a Nestorian (Church of the East) Christian nation lost amid the Muslims and pagans of the Orient, in which the Patriarch of the Saint Thomas Christians resided. The accounts are varied collections of medieval popular fantasy, depicting Prester John as a descendant of the Three Magi, ruling a kingdom full of riches, marvels, and strange creatures.

At first, Prester John was imagined to reside in India; tales of the Nestorian Christians' evangelistic success there and of Thomas the Apostle's subcontinental travels as documented in works like the Acts of Thomas probably provided the first seeds of the legend. After the coming of the Mongols to the Western world, accounts placed the king in Central Asia, and eventually Portuguese explorers convinced themselves that they had found him in Ethiopia.

You can read more about Prester John on Wikipedia where I got the above information.

An Afrikaans inscription in a Catholic Cathedral

Imagine my surprise when I found an Afrikaans inscription on a plaque behind the baptismal font in the St Augustine's Catholic Cathedral. Very unusual.

St Augustine's tour

I got to see the inside of St Augustine's Cathedral for the first time a few weeks ago while on a tour of Route 67.  The church isn't generally open like St Mary's on the other side of the Public Library, so if you want to see it you need to make special arrangements or alternatively just attend a service.

The history of St. Augustine’s Cathedral

When the first Catholic priest, Father George Corcoran, set foot in Port Elizabeth in 1840 it wasn't just a case of getting off the boat and taking up his position. No, he was shipwrecked in Cape St Francis and had to travel the last 100km to town on horseback.  Once he arrived here he found that there were only 42 Catholics in the town.  But the show had to go on and in the ensuing years the Catholic community in Port Elizabeth started to flourish.  It meant that the congregation needed a church and Father Corcoran obtained a plot for a church on Prospect Hill / Castle Hill in 1844.  By 1847 a new two-storey building was erected on the site on which the MacSherry hall stands today.

In 1847 Dr Devereux who was based in Cape Town at the time was appointed as the First Bishop of the newly formed Vicariate of the Eastern Cape.  Father Corcoran died of yellow fever in South America in 1852 and Dr Devereux transferred Father Thomas Murphy from Grahamstown to Port Elizabeth.  Father Murphy was responsible for the building of the church as it is today although he first extended the then existing building which became known as St. Augustine’s Hall. This served as school, church and hall.

The design of the church was apparently based upon the style of a church in Selbridge near Dublin, Ireland with the plans being formulated by a Mr McCarthy but executed by the local architect and first Town Engineer of Port Elizabeth, Robert Archibald.  The Foundation Stone was laid in December 1861 and construction took place under the watchful eye of Father Murphy. Five years later on the 25th April 1866, with the steeple almost completed, St.Augustine’s was opened and solemnly consecrated by Bishop Patrick Moran.  It's very interesting to mention that this magnificent building was built as a parish church, not a cathedral.  Apon his death Father Murphy was buried beneath the high altar in the cathedral. 

The bronze statue of Christ the King which can be seen above the door was donated by the Frost family in 1931.

The parish church of St Augustine's became the bishop’s church and cathedral some 54 years later but was only formally declared and consecrated as a cathedral in 1939.

Information courtesy of http://staugustinespe.co.za/history/

St Mary's church (or cathedral) tower

Port Elizabeth has two cathedrals, both located in the city centre.  St Mary's Anglican Cathedral, where the foundation stone was laid in 1825, and St. Augustine's Catholic Cathedral where the first stone was laid in 1861.  Standing in front of St Mary's and looking up at the tower, I was wondering if it is referred to as a church tower or a cathedral tower.

Google Street View guy in PE

A month or two ago I was down in the city centre on a Sunday morning to take some photos and I noticed a guy with a funny thing on his back come walking up the road towards me.  As I passed I realised that it was the Google Street View camera. Cool! There may be photos of me taking photos of the Street View Guy on the net soon.

Fast forward to last week and Google launched 170 trails, all 19 National Parks and 6 UNESCO World Heritage Sites throughout South Africa available on the Google Street View platform.  You can now literally follow a whole trail 360 degrees from the comfort of your chair and check it out before taking it on yourself.  

You can either go and search for the 170 trails on Trailfinder or go straight to Google Street View for a look.  

Peace and Blessing

I think I'm going to take a little break from Campanile posts before people get tired of it.  I have a few more but will keep it back for a week or two.  Route 67 literally has 67 art pieces scattered along the way between the Donkin Reserve and Campanile.  Next to the bus station at the bottom of the steps down from Market Square, you will find the Walk of Words.  The pavement contains a whole host of words in different languages to represent the new South Africa and its prosperity as a democratic nation.  As trying to decide which ones to photograph and this was the shot.  PEACE and BLESSING.  

Campanile view - Looking west towards Central

Yesterday I posted a picture of the view looking north from the Campanile observation floor.  It means I have three more directions and what's the use of showing you only one?  So here is the view to the west.  The Settlers Freeway is at the bottom and slightly to the left of the centre of the picture is Market Square and the historic Public Library in the city centre.  Above on the hill is the Donkin Reserve, lighthouse and pyramid with the Great Flag (65m high pole and 15m x 10m flag) next to it.  

The Campanile's new viewing window

One of the new features of the recently refurbished Campanile is a full-length viewing window on the harbour side of the tower.  The window has caused some ruptions with historic purists but personally I think its a great addition.  The window really gives the best view of the adjacent Port Elizabeth Harbour and all its activities.

A tour of the Campanile

It's very easy to do a self-guided walk around Route 67 but if you really want to get the just of it then you have to do it on a guided tour.  There are a number of guides who do the walk and more information is available from the Nelson Mandela Bay Tourism info centre at the Donkin Lighthouse building.  When I visited the Campanile the other day there was a guide and intern based at the entrance who were available to guide visitors for free up the tower and tell them more about the history and recently completed renovations.  I'm not sure how long the guides would be available to do these free tours, but while they are there I would highly recommend making use of them.