The oldest tennis club in South Africa

Did you know that the Port Elizabeth Lawn Tennis Club in St Georges Park was founded on 1 September 1879, making it the oldest active tennis club in South Africa?  The club hosted the first South African Lawn Tennis Championship in 1891 and today the club is still situated on its original site.

The Scottish Cemetery at St George's Park

In the early days of Port Elizabeth the St Mary's Cemetery was used, first by the military based at Fort Frederick, and later for civilians with the cemetery being under the control of St Mary's Church.  As the town grew more burial areas were required by the various Christian denominations and in the 1830's and 1840's the various churches were granted small pieces of land adjacent to each other on the edge of town where Russell Road is today.  A further Nonconformist cemetery, mainly for the Church of Scotland, was also set aside in 1854 on the western edge of town, which was later incorporated into the extensive St George's Park.

Last week I stopped by the Scottish Cemetery to collect some information needed for a Geocache I'm doing and was glad to see that the municipality has cleaned up most of the creeper plants that has been covering a big part of the cemetery.

St George's Park fountain

The centre piece fountain of the Pearson Conservatory in St George's Park was made by Andrew Handyside at the Duke Street Foundry "Britannia Iron Works" in Derby in the UK around the same year the Conservatory was built in 1882.

How old is St George's Park?

I took a walk through St George's Park a week or so ago and along the way I wondered how many people actually know how old St George's Park is.

St George's Park was laid out and opened on 6 August 1861 to commemorate the visit of Prince Alfred, second son of Queen Victoria, to Port Elizabeth exactly one year earlier.

Flags and streamers were flying in every direction, all shops were shut, people dressed in holiday attire, and expectation stood on tiptoe. By a sort of instinct the Market Square (now Vuyisile Mini Square) seemed to be the centre of attraction. Here the naval brigade all dressed in blue and white stood mustered under Captain Chapman and Lieut. Wheatland. The worshipful concillors in ‘tails and gloves’ began to assemble at the Town Hall and looked most grave and dignified. Presently the band struck up and matched smartly down Main Street (now Govan Mbeki Avenue) and up Donkin Street past the Scotch Church. The concillors then proceeded to the Hill and by the time the brigade had reached the spot, a good crowd of people had assembled to witness the ceremony of planting the first tree in the newly-named St Georges Park. A fellow townsman, Mr Birt, had presented the Mayor with a young oak and this was to be the tree.

The Mayor, Mr William Smith, then explained to the assembled crowd the purpose of the meeting, after which he called upon Mr Pearson, the originator of the idea, to address those present. In brief, it was to the effect that for some time a public playground had been needed in Port Elizabeth and that the Mayor was about to plant the first tree in what it had been decided to name ‘Prince Alfred’s Grove’. In later years when people would assemble in St Georges Park they would point to the Prince’s Grove and say; ‘for that and for this spacious playground we are indebted to the foresight and kindness of a former Municipal body who commemorated the first anniversary of a Royal Prince’s visit in inaugurating for the comfort, health, and recreation of their fellow-townsmen for all time these shady walks and extensive beautifully laid-out grounds.’ After this, champagne was produced and amid a volley of popping corks and several repartees, healths innumerable were drunk, and success to St. Georges Park and to the Prince’s Grove pledged over and over again.

-- Port Elizabeth in Bygone Days written by JJ Redgrave and published in 1947.

Conservatory lines

I just can't get enough of the lines in the Pearson Conservatory in St George's Park.  

Great for photography.

Garden stroll

A weekend or two ago we went for a photo shoot in St Georges Park.  No, I don't mean I went to take photos in St Georges.  In February the Damselfly gave me a voucher for a couples shoot with Champayne Creations for Valentines Day and we were in St Georges to have our photos taken.  I'm not one who always like photos being taken of me, especially posed ones, but Lundi did an amazing job and the pics look stunning.  I did take my camera along to get a couple of snaps myself though.

Cricket at St George's

The first One Day International of the cricket series between South Africa and Sri Lanka took place here in Port Elizabeth today and I was there.  It's been a while since I've been to an international cricket game and it was really a treat being able to go and enjoy it with Drama Princess.  Other than the fact that the South African's totally dominates the day, the other thing that really caught my attention was how diverse the crowd was.  There was a time when cricket was seen as a white sport but today it was clear that those days are long gone.  This was even more evident when white boys stand next to the field shouting to try and get the attention of their new bowling hero Kagiso Rabada and black supporters chant "AB! AB! AB!" when AB de Villiers came in to bat.  All I can say is "I love this game".  Now I need to go and administer some after sun to my legs... 

The hallowed green grass of St George's Park

With the first ODI in the series between the Proteas and Sri Lanka taking place in Port Elizabeth this Saturday I thought it appropriate to post a photo featuring the hallowed green grass of St George's with the Duckpond Pavilion in the background.  Hope the boys make the home crowd proud.

St George's Wild Fig Trees

There are a number of giant Wild Fig Trees in and around St George's Park, all well over 100 years old.  The one in the centre of the park next to the Pearson Conservatory must be one of my favorite trees around Port Elizabeth.  I always marvel at it's size and love walking over the sleeper bridge underneath it imagining that it could be the city's Mother Tree.

Then and Now: Pearson Conservatory Fountain

The Pearson Conservatory was originally built in 1882 and restored to its former glory between 2009 and 2011.  The centre piece of the Pearson Conservatory is an ornamental fountain made by Andrew Handyside at the Duke Street Foundry "Britannia Iron Works" in Derby in the UK around the same year the Conservatory was built (1882).  The Britannia Foundry's work was well known for its fine quality so these fountains can be found all over the globe.

This particular design of fountain is listed as Design Number 15 on Page 30 of the 1879 publication "An Illustrated book of Designs for Fountains and Vases, costing from £1 to £1200 manufactured by Andrew Handyside".  The same fountain can be found at Prince Alfred College, Adelaide, Australia as well as at Sarmiento School Fountain in San Miguel de Tucuman, Argentina, South America.

The information above was found on the Friar Gate Bridge Derby website.

In 2013 I visited the Conservatory and did a post about the fountain located inside with the info above.  You could see in the photo in the post that the fountain was starting to show rust through the paint.  The other day I took a walk through the park and ended up at the Conservatory.  It was great to see that the fountain have been cleaned up and given a new coat of paint.

Then and Now - Pearson Conservatory

The Victorian conservatory in St George's Park was completed and opened on 12 September 1882 and named the Pearson Conservatory after the then Mayor of Port Elizabeth, Mr HW Pearson.  The conservatory cost £3,800 to put up and arrived in South Africa as a 'kit of parts' and was constructed in the park.  This conservatory was imported from England and was the first of three such buildings in South Africa at the time.  The double volume central atrium is flanked by two wings to the East and the West with perfect symmetry along its two axes. 

Over the years the building had been fixed up several times and in 1972 the city even considered demolishing it.  The building was restored by the municipality and reopened in 2011.  I just think that not enough people make the effort to go and visit it using the excuse of "the park is too dangerous". Dangerous se g@t.  I went for a walk through the park on my own with my camera last week and didn't see any unsavory characters.  But if you are worried, use the back entrance next to the cactus garden across from the hospital and you can drive right up to the conservatory, parking right outside.

St George's Park water lilies

I took a walk around St George's Park the other day.  Yes, alone and with my camera in hand.  It really isn't as bad as so many people would like to make it out to be.  It's just important to stay alert and observant but I didn't notice any unsavory characters hanging out in the park. I did notice that the water lilies on the central pond was beautiful though. 

The St Georges Park Oak that isn't anymore

In 1861, Mayor William Smith planted an Oak tree at the spot in the then new St Georges Park to commemorate the visit in 1860 of His Royal Highness Prince Alfred.  The tree unfortunately blew over in January 2001 with the original inscription then being moved to the Parks Division offices nearby.  Today the spot is marked by a plaque.

An evening at St Georges

The cricket season is in full swing and the Warriors were playing the Knights in a T20 match in PE tonight.  Having a cricket mad daughter we headed over to St Georges for a bit of action and action we got.  The Warriors totally outplayed the Knights on all fronts and we even got to see a one handed spectator catch off the last ball hit to the boundary. The next game in PE is next Friday, 9 December, against the Cobras, so make a plan and get out there cause it's lots of fun.  Even better if you take your camp chairs and park yourself on the grass.

Picnic in St Georges Park

Two Saturdays ago I joined the local Geocaching community for a picnic event in St Georges Park.  I just realised again what an amazing place we have right here in the city where we can go and picnic while the kids run around and play on the park equipment.  Really something more people should do.

St Georges Park Wild Fig

There is a number of Wild Fig trees in and around St Georges Park that is over a century old.  This one stands between the PE Bowling Club and the Park Drive Bowling Club.

Have you ever visited the GFI or Ron Belling Art Galleries?

Do you know any of these two art galleries?  The Ron Belling Art Gallery and the GFI Art Gallery. Perhaps the former sounds familiar.  Not sure about the latter? Well, they are one and the same thing.

The gallery is housed in a landmark Art Deco style building across from St Georges Park on Park Drive.  The building, named "Ridgewood", was commissioned by Axel Stockelbach, then managing director of Ford South Africa, in 1936 and was designed by Gertruida Brinkman, the first woman Architect to qualify in South Africa.  In 1988, Port Elizabeth businessman Philipp Rowland Gutsche bought the house and it was converted into an art gallery to house the Ron Belling Military Aviation Collection of paintings.  Mr Gutsche passed away in 2000 and the Gallery Board is now chaired by his daughter Dorothea Moors.

The gallery was initially called the Ron Belling Art Gallery and the majority of what was on display was part of the Military Aviation Collection.  Two or three years ago it was decided to change the direction of the gallery and not just focus on Ron Belling's art.  The name of the gallery was also changed to GFI (Gutsche Family Investments) Art Gallery.  I made a quick visit to the gallery the other day and had a look around a excellent exhibition that is on at the moment.  My biggest disappointment though was that there wasn't one Ron Belling on display in the whole gallery except for a few prints behind the reception counter.  I really hope that once the additions being made to the gallery is done that a permanent Ron Belling display area will be set aside.

The Fugart Kite

The iconic South African playwright, Athol Fugard, has very close links to Port Elizabeth.  His famous play Master Harold and the Boys is set in St George's Park where his mother ran the St George's Park Tea Room.  An important part of the play includes a kite which the character Sam makes Hally (Fugard).  Here is my question for you today.  Have you ever noticed the kite "art piece" across the entrance to the St George's Park swimming pool where the tea room used to be?

The St Georges Park Brass Band

The St Georges Brass Band has become an institution at the St Georges Park Cricket Ground over the years.  Some people join in with them singing their lungs out while others despise the noise. Regardless of this it is hard to deny that the band has given St Georges a very unique atmosphere and once the local team gets their tails up and the band gets involved, its hard to stop the wave washing over the opposition.  

Prince Alfred's Guard sergeant-major

On top of the Prince Alfred's Guard Memorial in St Georges Park stands a guy with a gun.  Who or what is he?

 Not to leave the question open ended and you all wondering what the answer is, here it is.  He is a life-size figure of a sergeant-major of Prince Alfred's Guard, in full dress and standing at the "charge".