The history of the 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 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 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.

Narrow gauge line

The narrow gauge railway line between Port Elizabeth and the town of Avontuur in the Langkloof  was built by the government of the Cape Colony between 1890 and 1906 and at 285 kilometres it is the longest 610-mm-narrow gauge route in the world.  Along the way the line crosses over the highest two foot narrow-gauge railway bridge in the world.  In 1965 the Apple Express tourist train started operating on part of the line and finally seized operations in 2011 due to hassles with Spoornet on the use of the line.  There are moves afoot to get the steam train going again but unfortunately other than Spoornet one of the obstacles to overcome is the fact that some of the line was since washed away in flooding.  I snapped this pic on a Geocaching outing close to the South End Cemetery.  I was standing on a footbridge over the railway line looking towards Humewood.

The Cross of Prester John

The space between the Port Elizabeth City Hall, Old Post Office Building and the Feather Market Centre in Fleming Square and it contains a monument which is the only of its kind in the world.  The Prester John Cross was unveiled in 1986 by the Portuguese Ambassador and is dedicated to the mythical king-priest, Prester John, and the Portuguese explorers who discovered South Africa.

It was the quest for Prester John as a Christian ally that led to expeditions to reach him by sailing around Africa.   The monument consists of a large Coptic cross and in the central circle are the figures of Prester John and a Portuguese navigator.  

The legend of Prester John were popular in Europe from the 12th through the 17th centuries and it told of a king said to rule over a Christian nation lost amidst the Muslims and pagans in the Orient. Prester John was reportedly a descendant of one of the Three Wise Men of the bible  and was generous ruler and a virtuous man, presiding over a realm full of riches and strange creatures. 

 

At first it was imagined that Prester John resided in India.  Later accounts placed the king in Central Asia and eventually Portuguese explorers convinced themselves that they had found him in Ethiopia, which had been officially Christian since the 4th century. 

 

Read more about Prester John on Wikipedia.

Bridge over the Swartkops River

This is the view towards town from the Forward Observation Post in Bluewater Bay with the N2 bridge over the Swartkops River in the foreground. 

Aloe on the banks of the Swartkops River

Winter is aloe time and when it comes to flowers one of my favorite seasons.  I found these Kranz Aloe flowering on the banks of the Swartkops River in Redhouse.

Mosaic fun

The 470 square meter mosaic next to the Donkin Memorial (pyramid) is fast becoming one of the most popular art pieces on Route 67.  People are finding all kinds of fun ways to take photos of it.  This group of school kids were lying down on the circles for pictures when I was on top of the lighthouse the other day.  Unfortunately by the time I got my camera out they were getting up already

Ship on the silver seas

A ship sailing towards the Port Elizabeth harbour with the morning sun shimmering silver off Algoa Bay.  St Croix Island is visible on the horizon.

Horse riding at Holmeleigh Farmyard

When people get to Holmeleigh Farmyard the first thing that they normally do is to go and feed the animals.  There after the moms (and dads) normally sit down for some coffee and perhaps something to eat while the kids head off to go and play in the big playing area.  There are two other activities that the kids can do.  The one is to go on a tractor trip on the farm while the second is horse rides.  As I've mentioned so many times before, the KidZ love animals and the outdoors and Chaos Boy couldn't resist going for a ride the last time we were there.

Tracks on the sand

The Swartkops Estuary is well known for its waders and other water birds making it an awesome bird watching spot.  But its not always about the birds themselves like the scene in the picture of the spoor of a bird that went for a walk along the river bank.

Crane your neck

The Campanile was built to commemorate the 100 year anniversary of the landing of the 1820 British Settlers.  The 54 meter high building with its 204 steps were constructed on what used to be the landing beach, today standing between the Port Elizabeth harbour and the Settlers Freeway.  Some effort has been made to try and reconnect it with the city after being "cut off" by the freeway for so long and it was decided to make it the start of Route 67 which leads up to the Donkin Reserve.