Port Elizabeth Concentration Camp Memorial

When you mention the word concentration camp most people would probably associate it with the Germans during the second World War.  Few know that concentration camps were first implemented in South Africa by the British to hold Boer women and children during the Anglo Boer War (1899 and 1902).

 

There were two concentrations camps in what is today Nelson Mandela Bay.  One in Uitenhage and one at Kemsley Park in Port Elizabeth.  The concentration camp in Port Elizabeth operated from December 1900 until approximately November 1902.  It held an average of 230 children and 86 women housed in corrugated iron huts encircled by a high barbed wire fence.  There was also a separate fenced camp for 32 men in tents.  There were very few deaths in this so-called "model camp" compared to the the thousands that died in the other camps.  Only 12 deaths were recorded over the period it was in existence.  This camp housed mainly Boers from the Free State from Jagersfontein and Fauresmith, among them General, and later Prime Minister, JBM Hertzog 's mother, wife, three sisters in-law and their children.  The camp was closed in November 1902, and subsequently a monument was erected at the Kemsely Park site.  A monument and plaque at North End Cemetery has the names of the 14 people who died in the camp on it.

EDITED:
Regular PE Daily Photo follower Roche' Peterson commented the following since I posted this.  Please feel free to drop him an e-mail if you would like to have more information.

The PE concentration camp was the first to be erected in the War. This was not the only place where 'foreigners' were houses in the city though. Refugees - Anglophiles fleeing the Rand - were also housed at the old Fairview racecourse, now the site of Greenacres, and a camp for single men was set up in Prince Alfred's Park, now the site of the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.

The Uitenhage camp was erected in April 1902 to alleviate the concentration camp crisis based on the recommendations of Emily Hobhouse and implemented by the Fawcett Commission.

It is sad that we as humans seem to revel in misfortune, and heavily popularise the high mortality rates of other camps such as Bethulie and Springfontein, but so easily forget that in many other camps the death toll was much lower. In Uitenhage only 9 lives were lost, and in PE only 14. These cases were 90% of the times of natural causes, and our two camps are truly stories of hope.

If anyone would like more information on both camps ( and I'm sure Firefly will permit me to share it) please email me on roche(at)hunkydory(dot)co(dot)za

Looking down the railway bridge

Standing in the middle of the Van Stadens Narrow Gauge Railway Bridge I snapped this picture looking down through a gap in the bridge

Addo's Flightless Dungbeetle

The flightless dung beetle used to be found widespread in Southern Africa but these days is classified as a vulnerable species and only found in Addo Elephant National Park and a couple of other isolated spots.  The beetle is strictly dependent on a number of vertebrates (particularly elephant and buffalo) and when these animals were shot out at the end of the 1800's and beginning 1900's the poor dung beetle population took a huge knock.  These days things are slowly getting better and better for them with the increase and spreading of the elephant population in Addo and the surrounding reserves.

Cape Weaver in Addo

I got to lend somebody's camera on a trip to Addo a little while back.  I love my camera but having a DSLR in my hand with a proper zoom lens was awesome and it allowed me to snap this Cape Weaver without any blur and a nice DOF.  Oh how I wish I had a DSLR to take pics like this all the time. 

Uitenhage on Pasella

Uitenhage isn't really seen as a tourist destination yet it has a couple of fantastic attractions like the VW AutoPavilion, VW factory tour, Hinterveld Mohair Mill Tour, the NMB Science and Technology Centre, the Uitenhage Museums and a number of monuments and memorials.  Last year SABC 2 program Pasella visited Uitenhage and did this insert on the town.

Malachite Sunbird

People underestimate the Port Elizabeth area as a bird watching destination.  One example of excellent bird watching around the city is Addo Elephant National Park boats with over 450 different bird species making it not just great for elephant and game watching, but also for our feathered friends.  I caught this pic of a Malachite Sunbird on a game drive in the park a little while back.

 

The adult male is metallic green when breeding, with blackish-green wings.  In non-breeding plumage, the male's upperparts are brown apart from the green wings and tail, the latter retaining the elongated feathers.  The female has brown upperparts and dull yellow underparts with some indistinct streaking on the breast.  The Malachite Sunbird is found in South Africa in hilly fynbos (including protea stands as well as areas with aloes) and cool montane and coastal scrub, up to 2,800m altitude.

Miniature train station

The Eastern Cape has many abandoned train stations that hasn't seen any trains in many years.  The miniature train station in Londt Park isn't quite one of them.  The station lays quiet for 30 days at a time but on the first Sunday of every month it becomes a hub of activity with families coming to ride the miniature trains for a morning of fun and nostalgia.

Meet the Amsterdam

The Port Elizabeth Museum at Bayworld has an excellent exhibit of artifacts and pieces from the Dutch ship Amsterdam that ran aground close to the mouth of the Swartkops River in 1817.  The ship, captained by Hermanus Hofmeijer, hit a fierce storm in 1817 with the wind ripping apart the sails and snapping the masts.  After eleven hours of fighting to keep her afloat the battle was lost and the captain decided to run her aground between the Zwartkops and Coega rivers.  Only three of the 223 men aboard were lost.  At that stage Port Elizabeth didn't exist as a town yet and only consisted of a fort and garrison so the crew were taken to Uitenhage before sailing back to the Netherlands a month later.

Flamingo take-off

The Flamingo Trail in the Zwartkops Nature Reserve is ideal to get a little bit closer to birds after which the trail was name.  I don't know why but I am always amazed to see the flamingos on the estuary.  Not sure why cause its not like I've never seen them there before.  On a walk along the trail these flamingos decided to take off as we passed and I got a couple of shots of them "walking on water".

Van Stadens protea

The Van Stadens Wildflower Reserve just west of Port Elizabeth is probably the best spot around the city to see a wide range of protea species grow in the wild.  The reserve offers visitors two different trail options with a couple of stunning view sights over the Van Stadens gorge.  South Africa's national flower, the King Protea, is amongst the flowers that can be seen in the reserve.