Some random facts about towns and places in the Eastern Cape:
The Port Elizabeth area was first visited by the Portuguese in 1482. For 100 years it remained in the hands of the Portuguese as a vital port for outbound ships on the Cape route to India.
In 2019 around 1.2 million people lived in the Nelson Mandela Bay municipal area. It’s actually South Africa’s second largest city – with regards to its area at least. If you go by the population count, it’s the 5th largest city in the country.
The city was founded in 1820 by Sir Rufane Shaw Donkin. 4,000 British settlers settled in the area. He named the town after his deceased wife Elizabeth.
The Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU) was formed in 2005 by the amalgamation of the University of Port Elizabeth, Vista University and the Port Elizabeth Technikon. It’s the largest university in the Eastern Cape, with around 24,000 students in seven faculties spread over eight campuses.
The Campanile (bell tower) in the city was built in 1923 to commemorate the arrival of the 1820 Settlers and offers a great viewpoint over the city.
Port Elizabeth has 67 art pieces celebrating the public life of Nelson Mandela. You can find this collection on Route 67. The collection exhibits visual arts, urban design and heritage. Opposite the terraced cottages on Donkin street are large silver pipes that catch the famous winds of Port Elizabeth and make music.
The city is nicknamed “P.E.” by South Africans and is also known as “the Friendly City”, “The Windy City” and “The 10 minute City”.
The city has 40 km of unspoiled coastline (consisting mostly of beaches).
The oldest bowling green in South Africa is in Port Elizabeth. It’s also home to South Africa’s oldest cricket club.
The area in and around the city has more indigenous plants than the whole of the British Isles. You can easily explore the plants, mammals, birds and insects of this area in one of the many nature and game reserves nearby. The most famous of them is the Addo Elephant National Park. It’s a malaria free reserve where you can spot elephants, rhinos, lions and other animals. The reserve reaches as far as the coast so you can also spot whales in season and dolphins.
Life’s a beach – Port Elizabeth is a city on the Algoa bay in South Africa’s eastern cape, which means one thing – beaches! Port Elizabeth has over 40km of unspoiled coastline consisting mainly of beaches that are rich with soft sands and warm surf. Fishing, surfing, scuba diving, snorkeling and sailing are enjoyed at less-populated spots such as Wildside, Sardinia Bay, Blue Horizon Bay, Bluewater Bay, Beachview and Schoenmakerskop.
Port Elizabeth is one of the largest cities in South Africa located 770km east of Cape Town, which is just longer than the distance between Edinburgh and London. Today more than 1.2 million people live in the Nelson Mandela Bay municipal area.
Route 67 in Port Elizabeth is a collection of 67 art pieces celebrating the public life of Nelson Mandela. The collection exhibits visual arts, urban design and heritage. Be sure to check out the terraced cottages on Donkin street – where large silver pipes catch the famous winds of Port Elizabeth and make music.
On the ball – Port Elizabeth was also one of the cities that hosted the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. The magnificent Nelson Mandela Bay stadium is still in use and definitely worth a visit.
Outdoor lovers utopia – Port Elizabeth is home to the lush forests of Kragga Kamma Game Park where you can see white rhino, buffalo, cheetah, giraffe, zebra and other animals roams freely. You can also take a trip to Predator Park or Bayworld (which includes an oceanarium, museum and snake park). There are also plenty of cruises and diving opportunities for you to get the full Port Elizabeth outdoor experience.
Port Elizabeth is known as the windy city, but according to climatologists (you know, the experts), PE is actually the least windy coastal city in the whole of South Africa.
Port Elizabeth is home to the world’s only monument to Prester John. Between the 12th and 17th Centuries, the mythical Prester John was believed to be the white ruler of a Christian republic hidden somewhere amongst the pagans and the Muslims in the undiscovered lands. First believed to be in Asia, the Portuguese then ‘discovered’ Prester John in Africa, spurning many explorers to confidently forge ahead into Africa, convinced that they would find a Christian ally waiting for them with open arms. You can find the monument adjacent to City Hall.
Port Elizabeth is the largest City in the Eastern Cape Province, it is known as ‘The Windy City’ or the ‘Friendly City’. One of the countries largest seaports, the city was originally founded as a settlement for British emigrants. The area was previously inhabited by the San and the Xhosa. The city now forms part of the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Municipality, which includes Uitenhage and Despatch.
Port Elizabeth Timeline: 1799 – 2 March, British government lands troops in Delagoa Bay. Construction begins on the building of Fort Frederick.
Port Elizabeth Timeline: 1803 – Founding of Bethelsdorp.
Port Elizabeth Timeline: 1804 – 25 April, Proclamation issued creating the District of Uitenhage. In September the farm of the widow Scheepers was chosen as the site for the new administrative village.
Port Elizabeth Timeline: 1806 – 14 February, Captain Jacob Cuyler appointed commander of Fort Frederick and provisional landdrost of Uitenhage.
Port Elizabeth Timeline: 1814 – November, The farm Strandfontein provisionally granted to Piet Retief. This was but one of the farms acquired by Retief at a time when he planned to establish himself as a government contractor, supplying beef to the troops.
Port Elizabeth Timeline: 1815 – Main Street is laid out.
Port Elizabeth Timeline: 1820 – 10 April, Arrival of the Chapman in Algoa Bay, which brings the first English settlers to the Eastern Cape. This was followed by the ships Nautilus on April 14, Ocean on April 15, Kinnersley Castle on April 29 and Northampton on April 30. 6 June, Arrival of Cape Governor, Sir Rufane Donkin, to supervise the settlement of British immigrants. On this day the new town was named Port Elizabeth in honour of his late wife.
Port Elizabeth Timeline: 1820s – The Hill, North End and South End are laid out.
Port Elizabeth Timeline: 1821 – 4 June, Frederick Korsten granted a piece of land on the beach adjoining Strandfontein for the establishment of a whale fishery. October, A plot of land located on Main Street was granted to Nikolaas Hitge “to build an inn which might prove a decoration to the town”. The Red Lion Hotel was subsequently taken over in 1823 by the government to house a custom house and public offices. The site is currently occupied by Woolworths. 1 October, William Dunn appointed Customs Officer and in January 1822 became the town’s first postmaster.
Port Elizabeth Timeline: 1823 – A census of the town indicates that its population consists of 73 men, 30 women, 44 boys and 33 girls. The figures exclude the 75 KhoiKhoi employed by the residents and the 64 slaves they also owned.
Port Elizabeth Timeline: 1827 – Port Elizabeth declared a separate magisterial district, until 6 February 1832 when it was included in the district of Uitenhage.
Port Elizabeth Timeline: 1834 – London Missionary Society settlement established.
Port Elizabeth Timeline: 1835 – January, Port Elizabeth prepares its defences against a possible attack from Xhosa warriors. The attackers eventually turn back before reaching Uitenhage.
Port Elizabeth Timeline: 1837 – 6 February, Port Elizabeth again creates a separate magisterial district. 20 June, Victoria accedes to the English throne.
Port Elizabeth Timeline: 1840 – March, Catholic mission founded in Port Elizabeth by Bishop Raymond Griffith. 10 April, Foundation stone laid for the first jetty.
Port Elizabeth Timeline: 1841 – April, David Livingstone arrives in Port Elizabeth and begins preparations for his journey inland.
Port Elizabeth Timeline: 1842 – November, German, born Joseph Mosenthal establishes the merchant firm of Mosenthals in Port Elizabeth.
Port Elizabeth Timeline: 1843 – 6 January, The sailing ship Margaret Hardy arrives in Algoa Bay, bringing the first of a new contingent of settlers from England.
Port Elizabeth Timeline: 1845 – 7 May, The first issue of the Eastern Province Herald is printed.
Port Elizabeth Timeline: 1846 – February, The Cape government decides to move all lepers and paupers in the colony to Robben Island. A group of 16 lepers and 13 destitute persons from Port Elizabeth are transported there by the cutter Isaac. April, Artist Frederick I’Ons visits Port Elizabeth. 9 November, The first strike recorded in the Cape takes place when a group of Mfengu beach labourers lay down tools and demand higher wages. In June 1852 they again go on strike, following the proclamation of a new town regulation which requires them to wear clothing while at work.
Port Elizabeth Timeline: 1847 – 8 February, Meeting of citizens adopt a set of municipal regulations and forward them to the government in Cape Town. 12 May, The first public concert to be held in Port Elizabeth raises GBP 50 in aid of famine victims in Ireland and Scotland. 18 November, New municipal regulations for Port Elizabeth are promulgated by the Governor, Sir Henry Pottinger.
Port Elizabeth Timeline: 1848 – February, Artist Thomas Baines visits Port Elizabeth. He returns to the town several times making copious sketches and paintings. 7 September, The first issue of the Port Elizabeth Telegraph is printed. In February 1898 it is renamed The Cape Daily Telegraph and ceases publication in December 1908. 2 October, The Port Elizabeth Public Library and Reading Room open an inner room in the Commercial Hall with 154 members.
Port Elizabeth Timeline: 1849 – January, The first Chinese residents of Port Elizabeth arrive on the Norfolk. Additional settlers from China are known to have reached Algoa Bay in November 1881 and December 1883, whilst additional Chinese refugees from the war in the Transvaal arrive in Port Elizabeth in October and November 1899. 19 May, Meeting held at the Commercial Hall to protest the proposed transport of English convicts to the Cape. August, Plans laid for the reclamation of land north of Jetty Street subsequently known as the Victoria Quay.
Port Elizabeth Timeline:
Port Elizabeth Timeline: 1850 – 5 March, First issue of The Mercury published.
Port Elizabeth Timeline: 1851 – 1 April, Commissioning of Cape Recife lighthouse.
Port Elizabeth Timeline: 1852 – 1 December, Commissioning of a lighthouse on Bird Island. November, The Commercial Bank of Port Elizabeth publishes its prospectus.
Port Elizabeth Timeline: 1853 – 1 September, Issue of the Cape’s first postal adhesives. Designed by Surveyor, General Charles Bell, they subsequently become known as the Cape Triangulars. The suburb of Korsten is established.
Port Elizabeth Timeline: 1854 – 1 July, First assembly of the Cape government held in Cape Town.
Port Elizabeth Timeline: 1855 – Construction begins on the Grace Street Mosque, better known as Masjied, ul, Akbar. The necessary funds are donated by the Sultan of Turkey. The Muslim community of the Eastern Cape is said to have been descended from a number of Moslems who left Cape Town in 1806 to settle in Uitenhage. 27 June, Governor Sir George Gray grants land at the top of Hyman’s Kloof for the establishment of a “Stranger’s Location where Hottentots, Fingos, (Xhosa) and other strangers visiting Port Elizabeth may temporarily reside”. Following the Land War of 1851 Mfengu were allowed to settle in the Colony and therefore did not require passes. A number of these moved to Port Elizabeth where they found work on the beach landing loading cargo onto and from surf boats, work which had previously been performed by Khoi. The resultant wages were usually set aside for the purchase of cattle. October, Bishop Armstrong lays the foundation stone for the Diocesan Grammar School. The building was said to have been designed by Sophie Grey. After the opening of the Grey Institute, support for the school gradually dwindled and it was finally closed in 1862. At that stage it was converted to serving as Port Elizabeth’s first synagogue, until 1878 when the school was reopened – In 1815 the farm Welbedacht is granted to AM Muller. Located to the south, west of Port Elizabeth it covered an area just under 14 square miles. When Muller died in 1845 his farm was inherited by his 8 sons who, true to form, could not decide on how to sub, divide the property. As a result the farm was sold and the money was distributed to the heirs. In 1855 the area was transferred to the municipality of Port Elizabeth and renamed Walmer in honour of the Duke of Wellington. The area was then laid out and on 8 March 1855 it was resolved to sell 400 plots by public auction. A number of stands were also reserved for the Dutch Reformed Church and the Anglican Church. The village plan included wide streets and a plentiful supply of water. By June 200 plots had been sold. In 1899, Walmer was awarded separate municipal status while its residential character, spacious residential plots and attractive dwellings attracted both families with young children and the elderly.
Port Elizabeth Timeline: 1856 – 17 January, The foundation stone of the Grey Institute is laid on a public holiday commemorating the fall of Sebastopol in the Crimean War. 4 June, An Act is passed creating the Port Elizabeth Divisional Council. 10 September, A hospital is opened in Rodney Street. The residential township of Walmer is laid out as a separate municipal entity.
Port Elizabeth Timeline: 1857 – 3 June, A provisional committee is established to draft a prospectus for a new bank to be called the Standard Bank of Port Elizabeth.
Port Elizabeth Timeline: 1858 – July, Arrival of Aurifera in Algoa Bay with the first of 32 contingents of immigrants. This third wave of immigration is to last until 1867. 18 October, Foundation stone of the Town Hall is laid by the Governor, Sir George Grey. This is completed in 1861. The porch is added in August 1865 and the Clock Tower in 1884. In 1877 the building is destroyed by fire and is later restored and reopened for use on 19 November 1981.
Port Elizabeth Timeline: 1860 – The first canteens in South End are licensed. 6 August, Prince Alfred, second son of Queen Victoria, visits Port Elizabeth.
Port Elizabeth Timeline: 1861 – 1 January, The borough of Port Elizabeth officially comes into existence. 21 January, The first pillar box is erected in Port Elizabeth. 1 June, A market is opened at North End in the new Market Square as an extension to the main market. On that same day the lighthouse on the Donkin Reserve is brought into use. 6 August, St George’s Park is laid out on the site of a previous dam. 14 October, North End Grey School is opened in temporary premises.
Port Elizabeth Timeline: 1862 – 24 May, A newspaper report states that the old game of football is to be played in front of the Grey Institute. September, The Port Elizabeth Hebrew Congregation is formed in a house in Queen Street which is hired and fitted out as a synagogue. 1 September, The Port Elizabeth Gas Company is formed.
Port Elizabeth Timeline: 1863 – 14 January, Land for a new public cemetery at North End is set aside by the municipality although the first burials do not take place there until the 1880s. A portion is set aside for a Jewish cemetery.
Port Elizabeth Timeline: 1864 – 13 February, the Port Elizabeth Agricultural Society holds its first show.
Port Elizabeth Timeline: 1865 – The first Cape Census is conducted.
Port Elizabeth Timeline: 1866 – May, A new police force is established – 1 June, A second mosque is built in Strand Street next to the beach in an area predominantly inhabited by Malay fishermen. Its first Imam is Aboo Rafie. The narrow site is sold in 1900 on behalf of the Muslim community and the mosque is demolished the following year.
Port Elizabeth Timeline: 1867 – 9 March, The first edition of the Port Elizabeth Advertiser is published
Port Elizabeth Timeline: 1869 – 22 April, The last public execution in Port Elizabeth takes place on the green before the North End jail.
Port Elizabeth Timeline: 1870 – Discovery of diamonds in the Northern Cape. January, Construction begins on the North End jetty.
Port Elizabeth Timeline: 1871 – May, The Port Elizabeth and Uitenhage Railway Company is formed. The link to Uitenhage is opened on 21 September 1875.
Port Elizabeth Timeline: 1874 – February, The Collegiate School for Girls is opened with Miss Virginia Isitt as its first principal. 5 November, The Town Council imports equipment for the watering of the streets which were at that stage unsurfaced.
Port Elizabeth Timeline: 1875 – October, The South End Grey School is opened in temporary premises.
Port Elizabeth Timeline: 1876 – 17 April, Foundation stone of the Western Road Synagogue is laid. Its design is based upon a similar building in Berlin.
Port Elizabeth Timeline: 1877 – 20 May, The Steam Laundry Company opens for business. The gradual filling in of kloofs in the immediate vicinity of Port Elizabeth removes what had been the washing places used by local laundry women.
Port Elizabeth Timeline: 1878 – July, Bethelsdorp is formally surveyed in January 1879 and in 1878 legal title to the land is first given. Garden plots next to the Chatty River which subsequently become known as Kleinskool and Veeplaas are also made available, as well as plots alongside the salt pan at Missionvale. 11 September, The Port Elizabeth Tramway Company is established although the first horse, drawn trams only begin operation on 14 May 1881.
Port Elizabeth Timeline: 1879 – Kleinschool, Veeplaas and Missionvale are laid out.
Port Elizabeth Timeline: 1881 – April, The new iron pile North Jetty is almost complete. 9 April, The foundation stone of a new Wesleyan Chapel for Black residents is laid in Edward Street. It is opened on 19 February 1882.
Port Elizabeth Timeline: 1882 – Peak of first ostrich boom in Oudtshoorn. 17 February, The Prince Alfred’s Guard Drill Hall is opened with a grand ball to mark the occasion. 1 May, The first telephone exchange in South Africa is installed in the Post Office at the corner of Main and Jetty Streets. Initially it has 44 subscribers. The automatic exchange is opened in 1932. 9 September, New lazaretto opens on the south side of the Shark River. It is replaced in September 1894 when a new building is erected on the site of the present Elizabeth Donkin Hospital. 16 October, Electric powered lighting is shown in Port Elizabeth for the first time in South Africa.
Port Elizabeth Timeline: 1884 – July, Work on the construction of the South Jetty is completed.
Port Elizabeth Timeline: 1885 – 2 February, The first sale of ostrich feathers takes place in the new Feathermarket Hall. The new market buildings including the Feathermarket are officially opened on 10 December.
Port Elizabeth Timeline: 1887 – 12 August, John Pyott advertises the closure of his grocery business to concentrate solely on the baking of his biscuits.
Port Elizabeth Timeline: 1889 – 12 March, The first cricket test match played in South Africa takes place on the Port Elizabeth Cricket Club grounds. 16 October, The Advertiser reports that a Malay cricket tournament is to be held in Cape Town as well as at the local Star of the East Club. 13 December, The Town Council agrees to allow the government to expropriate a large area of land between Strand Street and the railway lines in order to extend railway premises. This involves the demolition of a number of old buildings and areas considered to be “slums”.
Port Elizabeth Timeline: 1891 – 30 July, The first rugby test played in South Africa takes place at the Crusader Grounds when a South African side plays a British team.
Port Elizabeth Timeline: 1893 – 4 September, Plans were put forward for the construction of a mosque in Rudolph Street named the Masjied, ul, Abraar. This replaced the old South End Mosque.
Port Elizabeth Timeline: 1895 – 9 March, St Mary’s Church is destroyed by fire. A new structure is consecrated on 13 September 1896. 3 December, The Gamtoos River bridge is opened to replace the ferry.
Port Elizabeth Timeline: 1896 – Outbreak of Rinderpest plague occurs in the platteland [rural area, farmland, countryside) – Town Council agrees to the construction of a road to Walmer through Target Kloof. 17 June, Samuel Clemens, better known as Mark Twain, visits Port Elizabeth. 26 July, The new Athenaeum is opened.
Port Elizabeth Timeline: 1899 – 22 April, Walmer is established as a separate municipality. It becomes part of Port Elizabeth in 1966. 1 October, The first refugees from the South African War arrive in Port Elizabeth and are housed at the Agricultural Society’s showgrounds. They are later moved to the Fairview Racecourse as well as Prince Alfred’s Park. These settlements are eventually abandoned in May 1901.
Port Elizabeth Timeline: 1900 – 25 June, Opening of the new Post Office building. The adjoining telephone exchange is built in 1919.
Port Elizabeth Timeline: 1901 – 22 January, Death of Queen Victoria. 13 April, Rats infected by bubonic plague are found in mielie [corn] stacks on Harbour Board property. A Plague Board is formed on 23 April and the first victim in town is Sergeant Pegg, who had worked on the military stores depositing ground. He dies at the base hospital on 20 May. 27 July, Opening of the Pier Street Mosque, better known as Masjied, ul, Aziz. Its first Imam is Abdul Wahab Salie. 10 October, Martial law is proclaimed in Port Elizabeth. It is repealed on 17 September 1902.
Port Elizabeth Timeline: 1902 – New public library is opened in ornate Gothic revivalist building opposite City Hall. 2 June, Peace is officially declared – 4 August, Port Elizabeth is officially declared free of plague. During this time 136 cases of the disease are recorded, 57 of them fatal.
Port Elizabeth Timeline: 1903 – New Brighton is established. 8 May, Opening of the Shri Siva Subramanier Aulayam Temple in Upper Valley Road to serve the spiritual needs of Port Elizabeth’s Tamil community. Another temple, the Shri Mariamman is built in South End in 1912. The Tamil community are thought to have originated from Mauritius, and originally work mainly as fruit growers and general dealers. However a number of the Tamil community are also employed in various capacities in Port Elizabeth hotels.
Port Elizabeth Timeline: 1905 – 11 February, Horse Memorial is unveiled. 18 April, Official opening of the Van Staden’s River Railway Bridge. 28 June, Work begins on the Mount Road Power Station on a portion of the old agricultural showgrounds. It comes on line on 1 May 1906 when Mayor Alexander Fettes switches on the first street lamps. The first Power Station is replaced by a new building in 1924. Opening of narrow gauge railway line linking Humewood Station to Humansdorp. The line from Port Elizabeth reaches Avontuur on 5 December 1906.
Port Elizabeth Timeline: 1907 – Fairview and Newton Park are laid out.
Port Elizabeth Timeline: 1912 – 11 December, Consecration of the Rally Street Synagogue.
Port Elizabeth Timeline: 1913 – Peak of second ostrich boom in the Albany. 28 July, Port Elizabeth is declared a city.
Port Elizabeth Timeline: 1915 – 10 November, The Humphries Street mosque, better known as the Masjiedun Nabawi is completed.
Port Elizabeth Timeline: 1916 – 28 August, Work begins in Russell Road to introduce a sewage removal system to the city thus phasing out the old bucket system.
Port Elizabeth Timeline: 1917 – 21 February, The troop ship SS Mende collides with the Darrow off the Isle of Wight whilst travelling in a heavy fog. As a result 625 men of the volunteer SA Native Contingent, drown. Some of these men came from the Eastern Cape and a memorial is erected in New Brighton in their honour.
Port Elizabeth Timeline: 1918 – 5 October 5, Outbreak of the Spanish influenza epidemic. Altogether 139 471 people die in South Africa of which 1123 are people from Port Elizabeth. 11 November 11, The armistice is declared in Europe, bringing to an end the First World War.
Port Elizabeth Timeline: 1920 – Parliament passes the Union Housing Act. 21 January, A delegation of Black workers meets with employers at the City Hall to decide on an increase in wages. 23 October, The Coloured and Native Workers Union under the leadership of Masabalala threaten to strike over higher wages. During the course of a meeting held in Korsten, a visiting speaker, Dr Rabusana, is attacked by a hostile crowd. Masabalala and the Secretary of the Union are arrested and taken to the Baakens Street Police Station. As a result, their supporters begin to gather in Market Square and, armed with sticks and kerries, demand their release by 17h00. When this did not take place, and after a number of unsuccessful attempts were made by the police to disperse the crowd, protesters attempt to storm the doors of the police station. In the melee a shot is allegedly fired at the police, who then respond by killing 24 people, including a number of innocent bystanders. Later that day attempts are made to attack the Power Station and the Mitchell Cotts petrol store.
Port Elizabeth Timeline: 1921 – 9 April, The foundation stone of the campanile [bell tower] is laid.
Port Elizabeth Timeline: 1923 – Parliament passes the Union Natives (Urban Areas) Act. May, The Dowerville housing scheme for municipal coloured employees is completed. 14 July, The foundation stone of the Korsten village hall is laid. September, Horse, drawn fire tenders are replaced by motor fire engines and fire escape ladders. November, The Ford Motor Company opens its factory and by February 1924 had produced its first Model T, which was also the first in South Africa. Thereafter an average of 10 cars a day are assembled. In October 1930 a new factory is opened in Harrower Road and in 1948 its operations move to Neave Township. August, The location for a new Black township of Walmer is approved, including what was called the Old Municipal Camp. October, Fairview Primary School starts with 41 pupils. By October 1937 it has 167.
Port Elizabeth Timeline: 1924 – Establishment of the first motorcar assembly plant in South Africa. Act No 11 of 1924 gives legal recognition to trade unions. Despite this, by 1921 a number of unions are already active in Port Elizabeth including the Engineers, Commercial Workers, Furniture Workers, Leatherworkers, Postmen, Carpenters and Joiners, Tramwaymen, Tailors, Ostrich Feather Sorters, Building Workers, the SA Typographical Union and the Industrial and Commercial Coloured and Native (Amalgamated) Workers Unions.
Port Elizabeth Timeline: 1925 – 26 January, The first Black secondary school in Port Elizabeth is opened at Paterson. 31 January, The Port Elizabeth telephone exchange is changed over to an automatic system. February, Mrs. Duncan Anderson becomes the first woman City Councillor.
Port Elizabeth Timeline: 1926 – February, General Motors establishes a factory in Darling Street where 45 cars could be assembled daily. The first Chevrolet is assembled on 1 July 1927 and in October 1928 the company begins plans to move to new premises in Kempston Road. 21 September, Water restrictions are introduced to Port Elizabeth. The growth of the town, coupled with regional droughts places a great strain on its water resources, and the situation is not resolved until the completion of the Kromme River Scheme.
Port Elizabeth Timeline: 1927 – January, Municipal housing scheme is begun in Kent Road. By the time it is completed in March 1928, 30 houses have been delivered. June, A coloured municipal housing scheme, previously begun in South End in 1926, is completed. June, The city council purchases the New Brighton estate for £17,500 for industrial development.
Port Elizabeth Timeline: 1928 – 5 August, New administrative buildings open in New Brighton. 16 September, The foundation stone for a new coloured school in Fairview is laid.
Port Elizabeth Timeline: 1930 – Lights are switched on in New Brighton. April, New school buildings for the Kshatriya Gujerati Mochi Mandal at the corner of Hartman Road and Smith Street are completed. The school is started in 1924 when it uses as its premises a house at the corner of Upper Hill Street and Leather Lane. The Gujerati community in Port Elizabeth is though to have started in the 1890s, and is supplemented in 1899 when neutral residents of Johannesburg flee the Transvaal.
Port Elizabeth Timeline: 1931 – The Aryan Cricket Club is started by members of the Gujerati community. 1 May, Boundaries of Port Elizabeth are extended to include Korsten, Swartkops Village, Deal Party Estate, Fairview Township and Winterstrand.
Port Elizabeth Timeline: 1933 – 8 May, A meeting is held in the Feathermarket Hall to protest the persecution of Jews in Germany.
Port Elizabeth Timeline: 1936 – 14 September, The new Firestone factory comes on line. A separate plant is opened in Uitenhage on 16 June 1947. December, Stop signs are introduced.
Port Elizabeth Timeline: 1937 – 2 March, New Brighton Library opens as a result of the joint efforts of the local European/Bantu joint council. In May 1939 it is reported to have 11000 books in stock. 6 November, The thousandth sub, economic house is delivered for occupation in Holland Park by the municipality. 21 November, Work begins on a planned 3000 houses in New Brighton under a municipal 5, year plan with money borrowed from the central government. 22 December, Plan is approved for the housing of indigent aged at Gypsumville, Korsten and New Brighton.
Port Elizabeth Timeline: 1938 – January, Following research by Eric Axelson, Kwaaihoek is proclaimed as the site of Diaz’ padrão [stone cross]. Fragments of this cross are discovered in a pool and after reconstruction are moved to the University of the Witwatersrand where they reside to the present day. 23 March, Bubonic plague breaks out in Port Elizabeth. By 30 June 21 cases have been reported, of which 19 had died. 22 April, Foundation stone is laid for the new Saraswathi Educational Institute in Rudolph Street to provide for the educational, social and religious needs of Indians in Port Elizabeth. June, Cadbury Fry’s factory is completed in Harrower Road. 13 July, C.K Pillay forms a troop of boy scouts. September, Flower sellers in Port Elizabeth come under the control of the Traffic Department. As a result they are moved from Baakens and Kort Streets to a permanent stand in Donkin Street. September, The city’s first automated traffic signal is erected at the intersection of Russell Road and Main Street.
Port Elizabeth Timeline: 1939 – 9 September, A replica of a Voortrekker wagon passes through Port Elizabeth as part of the centenary celebrations of the Great Trek. 1 February, Municipality resolves to build a Power Station at Swartkops, but by 1940 ratepayers have still to ratify permission to purchase the land. 5 March, New Brighton Presbyterian Church is opened. 20 April, The cooperative trading movement is formed at a meeting in New Brighton presided over by Dr JWWW Jabavu. 3 September, Britain declares war on Germany and South Africa follows suit on 6 September.
Port Elizabeth Timeline: 1940 – 7 February, The city council donates a 33 acre site at the junction of Stamford Road on the Papenkuils River for a new hospital for Black residents. The Livingstone Hospital is opened in October 1955. 1 July, At a meeting in the Feathermarket Hall, the reunited National Party calls upon the government to surrender to Germany. At a subsequent meeting, Port Elizabeth citizens affirm their support of the Smuts government.
Port Elizabeth Timeline: 1941 – 1 May, Baking of white bread is suspended, and only permitted again on 1 November 1948. Consecration of re, erected Shri Mariamman Aulayam shrine in Gardner Street, South End takes place.Plans for the temple and a school room had previously been passed in October 1934. 6 December, Fighting breaks out in Main Street between Union servicemen and pro, Nazi supporters.
Port Elizabeth Timeline: 1942 – August, Dr Ernest Theophilus Dietrich is elected to represent Ward 1 on the City Council, the first Coloured person to be elected to office in Port Elizabeth. 23 September, Foundation stones are laid for two new schools in Schauder Township. In addition, between 1940 and 1945, the School Board establishes the Pendla, Kama, Molefe and Newell schools in New Brighton. 29 December, A gathering is held at the City Hall to mark a world, wide Jewish day of mourning for the victims of Nazi brutality.
Port Elizabeth Timeline: 1943 – June, The Avalon Theatre opens in Korsten for Coloured and Indian residents. July, Mahomed Moosa Desai is elected to the City Council. 28 July, Meeting of the newly formed Workers’ Civic League is held in the City Hall. This is attended by trade unionists and workers. 29 July, Liberty cavalcade is organized to raise funds for the war effort. It is visited by more than 100 000 people and raises GBP 65 000. 17 August, The Assumption Convent opens in Schauder Township.
Port Elizabeth Timeline: 1944 – November, The School Board is authorized to establish a primary school for Chinese children. This is already in existence in the Moi Yean Association’s building in Queen Street.
Port Elizabeth Timeline: 1945 – January, Building of a crèche begins in New Brighton. Plans to increase house rentals in New Brighton bring about protests from its residents. 8 May, Victory in Europe Day celebrated. Victory over Japan (VJ Day) is celebrated on 14 August. 24 August , The first sod is turned on the new General Motors plant. This is opened in 1948. December, Houses in Steytler Township are ready for handover to ex, servicemen.
Port Elizabeth Timeline: 1950 – Parliament passes the Union Group Areas Act.
Port Elizabeth Timeline: 1961 – The first zoning of Port Elizabeth under the Group Areas Act takes place.
Port Elizabeth Timeline: 1965 – University of Port Elizabeth is founded.
Port Elizabeth Timeline: 1966 – The Kempston Road Free Trade Area is established.
Port Elizabeth Timeline: 1983 – Motherwell is established.
Port Elizabeth Timeline: 1986 – The Central Business District (CBD) is opened to all races.
San Hunters and Gatherers – The first humans in the history of Port Elizabeth lived in the area over 100,000 years ago and were descended from the San tribe. These San hunters and gathers were eventually displaced by the ancestors of today’s Xhosa, who arrived from the north slightly more than 2,000 years ago. The earliest known evidence of these San people are some 70,000 year old stone implements discovered at the archeological site of Howieson’s Poort Shelter, roughly 120 km / 75 miles from Port Elizabeth.
First European Settlement – In the year of 1488, Portuguese explorer and nobleman Bartholomew Dias became the first European to arrive in the area upon landing on St. Croix Island. Less than a decade later in the history of Port Elizabeth, another Portuguese explorer named Vasco da Gama sailed past the Bird Island group and noted his discovery. As the Portuguese were searching for a reliable route to their Goa colony in India, they named the bay ‘Algoa’ or ‘to Goa.’ However, the land surrounding Algoa Bay remained uninhabited for many more centuries, even after the area became part of the Dutch East India Company’s Cape Colony in the mid-17th century.
Fort Frederick and Uitenhage – The first permanent settlement in the history of Port Elizabeth was not established until the turn of the 18th century, when the British erected the stone Fort Frederick in the present-day city, in order to protect their new colony from French invaders. Fort Frederick still guards Port Elizabeth to this day. The Swartkops River settlements of both Uitenhage and Bethelsdorp were established shortly afterwards.
Founding of the City – Port Elizabeth itself was not founded until 1820, when approximately 4,000 British settlers arrived in this new community named after the wife of the Cape Colony’s acting governor, Rufane Shaw Donkin. By the 1860s, the city soon became the Cape Colony’s second-largest settlement, due in large part to its busy harbour. Port Elizabeth grew even larger after a railway to Kimberley was completed in the early 1870s.
Horse Memorial – Although the city’s importance diminished somewhat after the harbours of both Maputo and Durban opened for business, Port Elizabeth became a significant Second Boer War transit point for supplies and soldiers, as well as horses on their way to the battlegrounds. Many of the war refugees who fled here were Boer children and women who had survived stays in British concentration camps. The Horse Memorial stands in the city as a tribute to the countless mules and horses that lost their lives in the Second Boer War.
Modern Times in the City – During the 1960s, the city’s South End district was forcibly flattened and evacuated as part of the Apartheid policy of segregation. Famously in 1977, activist Stephen Biko was tortured and imprisoned here. The city’s black townships witnessed violent protests during the 1980s anti-apartheid movement. After apartheid was abolished, Port Elizabeth continued to experience high rates of violence, crime, and HIV / AIDS infections, problems that have plagued all of the country’s cities.
Christopher Nceba Faku became the first black mayor in the history of Port Elizabeth and South Africa in the year of 1995. The city became part of the larger Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality in 2001 and proudly served as one of the 2010 FIFA World Cup venues. Today, it functions as an important regional centre and port, with a measure of tourism thrown in, being the gateway to the popular Jeffrey’s Bay (surfing), Plettenberg Bay and the scenic town of Knysna – among the prettiest coastlines in South Africa.
Alan Straton
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