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Indian memorial at the Donkin Reserve – Featured Blog

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Today’s posts from our featured Port Elizabeth Blogger:

Indian memorial at the Donkin Reserve:

I was taking a couple of pictures on the Donkin Reserve the other day and noticed this plaque on the stone wall by the Great Flag.  I don’t know if it is a recent addition or if I’ve just never noticed it.  Weird, but anyways.  The plaque marks the 150th anniversary (as on 16 November 2010) of the arrival of the first group of Indians to South Africa as indentured labourers.  Although the arrival was in Natal and not Port Elizabeth, the plaque was probably put up by the Port Elizabeth Indian community.  Worth a bit further investigation me thinks…

Source: Port Elizabeth Daily Photo.

Port Elizabeth’s Shark River:

Did you know that the little stream that flows through Happy Valley is called the Shark River?  The river valley actually extends up through the old Boet Erasmus Stadium and Forest Hill.  Back in the early days of Port Elizabeth the Shark River was one of the town’s water sources with the Frames Reservoir being built in 1864 (and still there today).  The Shark River has never been a big river and unless there was rain it usually just kinda sunk away into the sand on the beach.  Thus the Dutch referred to it as the Sak River (sak meaning to sink away).  The English misunderstood what the Dutch were saying and started talking of the Shark River, hence the name.  A bit lost in translation.

Source: Port Elizabeth Daily Photo.

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Port Elizabethan

This author is a 'catch-all' for occasional articles and letters written to MyPE. The Author of each article can be found in the signature at the bottom of each individual article.