Port Elizabeth’s Colonial Past & Architecture

The Donkin Heritage Trail

Port Elizabeth Market Square - 1874 - Lithograph - Mr. Burton

Port Elizabeth, second oldest city in South Africa, has a relatively young history on a world-wide scale, the area having been first colonized in the early 1800’s, but the city’s role as a port on the Dutch East India Trade route as well as its importance as a base for British colonists and troops saw it grow quickly. This history can be seen and enjoyed in some of the 19^th century architecture of the city, much of which is found in PE’s central Market Square not far from the modern holiday attractions along the beachfront and the recreational boat harbour. These colonial buildings are as much a part of PE’s heritage as the locally grown African features and flavours one will find in the streets and markets, and the combination of Victorian architecture and the colourful, moving African tapestry around them is one of PE’s defining features.

Arguably the most magnificent of these is City Hall, followed closely by the Public Library, both located on Market Square. A marble statue of Queen Victoria stands before the entrance to the public library, adding historical credibility to the intricately designed Gothic building. Another Building on Market Square is the Feather Market Centre, named for its history as a trading and auction house for ostrich feathers in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s.

Most of the buildings were erected in the mid to late 1800’s and are typical examples of Victorian Colonial Architecture. They have been declared National Monuments, and can be enjoyed on the self-guided Donkin Heritage Trail, which includes 47 places of interest including several famous monuments and memorials and the pretty Donkin Houses. The trail can be walked in a few hours within an 8km radius in an area called The Hill (the ‘Old Town’), rising above the city streets behind the harbour. The trail starts at the Donkin Reserve and Lighthouse, where you can purchase a map and includes the magnificent old buildings in Market Square, the Victorian houses that were homes to the first colonial inhabitants of Port Elizabeth, several beautiful churches, the King George IV Art Gallery and an opera house. Despite its somewhat misleading name, the starting point of the trail is not a nature reserve. It is an open public area of historical significance. Proclaimed by Port Elizabeth’s ‘official founder’ Sir Rufane Donkin, who arrived in Algoa Bay in 1820 along with 4000 other British Settlers, the Donkin Reserve includes a pyramid shaped memorial to Sir Donkin’s wife Elizabeth, whom he loved dearly and admired as a ‘most perfect human being’. Port Elizabeth is named after her – not, as is commonly believed, after Queen Elizabeth 1^st. There is also an old lighthouse, which is home to the Nelson Mandela Bay Tourism Info Centre. The Opera House is also located here.

Most of the sites are related to the arrival of the British settlers in 1820 and are what remains of what was once the whole harbour town of Port Elizabeth, but also included is a monument that commemorates the arrival of famous Portuguese explorer Bartholomew Diaz in Algoa Bay much earlier in the 15^th century.

Some pictures courtesy of ©FireflyAfrica