Discover Port Elizabeth’s Landmark Statues

Port Elizabeth, which forms part of the greater Nelson Mandela Bay metropolis, is a fun-filled South African beach destination famous for its friendly locals. Besides its great climate, amazing swimming beaches, and a host of other activities, it’s a city with a unique cultural history too.

Situated in Port Elizabeth’s thriving boardwalk precinct, and within walking distance to popular Hobie Beach, the five-star Boardwalk Hotel and Casino charmingly captures the spirit of the city’s colourful history in its graceful and detailed Victorian architecture.

Staying here, you’ll be inspired to explore the real deal. Port Elizabeth’s rich cultural heritage guarantees history lovers a unique insight into the Eastern Cape and the Bay’s diverse and remarkable past. Here are some must-see landmark statues:

The Horse Memorial

One of the Friendly City's most poignant statues, the Horse Memorial depicts a soldier giving his horse water from his hat. The monument commemorates the nearly half a million horses that died in the Anglo-Boer War (1899 – 1902), mostly from malnutrition, overwork and disease.

Designed by Joseph Whitehead and cast in bronze by Thames Dillon Works in Surrey, the horse stands 16 hands 2 inches tall alongside the life-size figure of the soldier. Unveiled on 11 February 1905, this famous piece of sculpture bears the inscription: “The greatness of a nation consists not so much in the number of its people or the extent of its territory as in the extent and justice of its compassion.” It can be found in Cape Road.

Interesting fact: A drinking trough forms part of the memorial, and was added to provide water to passing animals. However, the water was never connected.

Queen Victoria

Queen Victoria ruled the United Kingdom, a realm that included the Cape Colony, from 1837 until her death in 1901. Her statue, in which she is depicted holding the Sovereign’s Orb, can be found in front of the main library, at Market Square.

The statue of Queen Victoria was unveiled by the mayor of Port Elizabeth at the time, J.C. Kemsley, on 30 September 1903. It was carved from Sicilian marble by Edward Roscoe Mullins of London to commemorate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, which took place in 1897, and was paid for by public subscription. Standing in front of the library, Queen Victoria looked down Jetty Street to the main entrance to town.

Interesting fact: The statue was originally planned to be erected in front of City Hall, but the present site was chosen after it was suggested by the Guild of Loyal Women.

The Cenotaph

On 10 November 1929, Port Elizabeth’s long awaited War Memorial, the Cenotaph, was unveiled at St George’s Park. The memorial was the work of James Gardner of the Art School, and was erected by Pennachini Bros.

This is an interesting piece, in that the lower portion of the monument is said to represent the earthly life, which rises gradually to the upper portion of “heavenly life”. St George is depicted on one side of the memorial, and on the other, a mother and child.

The Cenotaph stands in front of the entrance to the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Art Museum in honour of the men who fell during the First World War. Following the Second World War, memorial panels were added to the walls behind the Cenotaph.

Interesting fact: Sculptor Anton Momberg restored the monument in 1994.

Prester John Memorial

Prester John, depending on whose history you are studying at the time, was said to be a descendant of the Three Magi, a crusader-era Christian Ethiopian king, or a high-born Mongol from the time of Genghis Khan. The popular theory is that Prester John – who symbolised the ‘universal Christian’ and transcended culture and geography – was the curator of the Holy Grail.

At the Port Elizabeth City Hall, the only monument in the world that celebrates the existence of the elusive and mythical king-priest, depicts Prester John in conversation with an unnamed Portuguese explorer.

The memorial was unveiled in 1986 by the then-Portuguese ambassador to South Africa, and is not only dedicated to Prester John, but also to the Portuguese explorers who discovered South Africa. The memorial consists of a large Coptic cross with the two figures in the central circle.

Interesting fact: It was on a quest to find Prester John and seek him out as a Christian ally that Bartolomeu Dias first rounded the southern tip of Africa and named it “the Cape of Storms”.

Nelson Mandela Voting Line sculpture

South Africa’s first democratic elections were held on 27 April 1994. For many South Africans, this day was the first chance they’d ever had to cast a ballot. The Voting Line sculpture at the Donkin Reserve in Port Elizabeth beautifully depicts the joy of this momentous and historical occasion, in which Nelson Mandela was voted President.

The 38m-long metal sculpture connects South African figures of all shapes and sizes together in a voting queue that leads to a victorious metal cut-out of Nelson Mandela. Artists Anthony Harris and Konrad Geel added some coastal flavour to the piece: there are even a couple of black metal seagulls hovering about the voters’ heads.

The sculpture was commissioned by the Nelson Mandela Foundation’s Madiba Trust, and forms part of the Route 67 Public Art Works project in Port Elizabeth, a display of 67 pieces of art celebrating each year that Nelson Mandela spent in prison.

Interesting fact: The Donkin Reserve is a public park proclaimed by the founder of Port Elizabeth, Sir Rufane Donkin. Besides the new artworks spread about the park, keep an eye out for the Donkin Memorial, opposite the lighthouse. It’s a pyramid-shaped structure built in honour of Donkin’s wife, Elizabeth. He loved her so much he named the city after her.