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Gqeberha ( , ), also known by its former official name Port Elizabeth and colloquially referred to as P.E., is a major seaport and the most populous city in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is the seat of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality, South Africa's second-smallest metropolitan municipality by area. It is the sixth-most populous city in South Africa and is the cultural, economic and financial hub of the Eastern Cape.
Gqeberha was founded in 1820 as Port Elizabeth by Sir Rufane Donkin, who was the governor of the Cape at the time. He named it after his wife, Elizabeth, who had died in India. The Donkin Memorial in the CBD of the city bears testament to this. It was established by the government of the Cape Colony when 4,000 British colonists settled in Algoa Bay to strengthen the border region between the Cape Colony and the Xhosa people. It is nicknamed "The Friendly City" or "The Windy City". In 2019, the Eastern Cape Geographical Names Committee recommended that Port Elizabeth be renamed Gqeberha, after the Xhosa and Southern Khoe languages name for the Baakens River that flows through the city. The city's name change was officially gazetted on 23 February 2021.
Located on the western portion of Algoa Bay along the southeastern coast of South Africa, the city lies 770km east of Cape Town. It is east of the Garden Route and faces the Indian Ocean. It covers 251 square kilometers of the Nelson Mandela Bay metropolitan area, and is administered by South Africa's sixth-largest metropolitan municipality. (2017). 9789210600170 ISBN 9789210600170 The city's warm oceanic climate ranks it among the top cities in the world for pleasant year-round weather. The city is known for many blue-flag beaches along the city's urban coastline; its popularity as an international and local holiday destination; and its rich and diverse cultural heritage. It is a gateway city for the Eastern Cape's adventure, outdoor and African big five game safari tourism.
In 1820, the rising seaport of Algoa Bay was named "Port Elizabeth" in memory of Elizabeth Frances (), the wife of Sir Rufane Shaw Donkin, acting Governor of the Cape Colony. The settlement is also known by Xhosa language speakers as iBhayi or eBhayi, a Xhosa adaptation of the Afrikaans name die Baai, meaning "the Bay", which was also translated and adopted by English-speaking colonists.
The area later became part of the Cape Colony. This area had a turbulent history between the settlement by the Dutch East India Company in 1652 and the formation of the Union of South Africa in 1910.
In 1799, at the time of the first British occupation of the Colony during the Napoleonic Wars, British troops built a stone fort named Fort Frederick after the Duke of York. This fort, aiming to deter a possible landing of French troops, was constructed to oversee the site of what later became Port Elizabeth. The fort is now preserved as a monument.
From 1814 to 1821, the Strandfontein farm to the south of the Gqeberha River was owned by Piet Retief. He later became a Voortrekker leader and was killed in 1837 by Zulu king Dingane during negotiations about land. An estimated 500 men, woman and children of his party were killed. Frederik Korsten, after whom the suburb of Korsten is named, owned the Strandfontein farm after Retief. This area was later developed as Summerstrand, a beachfront suburb.
In 1820, a party of 4,000 British settlers arrived by sea, encouraged by the government of the Cape Colony to form a settlement to strengthen the border region between the Cape Colony and the Xhosa people. At this time the seaport town was founded by Sir Rufane Shaw Donkin, the Acting Governor of the Cape Colony (in office from 1820 to 1821). Diplomat Edmund Roberts visited Gqeberha in the early 1830s. Roberts noted that Gqeberha in the 1820s had "contained four houses, and now it has upward of one hundred houses, and its residents are rated at above twelve hundred persons".
The British garrison of Gqeberha saw the arrival of a further 500 settlers in 1825, one of whom was Rev Francis McClelland, who in the same year was appointed Colonial Chaplain. The Roman Catholic Church established the Apostolic Vicariate of the Cape of Good Hope, Eastern District in the city in 1847.
Gqeberha, then named Port Elizabeth, was granted the status of an autonomous municipality in 1861.
Cape Colony Prime Minister John Molteno had formed the Cape Government Railways in 1872. Completion of the railway to Kimberley in 1873 was a major stimulus to trade and a rapid increase in population in the town. With the massive expansion of the Cape Colony's railway network to the interior over the following years, the harbour of Gqeberha became the focus for serving import and export needs of a large area of the Cape's hinterland. The rapid economic development around the port, which followed the railway construction, caused Gqeberha to be nicknamed "the Liverpool of South Africa", after the major British port. The town expanded as a diverse community, comprising Xhosa as well as European, Cape Malays, and other immigrants.Burman, Jose (1984). Early Railways at the Cape. Cape Town. Human & Rousseau, p.66.
During the Second Boer War of 1899–1902, the port served as an important transit-point for British soldiers, horses, and materials headed by railway to the front. No armed conflict took place within the city, but it felt the effects of the war with the arrival of many who moved into the city. These included Boer women and children, whom the British internment in a concentration camp.
After the war, the British erected a monument to military horses that died during the war. "The unveiling of the monument commemorating the services of the Horse Memorial which perished during the Anglo Boer War, 1899–1902, took place on Saturday afternoon, 11 February 1905, with the Mayor, Mr A Fettes, performing the ceremony."
As black South Africans organized to try to achieve civil rights and social justice, government repression increased. In 1977 Steve Biko, the black anti-apartheid activist, was interrogated and tortured by the security police in Gqeberha before being taken to Pretoria, where he died. Other notable deaths in the city during this time included those of the Cradock Four, and of George Botha, a high-school teacher.
On 25 July 1952, a day before the official start of the Defiance Campaign, 30 volunteers led by Raymond Mhlaba gathered at the New Brighton Civic Centre and prayed throughout the night. At 5am on 26 July, they left the Civic Centre and walked towards the New Brighton Railway Station. In Raymond Mhlaba's Personal Memoirs: Reminiscing from Rwanda and Uganda, Mhlaba recalled:
"I led the very first group and we entered the ' Only' section of the New Brighton station. By half past six we were already in police vans on our way to jail. It turned out that my party (group) was the very first to defy unjust laws in the whole of South Africa. Little did we know that we were making history."(2025). 9780796919748, Human Sciences Research Council and Robben Island Museum. . ISBN 9780796919748
Mhlaba became the first man to be arrested during the campaign, while Florence Matomela was the first woman. 2 007 people were arrested in Gqeberha during the Defiance Campaign included Govan Mbeki (Govan Mbeki) and Vuyisile Mini. Other volunteers who emerged as key role players during the campaign included Nosipho Dastile, Nontuthuzelo Mabala, Lilian Diedricks and Veronica Sobukwe.
In 1986, as the deal was approaching its end, the boycotters imposed a deadline of 31 March, stating that the boycott would resume if the initial demands were not met. On 11 March the government unexpectedly banned two leaders, one of whom was Mkhuseli Jack. However, on 22 March the ban was lifted by the decision of a Supreme Court Justice on the grounds that the government had given insufficient reasons. Jack ripped up the ban papers, and used the celebration as a way to represent the solidarity that the campaign required. As the demands of the boycotters were not met by 31 March, the boycott was renewed on 1 April. The boycott continued for nine weeks, but on 12 June 1986 another state of emergency was imposed by the National Party government. Security forces searched through the townships, arresting thousands and raiding the offices of black civics, trade unions, the UDF, the South African Council, and churches and also confiscating documents.
In 2001, the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality was formed as an administrative area covering Gqeberha, the neighbouring towns of Uitenhage and Despatch and the surrounding agricultural areas. The name honours former President Nelson Mandela. The combined metropolitan area had a population estimated at around 1.3 million in 2006.
The Eastern Cape has been experiencing a devastating drought since 2015, and a disaster was declared in the region in October 2019. On 14 June 2022, a virtual special council meeting of Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality Council approved an emergency intervention plan by the National Department of Water and Sanitation. The plan includes: drilling more boreholes, pumping water from the east of the metropolitan area to the west of the area, and using floatation pumps to extract more water from some reservoirs. The meeting approved the appointment of Tlhologelo Mogoatlhe (a water and sanitation production engineer) as the interim infrastructure and engineering executive director. City officials asked residents to consume no more than of water per person per day. In mid-June 2022, Luvuyo Bangazi (spokesperson for the municipality's joint operations crisis committee) said that the city was losing about a third of its water because of leaks in pipes, and had a backlog of 3,000 leaks to fix. Joseph Tsatsire (Bay Water Distribution Director) said that Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality repaired 9,719 leaks over a three week period ending in mid-July 2022, leaving a backlog of 712 leaks reported. Though some residents claimed that the taps only work a few hours a day, Bangazi said that water was only shut off when maintenance was being done. Water consumption for the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality was as follows:
In the 2011 census, Gqeberha, then named Port Elizabeth, was the most populous city in the Eastern Cape. In 2011:[1] , Census 2011 – Main Place "Port Elizabeth"
| Female | 162,255 | 51.94 |
| Male | 150,137 | 48.06 |
| White | 118,220 | 37.4 |
| Black | 95,589 | 30.60 |
| Coloured | 84,419 | 27.02 |
| Asian | 9,847 | 3.15 |
| Other | 4,317 | 1.38 |
| Zulu language | 1,541 | 0.51 |
| Xhosa language | 67,154 | 22.24 |
| Afrikaans | 121,344 | 40.19 |
| Sepedi | 472 | 0.16 |
| Tswana language | 1,312 | 0.43 |
| English | 100,375 | 33.25 |
| Sotho language | 1,469 | 0.49 |
| Tsonga language | 291 | 0.10 |
| Swazi language | 171 | 0.06 |
| Venda language | 390 | 0.13 |
| IsiNdebele | 1,183 | 0.39 |
| Other | 10,469 | 3.35 |
| + Ethnic makeup of Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth), 1855–1936 | ||||||||
| White | 66.67% | 63.63% | 69.23% | 58.33% | 54.76% | 48.78% | 50.00% | 47.37% |
| Black | 16.67% | 18.18% | 15.38% | 16.67% | 16.67% | 19.51% | 22.22% | 26.31% |
| Coloured | 16.67% | 18.18% | 15.38% | 25.00% | 23.81% | 29.27% | 25.92% | 24.56% |
| Indian/Asian | – | – | – | – | 4.76% | 2.44% | 1.85% | 1.75% |
| + Ethnic makeup of Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth), 1951–1985 | |||||
| Black | 35.32% | 42.01% | 43.15% | 56.10% | 46.41% |
| White | 39.80% | 33.00% | 31.00% | 22.73% | 26.10% |
| Coloured | 22.89% | 23.61% | 24.55% | 22.73% | 26.10% |
| Indian/Asian | 2.00% | 1.40% | 1.30% | 1.14% | 1.40% |
| + Ethnic makeup of Nelson Mandela Bay Metro, 2001–2011 | ||
| Black African | 59% | 60% |
| Coloured | 23% | 24% |
| White | 17% | 14% |
| Indian/Asian | 1% | 2% |
Home of South Africa's car industry, the city boasts most vehicle assembly plants, General Motors, Ford, Volkswagen, Continental Tyres and many other automotive companies. As of 2018, after GM's exit from South Africa, Isuzu took over their production plant in Struandale. In 2016, Chinese state-owned automotive manufacturer BAIC Group and South Africa's Industrial Development Corporation announced a R11 billion joint venture for the establishment of a semi knock down vehicle assembly plant in Coega. It is anticipated that the plant will go online in 2020. The FAW Group also have built a multi-billion rand plant in the region. Most other industries are geared towards the motor vehicle industry, providing parts such as wiring, catalytic converters, batteries and Tire to the Automaker.
The largest economic sectors in Nelson Mandela Bay Metro are manufacturing, finance, community services and transport. Community services, trade and manufacturing sectors are the sectors that create the most employment in the Metro. The city offers a wealth of tourism and recreation opportunity due to its biodiversity, beaches and open spaces. Further still, Nelson Mandela Bay is a preferred region for the manufacturing of pharmaceuticals, flour, meat, frozen vegetables, soft drinks, chocolates, cheese, yoghurt, ice cream, paper and leather products.
The city is also a major seaport, with the most significant car loading facilities in the southern hemisphere. As part of the ongoing development, a new Industrial Development Zone with expanded port facilities has been built at Coega.
Many local historic attractions are linked by the Donkin Heritage Trail. These include the Campanile (bell tower), built in 1923 to commemorate the arrival of the 1820 Settlers and offering a viewpoint over the city; the city hall (1862); the Donkin Reserve park and monument; and the old stone Fort Frederick itself (1799). The CBD also boasts the towering Eastern Cape post office headquarters.
Route 67 is a walking trail consisting of 67 public artworks, symbolising 67 years which Nelson Mandela dedicated to the freedom of South Africa. The artwork is a celebration of South African culture and history and is scattered along the route as it starts from the Campanile, up the stairs to the Vuysile Mini Market Square and to the large South African flag at the Donkin Reserve. The artworks were created by local Eastern Cape artists.
Other attractions include the gardens at St George's Park, the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Art Museum (formerly known as the King George VI Art Gallery), the museum and oceanography room at Humewood, and the new Boardwalk waterfront complex.
The wider area surrounding PE also features game viewing opportunities, including the Addo Elephant National Park, to the north near the Zuurberg mountain range.
It is also a destination for whale watching with humpback whales sighted between June and August, and again between November and January, southern right whales sighted between July and November, and Bryde's whales sighted all year round.
Baywest Mall which opened in May 2015 is the largest shopping centre in the Eastern Cape located on the western outskirts of the city and forms part of the Baywest City. Baywest City is a planned mixed-use development area and is striving to become a major development hub in the city's western suburbs.
Coega located just outside of the city once an industrial development zone (IDZ) has now deemed the status of a special economic zone (SEZ). It also houses the second and the newest port of Nelson Mandela Bay and South Africa, Port of Ngqura. This multi-billion rand project aims to drive local and foreign direct investments in export-oriented industries and position South Africa as the hub for trade.
In December 2011, Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium became the new home of the South Africa Sevens, the country's leg of the annual IRB Sevens World Series in rugby sevens. The event had previously been held in three other cities, most recently in George in the Western Cape from 2002 to 2010. As of 2015, is hosted annually in Cape Town, in the Western Cape.
The headquarters of the Southern Spears rugby franchise was in Gqeberha. The long-standing Eastern Cape Rugby Union, now commonly known as the Eastern Province Elephants, formed the basis of the Spears franchise together with East London's Border Bulldogs. The remnants of the Spears were later reconstituted into the Southern Kings, also based in Gqeberha, which joined Super Rugby in 2013. The Southern Kings did not participate in Super Rugby in 2014 or 2015, and returned to Super Rugby in 2016, 2017, but were dropped for economical reasons by SARU. The team now competes in the Guinness Pro14. The Eastern Province Rugby Union play their home matches at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, built for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
The biggest sporting events in the city, is the annual Ironman triathlon and the Herald Cycle tour. The Tuna classic deep-sea fishing competition attracts anglers from all over the world.
There are cricket, rugby union, athletics, association football, field hockey and many other sports facilities. Its coastal location also makes it a base for some watersports.
The city's main football club is Chippa United, they currently use the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium as their home ground. Previous clubs to play in the country's top tier were Bay United, Michau Warriors, Port Elizabeth Blackpool, Hotspur F.C., Port Elizabeth City and Westview Apollon.
The Algoa Bay Yacht Club operates out of the port.
(In layman's terms: a red shield displaying, from top to bottom, an elephant on a silver horizontal strip whose lower edge is embattled, two gold cinquefoils, a silver chevron bearing three black buckles, and a gold bugle horn.)
Eighty years later, in 1958, the council made slight changes to the arms, and had them granted by the College of Arms. The changes consisted of adding two anchors to the chief of the shield, placing a red mural crown bearing three golden rings below the ship in the crest, and changing the motto to Tu meliora spera. The arms were registered with the Cape Provincial Administration in 1959,Cape of Good Hope Official Gazette 2969 (1 May 1959) and at the Bureau of Heraldry in 1986.
The city's main bus station is in Market Square. The public bus service is run by the Algoa Bus Company. Between 1881 and 1948, there was a Port Elizabeth tramway network, powered initially by horses, and later by electricity.
The city is in the process of building a bus rapid transit system which was intended for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. This has been a massive failure as local taxi associations have prevented the implementation. The city lacks a proper public transport system which has had a negative impact on the poorer residents of the city who are dependent on public transport. Construction of the bus rapid transit network has been suspended due to mismanagement which led to the project missing its May 2010 deadline. Calls for the project, which has left many parts of the city in a permanent state of construction, have been made recently, and it is expected that the government will make a decision on the matter soon.
International visitors to the city must currently fly to either Johannesburg, Cape Town or Durban, and then take a domestic flight to Gqeberha. An upgrade to the terminal building, completed in 2004, created the necessary facilities to handle international flights although none are scheduled as yet.
Gariep Dam water is also used for electricity generation by Eskom hydro-electric power station, remotely controlled from Gauteng. Therefore, it must be managed carefully by balancing the supply-and-demand of this water resource usage for its derivatives of electricity generation, irrigation, and municipal drinking water. Other nearby dams include Kouga Dam, Kromme Dam, Groendal Dam, Impofu Dam, and Lourie Dam.
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