Lofty plan for Donkin Reserve

Historians propose moving obelisk to city’s historic heart to honour one of PE’s founding fathers

When John Paterson died in 1880, according to one historic account, it was said that he would not require a statue as Port Elizabeth was already his monument.

One hundred and thirty-eight years on, there is still no statue of the man who played a leading role in founding Port Elizabeth and its first municipality.

Paterson is also credited with establishing The Herald, Standard Bank and The Grey Institute – which later became Grey Junior and High schools – among other important achievements.

What has recently resurfaced, however, is Paterson’s towering obelisk – a carved piece of igneous stone which, with no accompanying information, stands obscurely near the entrance to the Bayworld complex on the beachfront.

Besides the Eastern Cape town of Paterson and Port Elizabeth’s Paterson Road, the obelisk – which would stand more than 8m tall if completely restored with its base, fountains and troughs – would be best suited to highlight Paterson’s significant role in the history of the Bay.

So argued history buff Ivor Markman and Cape Town-based historian and author John Young last week when they motivated for the relocation of the obelisk to the Donkin Reserve in Central, where they hope it would be re-erected in front of the historic Grey Institute building.

Young and Markman put their case to a small meeting at Grey Junior School where they pointed out that Paterson and his achievements, with the exception of Paterson Road, had not been commemorated in the city.

Guests who took part in the discussion around the proposed relocation of the obelisk included Grey Junior headmaster Lindsay Pearson, Andrew Whitfield, who holds the Bay municipality tourism political portfolio, Monique Fouche, of Standard Bank, Charmaine Wynn, of Bayworld, and Jenny Bennie, of the Historical Society of Port Elizabeth.

According to Young, after Paterson’s partner and brother-in-law George Kemp died, Paterson bought the French-made obelisk which had been exhibited at the International Exhibition in London in 1862.

Paterson had shipped it back to Port Elizabeth to place on Kemp’s grave, but when the Kemp family rejected it as too ostentatious, it was given to the town.

The stone then lay on a beach until May 1863 when it was erected in Market (now Vuyisile Mini) Square, in front of the City Hall, to commemorate the wedding of the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII) and Princess Alexandra.

It stood there until 1921, when it was replaced by a cannon.

The obelisk was then dumped in the Municipal Yard in Harrower Road where it lay for many years until a member of the Historical Society found it and had it re-erected outside Bayworld in May 1975, Young said.

“Even though the obelisk is right in front of the entrance, most people drive past it without noticing it, or they know nothing of the story behind it,” Young said.

He said the Egyptian-style stone would complement the pyramid already on the reserve.

Markman said: “We feel that as John Paterson brought the obelisk to Port Elizabeth, it would be appropriate to re-erect it as a monument to his memory and the good work he did in our city and are proposing it be restored to its original height.

“With the 200th anniversary of the founding of Port Elizabeth coming up in 2020, we feel it would be lovely, although not essential, to have the project completed by then.

“It would also add to the city’s tourism offerings.”

The meeting resolved to hold further discussions, with the inclusion of more role-players such as the Mandela Bay Development Agency.