St George's Park (est. 1859) is a multi-use park in

Gqeberha Gqeberha ( , ), formerly named 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 Municipa ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. The park is the oldest park in Gqeberha and most commonly associated with the

St George's Oval St George's Park Cricket Ground (commonly known as St George's Park, Crusaders Ground or simply Crusaders) is a cricket ground in Gqeberha, (formerly known as Port Elizabeth), in South Africa. It is the home of the Port Elizabeth Cricket Club, ...

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

grounds located within the park.

Features

The Port Elizabeth Bowling Green Club, the oldest

lawn bowling Bowls, also known as lawn bowls or lawn bowling, is a sport in which players try to roll their ball (called a bowl) closest to a smaller ball (known as a "jack" or sometimes a "kitty"). The bowls are shaped (biased), so that they follow a curve ...

club in South Africa, has been located in the park since its founding in 1882. The collection of the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Art Museum, formerly the King George VI Art Gallery, is housed in two buildings that frame the entrance to the park. The St George's Park Swimming Baths complex comprises an Olympic sized swimming pool with a diving area. However, the pool has not been used since 2018. The complex also contains the Master Harold tearoom which was used as the setting for the apartheid era play '' "Master Harold"...and the Boys'' by

Athol Fugard Harold Athol Lanigan Fugard (; 11 June 19328 March 2025) was a South African playwright, novelist, actor and director. Widely regarded as South Africa's greatest playwright and acclaimed as "the greatest active playwright in the English-speaki ...

. The Mannville Open Air Theatre, constructed in 1971, is used as part of the annual Port Elizabeth Shakespearean Festival. The

Sea Scouts Sea Scouts are a part of the Scout movement, with a particular emphasis on boating and other water-based activities on the sea, rivers or lakes (canoeing, rafting, scuba, sailboarding). Sea Scouts can provide a chance to sail, cruise on boats, ...

facility, Sea Scouts Hall, is the former home of the 72nd Air School, a

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Women's Auxiliary Air Force The Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF), whose members were referred to as WAAFs (), was the female auxiliary of the British Royal Air Force during the World War II, Second World War. Established in 1939, WAAF numbers exceeded 181,000 at its peak ...

basic training school. The Port Elizabeth Lawn Tennis Club,

Prince Alfred's Guard Memorial A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The fema ...

, Pearson Conservatory and the Port Elizabeth Cenotaph are other prominent features of the park.

References

External links

Gqeberha Tourist attractions in the Eastern Cape Parks in South Africa {{EasternCape-geo-stub