On the Beat at the 1820 Settlers Monument
The Monument, as it is known colloquially among Grahamstown locals, is the hub of the National Arts Festival, holding the main booking office, the grand Guy Butler Theatre, restaurants, and a plethora of performance and exhibition venues CueTube reporter Aneesha Ndebele chats with Festinos at the venue
Report by Aneesha Ndebele & Dumisa Lengwati
School of Journalism and Media Studies, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa.
Frontier Route, Eastern Cape : SOUTH AFRICA TRAVEL
The Frontier Region of South Africa's Eastern Cape - incredibly beautiful and peaceful - was once the most contested area of the country. It's called Frontier Country, and bears the scars of nine Frontier wars, the first beginning in 1779 and the last one ending a hundred years later. It was one of the most prolonged struggles by African people against European intrusion. The programme, which explores this largely unknown area of South Africa with its countless forts, is embellished with dramatic re-enactments of battles fought between the Xhosa people and European settlers. Access the half hour documentary from satvchannel.com. A Tekweni TV Production
Eastern Cape : SOUTH AFRICA TRAVEL
View one of the most spectacularly beautiful and pristine areas on the African continent, the Wild Coast. Share in the visual experience of this dramatic coastline and witness the many wrecks, some still visible today. Enter the heartland of the Xhosa people and spend a night at one of their traditional villages. Travel through settler country where the 1820 British Settlers carved out a formidable future for themselves, and trace the early footsteps of President Nelson Mandela. Stop over at the mountain retreat that inspired Tolkien and visit Helen Martin's Owl House that inspired Fugard and be in awe of the ancient forests and giant yellowwoods of nearly a thousand years old. Access the entire video from satvchannel.com
Pieces of Meaning
Christine Dixie, a descendant of the 1820 settlers, is a fine artist using symbols of motherhood through childbirth images juxtaposed with the virgin landscape of the Eastern Cape. We follow her on a journey as she takes us through one of her pieces called The Binding, that she has made with her eight year old Daniel, to express her understanding of fatherhood.
In this movie we gain insight into what Christine thinks when she creates her art. We witness her inspiration and psychological battles.
This film also deals with Christine's battles with her history and how it affects her art.
PPC National Arts Festival, Grahamstown
Fort Selwyn
Fort Selwyn is situated on Gunfire Hill overlooking Grahamstown and was named after Captain (later major) Charles Jasper Selwyn of the Cape Corps of Royal Engineers. Captain Selwyn, who was responsible for the design and construction of the Fort, was stationed in the Eastern Cape from 1834 to 1842.
In March 1835, during the 6th Frontier War, Sir Benjamin D'Urban, as Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the Cape Colony, ordered plans to be drawn for a fortified barrack on the Drostdy Ground (now part of Rhodes University), to accommodate an increased garrison and provide a place of refuge for civilians in time of war. To protect the approaches to the town and its water supply, he ordered that a redoubt be built on Gunfire Hill, south of the town, from where it would dominate the surrounding ravines. The plans were completed and the sites marked out for D'Urban's approval by July 1835. Construction started in August and the essential works, including Fort Selwyn, were completed by the end of June 1836.
The fort was occupied by the Royal Artillery from 1836 until 1862, when most of the garrison was withdrawn from Grahamstown.
In 1845 a semaphore mast was erected as part of a telegraph system that was intended to connect Grahamstown with Fort Beaufort and Fort Peddie. However, as one would-be wit remarked, `the system was a signal failure' because the masts were often obscured by mists and haze. Until September 1870 a nine o'clock gun was fired from Fort Selwyn every morning, allegedly to remind Grahamstown's civil servants that they should be at work.
The fort was again manned during the Anglo-Boer War of 1899-1902. Thereafter it fell into disrepair and in 1925 was converted into a domestic residence and tea-garden.
It was declared a national monument in 1936 and restored by the Cape Provincial Administration during the 1970's as part of the 1820 Settler Monument scheme.
In 1977 it was handed over to the Albany Museum.
3 Bedroom House For Sale in Bathurst, South Africa for ZAR 795,000...
This pristine wooden home is situated in the wide open spaces of the Lang Holm Eco Estate off the R67 to Grahamstown and a few kilometers outside the 1820 Settler village of Bathurst. The home is fenced in and surrounded by a water-wise indigenous garden.
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Faces of Grahamstown - Mathias Chirombo
Mathias Chirombo was born in 1985 in Harare, Zimbabwe. He attended Churchill Boys High from 1999 to 2004 and went on further to study at the National Art Gallery of Zimbabwe in 2005. He moved to Grahamstown in 2007 to study at Rhodes University for Bachelor of Fine Art in Painting. He graduated in 2010 and registered for a Master’s degree in 2012 in Anthropology at Rhodes University. His research focuses on 'Exploring spirit mediated landscape, art and material culture among Shona and Venda artists.' Some of his famous work is “Sacred Spaces” which was exhibited at Ism Skism Gallery in Free State, “Dreaming with Open Eyes” exhibited at Chirombo Moderneum of Ancestry, Albany Museum, and “Sacred Spaces” exhibited at Museum Africa, in Johannesburg in 2013. His aim is to reflect the movement and presence of the spirit world in hope that people will find peace, calmness and healing from their interaction with the work.
Production by Sanele Ntshingana
School of Journalism and Media Studies, Rhodes University
Rhodes University
Rhodes University is a public research university located in Grahamstown in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. It is one of four universities in the province. Established in 1904, Rhodes University is the province's oldest university, and it is the fifth or sixth oldest South African university in continuous operation, being preceded by the University of the Free State, University of Witwatersrand, Stellenbosch University and the University of Cape Town. Rhodes was founded in 1904 as Rhodes University College, named after Cecil Rhodes, through a grant from the Rhodes Trust. It became a constituent college of the University of South Africa in 1918 before becoming an independent university in 1951.
The university had an enrolment of over 8,000 students in the 2015 academic year, of whom just over 3,600 lived in 51 residences on campus, with the rest taking residence in digs or in their own homes in the town.
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CueTube on the Beat at the Village Green Market
The Village Greens is one of the main venues for crafts and goods at the National Arts Festiva in Grahamstownl.CueTube tours the Great Field at Rhodes University to see the food stalls, craft vendors and surprise performances.
Report by Taryn Isaac & Natalie Austin
School of Journalism and Media Studies, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa
Port Elizabeth
Port Elizabeth or The Bay (Zulu: Bhayi; Xhosa: iBhayi; Afrikaans: Die Baai) is one of the largest cities in South Africa, situated in the Eastern Cape Province, 770 km (478 mi) east of Cape Town. The city, often shortened to PE and nicknamed The Friendly City or The Windy City, stretches for 16 km along Algoa Bay, and is one of the major seaports in South Africa.
Port Elizabeth was founded as a town in 1820 to house British settlers as a way of strengthening the border region between the Cape Colony and the Xhosa. It now forms part of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality which has a population of over 1.3 million.
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Nelson Mandela Bay - Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape South Africa
Nelson Mandela Bay - uniting Port Elizabeth, Uitenhage and Despatch
Nelson Mandela: humanitarian, activist, icon to the world and towering figure of the twentieth century. Now a destination has been named after him - the only geographical area that has been allowed to do so: Nelson Mandela Bay, incorporating the beautiful and historic old city of Port Elizabeth and the towns of Uitenhage and Despatch.
Situated on the south-eastern tip of Africa, Nelson Mandela Bay boasts 40 km of magnificent golden beaches, washed by the warm water of the Indian Ocean. The city's breathtaking seashore and protected beaches of international standard and excellent accommodation facilities lure thousands of visitors to its shores every year.
As a major seaport for passing ships on their way to the East in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the Bay's waters have over 400 shipwrecks, making it a diver's delight. Offering virtually unlimited opportunities for watersports enthusiasts, the Bay is known as Africa's Watersports Capital.
A must-see on any itinerary is the Red Location Museum of Struggle. This multi-award winning museum, which was opened in November 2006, commemorates South Africa's turbulent apartheid history and long struggle for freedom.
Nelson Mandela Bay carries the rich legacy of an area which saw the first meetings of the Khoisan, British, Dutch, German and Xhosa people. The landing place of the 1820 Settlers, it boasts some of the finest Victorian and Edwardian architecture in South Africa. The city's wealth of historical attractions, museums and places of interest offers the visitor a fascinating ourney of discovery.
Nelson Mandela Bay is situated in a nature-lover's paradise. The Bay is within half an hour's drive of several internationally acclaimed game reserves, offering an unforgettable experience of African wildlife. Most reserves have the Big Five (lion, leopard, buffalo, elephant, and rhinoceros).
Those seeking retail therapy will find that their every desire is met by the Bay's array of attractive shopping malls, upmarket boutiques and tourist-friendly craft markets. And when the sun goes down in Nelson Mandela Bay, the fun continues! After dark, the city is transformed into a bejewelled sea of lights, and the nightlife sizzles, providing entertainment for every taste.
Nelson Mandela Bay is the hub of the automotive industry on the African continent, with many major international vehicle and component manufacturers based in the city. The preferred region for the manufacture of pharmaceuticals, flour, meat, frozen veggies, soft drinks, chocolates, cheese, yoghurt, ice-cream, paper products and leather products. Nelson Mandela Bay is also a major exporter of everything from manganese ore, wood, fresh produce, fruit juices wool, skins and, of course, motor components.
Nelson Mandela Bay's well-equipped bustling international airport, harbour and port link it with other national and international destinations, while its national roads allow easy access to the Western Region of the Eastern Cape, including the Sunshine Coast, Frontier Country, Sundays River Valley, Kouga / Tsitsikamma / Garden Route and the Karoo Heartland Routes.
Approximately 1.1 million people inhabit the city, making it South Africa's fifth largest city in terms of population and second largest in terms of area. The predominant languages are English, Afrikaans and isiXhosa, and the official language used in shops and the business sector is English.
So if you want to experience the splendour, the beauty, the spirit, the freedom, the wildlife, the culture, the openness and the friendliness of the only city to be named after the world's greatest statesman, come on in to Nelson Mandela Bay.
Faces of Grahamstown - Thabiso Mafana
Thabiso Mafana is a Rhodes University student studying fine art and photography. He is passionate about the arts and has been involved from a young age. He taught himself how to create and paint at a young age and has come to university to sharpen his skill and learn how to improve himself as an artist. He comes from humble beginnings and was raised by his grandmother. All he wants from life is to be able to live a happy life and to use his art in the service of others, mostly to inspire and to uplift them because he believes that happiness is all that counts.
Production by Bongani Shweni
School Journalism and Media Studies, Rhodes University
South Africa | Wikipedia audio article
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South Africa
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SUMMARY
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South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by 2,798 kilometres (1,739 mi) of coastline of Southern Africa stretching along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countries of Namibia, Botswana, and Zimbabwe; and to the east and northeast by Mozambique and Swaziland (Eswatini); and it surrounds the enclaved country of Lesotho. South Africa is the largest country in Southern Africa and the 25th-largest country in the world by land area and, with over 57 million people, is the world's 24th-most populous nation. It is the southernmost country on the mainland of the Old World or the Eastern Hemisphere. About 80 percent of South Africans are of Sub-Saharan African ancestry, divided among a variety of ethnic groups speaking different African languages, nine of which have official status. The remaining population consists of Africa's largest communities of European (White), Asian (Indian), and multiracial (Coloured) ancestry.
South Africa is a multiethnic society encompassing a wide variety of cultures, languages, and religions. Its pluralistic makeup is reflected in the constitution's recognition of 11 official languages, which is the fourth highest number in the world. Two of these languages are of European origin: Afrikaans developed from Dutch and serves as the first language of most coloured and white South Africans; English reflects the legacy of British colonialism, and is commonly used in public and commercial life, though it is fourth-ranked as a spoken first language. The country is one of the few in Africa never to have had a coup d'état, and regular elections have been held for almost a century. However, the vast majority of black South Africans were not enfranchised until 1994. During the 20th century, the black majority sought to recover its rights from the dominant white minority, with this struggle playing a large role in the country's recent history and politics. The National Party imposed apartheid in 1948, institutionalising previous racial segregation. After a long and sometimes violent struggle by the African National Congress (ANC) and other anti-apartheid activists both inside and outside the country, the repeal of discriminatory laws began in 1990.
Since 1994, all ethnic and linguistic groups have held political representation in the country's liberal democracy, which comprises a parliamentary republic and nine provinces. South Africa is often referred to as the rainbow nation to describe the country's multicultural diversity, especially in the wake of apartheid. The World Bank classifies South Africa as an upper-middle-income economy, and a newly industrialised country. Its economy is the second-largest in Africa, and the 34th-largest in the world. In terms of purchasing power parity, South Africa has the seventh-highest per capita income in Africa. However, poverty and inequality remain widespread, with about a quarter of the population unemployed and living on less than US$1.25 a day. Nevertheless, South Africa has been identified as a middle power in international affairs, and maintains significant regional influence.