About St Georges Park

St Georges Park, Port Elizabeth

You are probably a cricket lover if you are thinking at staying in St George's Park, the suburb of Port Elizabeth that is home to the park of the same name, and the site of the second oldest cricket club in South Africa.

The suburb is not only ideal for watching cricket, it is also really close to the centre of the friendly city. Much of the largely apartment-style living accommodation in the suburb offers city and sea views, and access to a number of major attractions, shopping centres and entertainment, much of which you can reach by public transport or by foot. And then there is the beach, which is also but a short trip away.

The park is steeped in history, not only of the sporting kind, although its major claim to fame is for hosting the first Test played outside England or Australia in 1888-89. The landscaped gardens cover 73 hectares, it is also the site of the oldest bowling green in the country, and the park includes the 1882 Edwardian Pearson Conservatory (filled with orchids, water lillies and a feast of exotic plants).

But it is the park's association with Athol Fugard, one of the country's most famous writers known for his politically challenging plays and novel (his only novel, Tsotsi, was the basis for the film that won an Oscar in 2006) that is the most enticing of histories. Fugard set most of his plays in PE and in particular Master Harold...and the boys was set in St George's Park itself, drawing richly from his own boyhood, during which his mother ran the park's café.

Other 'must do's' in the neighbourhood include a visit to the Donkin Heritage walking trail, a bird watching walk in Settlers Park, a visit to the Donkin Lighthouse, and the Humerail Waterfront Shopping Centre.