Pearson Conservatory (St George's Park)

The conservatory grew out of the development of St George's Park, opened in 1859 and regarded as the city's oldest park. Henry Pearson, Port Elizabeth's long-serving mayor (1871 to 1896 according to one of the sources consulted), championed a glasshouse for exotic plants, water lilies and orchids. Funding was pieced together: a vote by the Cape Parliament in 1876 provided for 1,000 pounds, of which only 750 was available, supplemented by municipal funds and a 2,000-pound loan repaid over eight years. The total cost is given as 3,800 pounds, made up of 1,560 for manufacture in England, 336 for freight and duty, and 1,904 for foundations and erection on site.

The structure was designed and supplied by Boyd & Son of Paisley, Scotland, then dismantled, shipped in sections and re-erected under a Mr Fraser. It opened on 12 September 1882; John X. Merriman, the Cape's Commissioner of Works, presided, and the key was handed to the mayor by W. H. Miles, described as the architect. The sources therefore credit the design variously to the Scottish firm and to that individual.

In 1972 the city council rejected a proposal to demolish it. The building was declared a national monument on 10 June 1983 and is now a Grade 2 listed structure. Temperature and moisture swings had degraded its materials, prompting several rounds of repair before the reconstruction of 2009 to 2011.

The building follows the classic plan of Victorian prefabricated conservatories: a central hall 25 feet (about 7.6 m) wide, 50 feet long and 29 feet (about 8.8 m) high to the centre of the skylight, flanked by two wings measuring 21 by 44 feet and 17 feet high. The roof ribs are cast iron, and the original frame combined iron with moulded teak. The glass came from Chance Bros and the cast-iron seats from the Coalbrookdale Company. To keep the interior cool, the glass was frosted on the sun-facing sides and tinted blue on the roof; the interior was painted a warm grey picked out in pale blue and light chocolate brown.

The 2009-2011 works have been described as a re-creation rather than a restoration. The decayed timber substructure was replaced with galvanised steel tubing; the original cast-iron elements were retained; windows were rebuilt in hand-made meranti in place of the earlier pine, and fibreglass mouldings reproduce the profiles of the original timber. An older claim that over 98 percent of the woodwork was original predates these works. The central fountain imported in 1882 remains in place.

According to the historical sources consulted, the conservatory was conceived to grow exotic plants, water lilies and orchids. During the 2009-2011 reconstruction the team drew on historic photographs and records to present plantings close to the original ones. The display shifts with the seasons and the weather, so the interior looks different from one visit to the next.

The building is notable less for a catalogue of rare specimens than for the ensemble formed by fabric, planting and period fountain: the central fountain imported in 1882 is still in place. The sources consulted give no detailed inventory of the present species, so none is listed here.

The conservatory stands in the middle of St George's Park, in central Gqeberha, and can be seen in about half an hour, longer for those interested in photographing the architecture. It lies within a larger park that also holds the Prince Alfred's Guard memorial, made by the Saracen Foundry of Glasgow. The Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, the Bayworld museum complex and Shark Rock Pier are nearby and allow a day to be built around the waterfront. Plantings change with the seasons; a dry day is best, as the park is explored on foot.