Horse Memorial - History

History

One of the principal reasons for Port Elizabeth taking such an interest in the movement, which started in 1901, was the fact that most of the horses brought to this country were landed here. The horses were shipped from all over the world, including 50,000 from the United States and 35,000 from Australia.

A ladies committee was formed with Mrs Harriet Meyer as president and £800 was collected for Messrs Whitehead and Sons, of Kennington and Westminster, to erect the statue.

The statue was originally located close to the junction of Park Drive and Rink Street, next to St George's Park, but was moved to its present position in Cape Road in the 1950s.

The Mayor said in his unveiling speech:

The unveiling of this monument marks the completion of what has been an arduous undertaking on the part of those ladies with whom the idea of raising a monument to the horses originated.
To raise a monument to the “brutes” that perish is considered by many to be misplaced sentiment, while some are inclined to think with Louis Wain “that all animals have their season of happiness in a hereafter before their final effacement, as a reward for the trials they undergo in life, while under the dominion of man.” —Alexander Fettes, Mayor of Port Elizabeth