By Nangamso Mabindla
10 January 2005

THE imposing stone family stands on a small piece of land on Signal Hill, surrounded by a wall and staring out to sea.

To the residents of East London this family group is such a familiar sight it is often overlooked. Yet, for many foreign tourists it is a place to stop and reflect.

This is the monument to the German settlers to the region, and it has, over the years, become one of the icons of East London's Esplanade.

Sculptured by Lippy Lipshitz and unveiled on 4 September 1961, the monument is now one of the most visited sites by German tourists visiting Buffalo City. "People who visit the city, especially German tourists, never miss an opportunity to visit the monument," says East London Museum senior librarian Rachel Williams.

According to official statistics from the provincial government's website some 60 000 German tourists visited the Eastern Cape in 2003, with 10 percent of those stopping off in Buffalo City.

The focal point of the monument is formed by three enormous granite figures - a father, a mother and a child - facing the future.

Built on the slope of Signal Hill, there are 12 brick stairs leading to the back of the figures and behind the plinth is a five-metre wall. According Williams, the concrete wall serves as bulwark against landslides.

Along these walls are large bronze panels depicting a pictorial history of the region's German immigrants.

"According to some reports the wall is made up of 12 such panels at angles to one another, running right across the memorial," says Williams.

Five of the panels depict: the farewell; the voyage to South Africa; building a home; ploughing the land; and the family looking into the future. The rest of the walls are blank, signifying the unknown future.

"A lot of school projects have been done on the monument," says Williams. "Tons of children visit the museum to do research about it. It really warms my heart to know that locals are also interested in knowing the history of Germans in the area."

In 1857 and 1858, two separate waves of German immigrants settled in the Eastern Cape, giving a decidedly German flavour to the cultural heritage of the region.

In the Buffalo City region their influence can still be seen in names of suburbs or buildings around King William's Town and East London.

In East London, the settlers created two new villages - Panmure and Cambridge on the eastern bank of the Buffalo River and paved the way for the creation of today's suburbs of North End and Southernwood.

Elsewhere in the province their influence can be seen in the names of towns such as Berlin, Potsdam, Stutterheim, and Breidbach.

And even today in Buffalo City there are still traces of German influence. In East London automobile giant DaimlerChrysler has an automotive plant on the Westbank, while Rehau Polymer is based at Fort Jackson.

For anyone wanting to learn more about the history of the people of Buffalo City, the East London Museum can be contacted on (043) 743-0686.

The museum is in Oxford Street, with the entrance and parking in Dawson Road, and is open from 9.30am to 5pm on Mondays to Fridays, between 2pm and 5pm on Saturdays, and from 11am to 4pm on Sundays and public holidays.