Walmer, Port Elizabeth


Walmer is a large neighborhood of Port Elizabeth, the largest city in the Eastern Cape, South Africa.

History

Walmer’s origins are as a farm that was later sub-divided - the portion known as ‘Muller town’ renamed to Walmer after the Duke of Wellington, who died at Walmer Castle, which goes some way to explain its links with older, more established residents of Port Elizabeth, some of whom could have been here since the 1850s.
It was an independent municipality from 1899 to 1965, when it was absorbed by Port Elizabeth.

Geography

Bordering neighbourhoods of Walmer include Mill Park in the north, Glenhurd and Mangold Park in the north-west, Essexvale in the north-east, South End in the east, Greenshields Park in the south-west and Gqebera in the south.
The Baakens River forms the northern border of Walmer. Walmer is around 2 kilometres south of the city hall and is also the location of the Port Elizabeth International Airport.

Commerce and industry

Walmer is one of the shopping districts of Port Elizabeth with the Walmer Park Shopping Centre located between 14th and 16th Avenue and Main Road and the Walmer Link Shopping Centre on Buffelsfontein Road.
Notable stores and restaurants in Walmer include Spar, Food Lover's Market, Outdoor Warehouse, Superspar, Builders Express, The Hussar Grill, Checkers, Midas, Debonairs Pizza and KFC.
Kariega Game Reserve near Kenton-on-Sea and about 129 kilometres from Port Elizabeth has its head office in Walmer.

Education

Air

Walmer is home to the Port Elizabeth International Airport which is the primary airport serving the city of Port Elizabeth and its surroundings. The airport has earned itself the title of the "ten-minute airport" as it is less than ten minutes' drive from most major areas in the city.
Although being an international airport it currently has no scheduled international routes and only services domestic routes to Bloemfontein, Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg. Majority of passengers travelling internationally from Port Elizabeth need to transit at Johannesburg's O.R. Tambo International Airport as it the airport with the most international connections South Africa.

Rail

The Port Elizabeth Railway Station located near the harbour is about 6 kilometres north-east of Walmer. The railway station has commuter rail services by Metrorail Eastern Cape, long-distance rail services by Shosholoza Meyl and freight rail services by Transnet.

Roads

Roads in Walmer include the M12, M7 and M9.

Recreation

There is a golf course in Walmer named the Little Walmer Golf Course, south of the Baakens River. Port Elizabeth Golf Club is a nearby golf course just 4 kilometres north of Walmer by road.
The Settlers Park Nature Reserve is situated to the north-east of Walmer situated on the banks of the Baakens River.