Statue of Queen Victoria & Asteroid 12 Victoria - Gqeberha, Eastern Cape, South Africa
Posted by: Groundspeak Regular Member denben
S 33° 57.713 E 025° 37.379
35H E 372774 N 6241216
The statue of Queen Victoria is erected in front of Gqeberha (formerly Port Elizabeth) Main Library. It was erected and unveiled on 30 September 1903.
Waymark Code: WM17CBA
Location: Eastern Cape, South Africa
Date Posted: 01/25/2023
Published By:Groundspeak Premium Member saopaulo1
Views: 2

At the time of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee in 1897 a movement to raise funds for the statue was started. E. Roscoe Mullins, a renowned sculptore from London at the time, was the commissioned to sculpt the statue which is made from Sicilian marble.

The statue was restored in 1992 by well known Port Elizabeth-based sculptor Anton Momberg.

The only inscription on the base of the monument reads:" Victoria / R.I." (Regina Imperatrix)

---

From Wikipedia: "Victoria (minor planet designation: 12 Victoria) is a large main-belt asteroid, orbiting the Sun with a period of 3.56 years and an eccentricity of 0.221. It is a stony (S-type) asteroid, about 112–124 km across with an albedo of 0.18 and a rotation period of 8.66 hours. Victoria has been observed to occult a star three times since its discovery. Radar and speckle interferometry observations show that the shape of Victoria is elongated, and it is suspected to be a binary asteroid, with a moon of irregular shape.

This minor planet was discovered by English astronomer J. R. Hind on September 13, 1850. Victoria is officially named after the Roman goddess of victory, but the name also honours Queen Victoria. The goddess Victoria (Nike for the Greeks) was the daughter of Styx by the Titan Pallas. The coincidence with the name of the then-reigning queen caused quite a controversy at the time, and B. A. Gould, editor of the prestigious Astronomical Journal, adopted the alternate name Clio (now used by 84 Klio), proposed by the discoverer. However, W. C. Bond, of the Harvard College Observatory, then the highest authority on astronomy in America, held that the mythological condition was fulfilled and the name therefore acceptable, and his opinion eventually prevailed." (visit link)
Website of the Extraterrestrial Location: [Web Link]

Website of location on Earth: [Web Link]

Celestial Body: Asteroid

Visit Instructions:
Post a different picture and tell us about your experience at the location.
Search for...
Geocaching.com Google Map
Google Maps
MapQuest
Bing Maps
Nearest Waymarks
Nearest Extraterrestrial Locations
Nearest Geocaches
Create a scavenger hunt using this waymark as the center point
Recent Visits/Logs:
There are no logs for this waymark yet.