Better known as a geologist and a palaeontologist, as a painter, Major Henry William Hull Coleman Piers, was not in the same league as a Thomas Baines or even a Harries. In spite of this fact, his paintings are sought after as they serve as a source of information on the country during the 1800s. During the period 1840 to 1843, HW Piers painted a number of pictures of a struggling town still in its infancy.

Main picture: Port Elizabeth showing the first jetty, 1840 by HW Piers [Cory Library]

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