Feather Market Centre Gqeberha is one of South Africa’s most historically significant and operationally versatile event venues — a provincial heritage landmark at 86 Baakens Street in central Gqeberha (formerly Port Elizabeth), originally opened on 10 December 1885 as an ostrich feather auction and storage facility, proclaimed a National Monument in 1980, and beautifully refurbished in 1993 to create the multi-venue conference and performing arts complex it is today. Named for the industry that built it — the Victorian-era ostrich feather trade that made the Eastern Cape one of the world’s most valuable agricultural export regions — the Feather Market Centre now offers a unique mosaic of venues for conferences, concerts, exhibitions, weddings, and public gatherings of every scale: a 1,187-seat main auditorium with raised stage, a newly refurbished Selley Hall with 1,800 m² of exhibition space, seven conference rooms, a historic pipe organ that once drew audiences from across the Cape Colony, and an architectural character — Victorian arched rooflines, enormous wrought iron window frames, and a grand staircase — that no purpose-built convention centre can replicate.

The History: Wool, Feathers, and One Hundred and Forty Years of Public Life

The story of the Feather Market Centre is inseparable from the economic history of colonial Port Elizabeth. The site on the corner of Baakens Street and Military Road was first used as a wool market from 1863, as the city grew into one of the Eastern Cape’s primary agricultural trading hubs. With the explosive growth of the ostrich feather industry in the latter half of the 19th century — feathers were among the most valuable fashion commodities in Victorian Europe — the municipality required a dedicated auction facility close to the harbour.

Planning began in the 1870s. In 1878 a design competition was held. The roof was ultimately designed by Sir John Wolfe Barry of London (the same civil engineer who would later co-design Tower Bridge) and was constructed in England and shipped to Port Elizabeth in 1882. William Henry Miles was appointed consulting engineer in 1881, tasked with designing a building to fit the already-completed roof. Construction used local stone with Coega stone facings, and the enormous wrought iron window frames were produced locally by Howard Farrar and Co. The main structure’s largest roof principal weighed approximately eight tons.

The building officially opened on 10 December 1885 — a date chosen to coincide with the opening of the South African Exhibition of 1885–86, conducted by the Governor of the Cape Colony, Sir Hercules Robinson. The very first ostrich feather sale in the new market took place on 2 February 1885 — conducted by the resident Market Master, John Corny — with the first feathers offered belonging to Henry Wathen Court, considered to have been the first person to contemplate taming ostriches and breeding them for their feathers.

As the ostrich feather industry declined in the early 20th century, the hall pivoted to concerts, exhibitions, and public gatherings — a transition that preserved the building’s relevance through the decades. In 1908, architect Arthur Shaw Butterworth completed a new Baakens Street frontage and extension that became known as the Market Buildings. By 1980, the building was proclaimed a National Monument. An extensive renovation in 1993 transformed it into the current Feather Market Conference Centre, with the original hall renamed the Selley Hall in honour of long-serving conductor Robert Selley, who led the Municipal Orchestra there for years.

The Pipe Organ: The Largest in South Africa at the Time

One of the Feather Market Centre’s most remarkable physical assets is its historic pipe organ — purchased by the Port Elizabeth Town Council in 1892 from the Kimberley Exhibition, where it had been described as “the largest and most powerful instrument ever heard in South Africa.” The organ was built by Norman Bros and Beard of Norwich, England. On 15 June 1893, Frank Henry Bradley gave the inaugural recital on the new Town Organ. In September 1893, Roger Ascham gave another celebrated recital and went on to be appointed Town Organist on 1 January 1895 — a position from which he delivered over 1,000 organ recitals during his lifetime.

TripAdvisor visitors to the venue today still describe the organ as “amazing” in their reviews, alongside praise for the grand staircase — described as a “staircase to heaven” — and the Victorian architectural splendour of the building as a whole.

The Venues: Seven Rooms for Every Format and Scale

Feather Market Centre’s seven event spaces collectively accommodate everything from a 40-delegate boardroom workshop to a 700-person banquet or a 1,187-seat concert:

Main Auditorium — the centre’s flagship performance and conference space, accommodating 1,187 guests seated (cinema-style, with raked seating) or 550 banquet-style. The auditorium features a raised stage and is the premier concert and gala dinner venue in Gqeberha’s CBD.

Selley Hall — the original 1885 feather market building, now refurbished as the largest and oldest venue in the complex. The Selley Hall provides 1,800 m² of exhibition space across the hall and foyers — making it one of the Eastern Cape’s primary exhibition and trade show venues. In conference mode, it accommodates 100 delegates in schoolroom layout and is raked for 160.

City Hall Auditorium — schoolroom capacity of 160, raked.

Wool Exchange — schoolroom capacity of 100, raked — a space whose name directly references the site’s agricultural trading origins.

City Hall Reception Room — a flexible reception and smaller function space.

Gilbeys Suite — a breakaway room accommodating 40 delegates in schoolroom layout, adjoining the auditorium for pre-event drinks, breakaway sessions, or smaller functions.

Baakens Suite — a second breakaway room of equivalent size, also accommodating 40 delegates in schoolroom layout.

Overall conference capacities: 700 banquet / 450 conference / 450 schoolroom / 5 breakaway rooms.

Concerts, Productions, and Cultural Events

The Feather Market Centre’s musical and performing arts heritage runs deep. Freedom’s Children and The Troggs both played in the hall during the 1970s. The Municipal Orchestra under Robert Selley performed here across multiple decades. Today the venue continues to host concerts, theatre productions, awards ceremonies, and cultural events that position Gqeberha on the national performing arts map.

Location and Getting There

Feather Market Centre is at 86 Baakens Street (corner Military Road), Gqeberha Central, Gqeberha, Eastern Cape, 6001 — near the harbour and the Baakens River, in the historic heart of Gqeberha’s CBD. Disabled access is available throughout the venue.

Tel: 041 506 7431

For conference bookings, concert and event information, and exhibition space hire, visit the Feather Market Centre’s listing on the Nelson Mandela Bay Tourism website.

Explore more conference and event venues in Gqeberha through our Gqeberha event venues directory, or browse all Eastern Cape event venue listings for venues across the province.