museums

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South African Navy Museum

Taking a walk around Simon's Town after our train ride from Kalk Bay during our summer holiday in December we "stumbled" upon the South African Navy Museum .  The museum is housed in and around the original Dockyard Magazine / Storehouse which dates back to 1743.  After 1810 when the Royal Navy moved its headquarters from Cape Town to Simon’s Town the building was extended to become the three-storey building it is today.  Just after coming through the entrance there is a number…

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30/04/2012
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Observatory Museum

Every now and then I find a couple of photos on the archives that I haven't posted and today is no different.  The Observatory museum in Grahamstown is a fascinating place and contains the only Victorian Camera Obscura in the Southern Hemisphere.  The building was bought by Henry Galpin in 1859 and extensive changes were made to it, including the addition of the camera obscura.  Galpin operated his watchmaker and jeweller's shop from the building and usually used to camera…

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24/11/2010
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Sukume Museum

The Sukume Human Dignity Centre next to the Walmer Township (Gqebera) consist of a creche, feeding scheme and hand craft project to assist people from the nearby township.  The centre recently started a small museum to help visitors understand the township and the culture of the Xhosa people.  They still have a lot of different plans for the centre and the museum, but as they do it out of their own pockets its a slow and ongoing project.

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13/11/2010
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Karoobos and Hofmeyr Museum

On the corner that the main road makes through the little town of Hofmeyr stands a big green "lady" that beckons you to a building that serves a welcoming ginger beer and koeksister to travellers through the Karoo.  Karoobos is what we would call in Afrikaans a real "plattelandse padstal" (country road stall).  They don't just serve the most delicious meals but also sell jams, homemade products and antiques.In the back of the building visitors would find the Hofmeyr Museum.  The…

7 Comments
09/11/2010
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Cradock attractions

Its been a year or two since my visit to Cradock here in the Eastern Cape, but I found a couple of pics of attractions in the town that I haven't posted before.The historic NG Moederkerk (Dutch Reformed Church)The church was completed in 1868 for the local Dutch Reformed congregation that was established in 1824, a mere 10 years after the town received it’s name. The design of the church was based on the design of "St. Martins-in-the-Field" in London's…

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28/08/2010
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Graaff Reinet Museums

The beautiful Karoo town of Graaff Reinet is South Africa's fourth oldest town. It has 220 heritage site (national monuments), more than any other town in South Africa and a number of these are magnificent examples of Cape Dutch architecture. The Graaff Reinet Museums take up some of these old Cape Dutch buildings and includes a fossil and rock art collection, period furniture and contemporary history exhibitions. The main gem in the museum crown must be Reinet House containing the…

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30/07/2010
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Ox wagons

I decided to start the week off with a nice varied Random ... theme post. The chosen Random ... theme is Ox Wagons. Ox wagons played an important roll in the early history of South Africa, in particular the Great Trek, and forms part of just about every museum exhibit throughout the country. They are specially evident around small towns and farms with ox wagon wheels often found at farm entrances. This ox wagon is on display outside the museum…

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12/07/2010
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CJ Langenhoven

When we visited Oudtshoorn in December I got to go to the museum in the home of the former Afrikaans writer CJ Langenhoven for the first time since I was in primary school. His house, Arbeidsgenot ("the pleasure of work") was left to "all people with a love for Afrikaans" by his widow after her death in 1950 and was opened as a museum in 1955. Cornelis Jakobus Langenhoven was born on 12 August 1873. He started out working as…

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08/06/2010