ColynB
03-07-07, 06:57
Unlike the UK, Museums in South Africa are quite pathetic in general. There are a couple of really top grade ones, but these are in the minority.
There are however, some small, almost private collections, that are worth a mention. One is the farm Doornbult near Hopetown, south of Kimberley.
A few years ago the new owner discovered a few Boer War odds and ends while out surveying her plot on horseback. The family became involved and eventually unearthed thousands of artefacts including live rounds, mess tins, opened food tins, Badges, Buttons and the ruins of what turned out to be a Boer War fort. It seems that the farm was used by the brits during the advance at the siege of Kimberley. There are rhe remains of a Concentration Camp, a Horpital and a Cemetery. In one location the also found a Field Oven. This was a hollowed out Termite Hill, and a Mess Tin was still in it. There is a small building displaying items that have been recovered.
Next has got to be the small Museum at Colesberg. This area was made famous by the Suffolk Regiment during the Boer War. The Museum contains many items from that battle including the gun trail from a field gun that a local farmer ploughed up. There are rifles, grenades and other various items. Of interest is the detonator from a Boer bomb. This is unusual as most were either destroyed by the Boers are lost in an explosion. The detorator is made from a rifle firing mechanism. The cut-off breech is inserted into the charge, the firing mechanism cocked and a cord attached to the trigger. Bang and Boom!
The last is the museum in Cape Town Castle. It is very involved and has information, uniforms, and weapons dating back to the Dutch East India days. Some may know that Cape Town Castle was the first place that radio was used for communication during the Boer War, there is a plaque commemorating this! For WWI boffins, the castle also houses the SA Infantry Cross that was recovered from Delville Wood.
Colyn
There are however, some small, almost private collections, that are worth a mention. One is the farm Doornbult near Hopetown, south of Kimberley.
A few years ago the new owner discovered a few Boer War odds and ends while out surveying her plot on horseback. The family became involved and eventually unearthed thousands of artefacts including live rounds, mess tins, opened food tins, Badges, Buttons and the ruins of what turned out to be a Boer War fort. It seems that the farm was used by the brits during the advance at the siege of Kimberley. There are rhe remains of a Concentration Camp, a Horpital and a Cemetery. In one location the also found a Field Oven. This was a hollowed out Termite Hill, and a Mess Tin was still in it. There is a small building displaying items that have been recovered.
Next has got to be the small Museum at Colesberg. This area was made famous by the Suffolk Regiment during the Boer War. The Museum contains many items from that battle including the gun trail from a field gun that a local farmer ploughed up. There are rifles, grenades and other various items. Of interest is the detonator from a Boer bomb. This is unusual as most were either destroyed by the Boers are lost in an explosion. The detorator is made from a rifle firing mechanism. The cut-off breech is inserted into the charge, the firing mechanism cocked and a cord attached to the trigger. Bang and Boom!
The last is the museum in Cape Town Castle. It is very involved and has information, uniforms, and weapons dating back to the Dutch East India days. Some may know that Cape Town Castle was the first place that radio was used for communication during the Boer War, there is a plaque commemorating this! For WWI boffins, the castle also houses the SA Infantry Cross that was recovered from Delville Wood.
Colyn