Museums In Makhanda
Friday, 6th September 2024
Discover the Makana region through its museum trail, where each stop reveals layers of history, culture, and heritage. Whether you're a history buff or just curious about local traditions, this trail offers an immersive experience into the area's rich past, from colonial stories to modern-day heroes.
Cultural Significance
The Makana region is not only rich in historical events but also in cultural diversity. The indigenous Xhosa people's stories are intertwined with colonial and modern narratives, creating a layered understanding of local identity. Through these museums, visitors can appreciate the role that culture, art, and storytelling have played in keeping history alive.
A Living History
Embark on this museum trail to see, hear, and feel the rich history of the Makana region. Each museum offers a unique perspective, ensuring you leave with a deeper appreciation of the people, events, and cultures that shaped this fascinating area.
Planning Your Trail
To make the most of the museum trail, set aside a full day or two. The sites are conveniently located within close distance of each other, making it easy to hop between them. Guided tours are available at select museums, offering deeper insights and behind-the-scenes anecdotes. Don’t forget to visit the local cafes, resturants and markets (which normally take place month end) along the way for a taste of Makana’s modern-day vibrancy.
Let's start exploring!
ALBANY MUSEUM COMPLEX
The Albany Museum Complex, established in 1855, is the second oldest museum in Africa!
The Complex's components include the following buildings: Natural Sciences, History (Somerset Street), Observatory Museums (Bathurst Street), which are open to the public, the Provost Prison (Lucas Avenue) and Fort Selwyn (Gunfire Hill, Settlers Monument) which are only accessible by appointment, and the Drostdy Arch, Rhodes University's entrance on Somerset Street.
The Museum Complex contains an Education Department that offers materials and educational programmes in cultural studies, history, and natural science. Throughout the year, they provide public lectures, open days, walking tours, and other special events.
The Graham's Town Medical-Chirurgical Society (later the Literary, Scientific, and Medical Society) created the original Albany Museum in 1855.
The Museum has since grown into a complex of separate museums which document the full spectrum of the social and natural environment, with particular reference to the Eastern Cape.
Hours : Monday-Friday: 09h00-16h00
Entrance fee : Adults : R20.00, Children : R10.00
Children in school uniform: Free entry
Parking : Street parking outside on Somerset Street.
Tel : (046) 622 2312
For group visits to all museums, please call ahead of time to make bookings.
NATURAL SCIENCE MUSEUM
Established 1855. (A component of the Albany Museum Complex).
Somerset Street, Makhanda.
Tel : (046) 622 2312
The Museum is the oldest component of the Albany Museum Complex with a theme covering natural science and the natural history of the Eastern Cape. Earth sciences, archaeology, insects, birds, mammals, and plants are included. Notable items in the collection include a working Foucault pendulum and examples of real meteorites and a reconstruction of dinosaurs and their footprints. Research conducted at the Museum embraces the early life histories of freshwater fishes, water quality and management. Come and view fishing equipment that was used in the last 200 years in the Traditional Fishing Methods Gallery. Another exciting display to visit is the Xhosa Plants Exhibition, where you can get to learn about indigenous plants and their many uses.
To view these exhibitions and many more, below are the visiting times:
Hours : Monday-Friday: 09h00-16h00
Entrance fee: Adults : R20.00, Children: R10.00
Children in school uniform: Free entry
Parking : Street parking outside on Somerset Street.
Tel : (046) 622 2312
HISTORY MUSEUM
Established 1965. (A component of the Albany Museum Complex, formerly the 1820 Settlers' Memorial Museum).
Somerset Street, Makhanda.
Tel : (046) 622 2312
The History Museum formerly focused on the contribution of the 1820 British Settlers and their descendants to the history of Southern Africa, but it now encompasses all the peoples who live - or have lived - in the Eastern Cape. Its collections cover agricultural equipment, domestic furniture, costume and textiles, ceramics, glass, silver, toys and dolls, militaria, medals, coins, documents and genealogical information relating to the British Settlers. The Contact and Conflict Gallery, now under restoration, charts the history and cultural heritage of the Frontier from 1812 to 1910.
The ethnographic collection focuses on Southern Nguni Peoples and features the Kings who have governed amaXhosa nation from King Tshawe as well as showcasing the traditional dress of the amaXhosa.
There is a small art collection of paintings of the Eastern Cape from the mid-1800s to 1900s by painters during the Frontier Wars such as Thomas Baines and a classical archaeological collection which emphasises Ancient Egypt and shows a well-preserved mummy.
Hours : Monday-Friday: 09h00-16h00
Entrance fee : Adults : R20.00, Children : R10.00
Children in school uniform: Free entry
Parking : Street parking outside on Somerset Street.
Tel : (046) 622 2312
OBSERVATORY MUSEUM
Established 1982. (A component of the Albany Museum Complex).
Parking : 10 Bathurst Street, Grahamstown
Tel : (046) 622 2312
Monday-Friday : 09:00-16:00
Saturday : Open Fornightly
Sunday : Closed
Public Holidays : Closed
This building was originally a 19th Century jeweller's shop and family home. Its connection with the identification of the Eureka, South Africa's first authenticated diamond, in 1867, prompted De Beers Consolidated Mines Limited to purchase the building and restore it in 1981-1982, to commemorate the beginnings of the country's diamond industry.
It was opened on 02 February 1982 by Mr H F Oppenheimer of De Beers and was formally presented to the Museum Trustees to become part of the Albany Museum's Cultural History division.
The original owner-designer of the Observatory , Henry Carter Galpin, was a watchmaker and jeweller who lived in Grahamstown from 1850 until his death in 1886. His special interests - optics, astronomy and the measuring of time - are impressively reflected in this gracious multi-storeyed building.
In the topmost tower is the only Victorian Camera Obscura in the Southern Hemisphere. Through the system of lenses and mirror in the revolving turret in its roof, this ingenious device projects an enchanting full colour live panorama of the City and its activities onto a flat viewing surface in a darkened room.
Camera Obscura Viewing times are as follows:
Monday – Friday
Morning tour times:
09:30 – 10:00 am
11:00 – 11:30 am
12:00 – 12:30 pm
Afternoon tour times:
2:30 – 3:00 pm
3:30 – 4:00 pm
The best viewing time is between 10:00am and 12:00pm
In case of rain or wind, the camera obscura will not be operated.
Beneath it, Galpin built a Meridian Room where he could ascertain the precise time of local noon - 14 minutes behind South African standard time.
The nearby Telescope Room contains his 8-inch reflector telescope which was initially installed in the rooftop observatory, from which the house got its name.
On the Victorian Floor, five rooms of fine furnishings recapture the atmosphere of an upper middle-class home of the time. Display panels detail the award-winning restoration project which returned the building to Galpin's original plan.
The Diamond Story display tells the story of the identification of South Africa's first authenticate diamond and a full-size replica of the Eureka diamond is its sparkling focal point.
In the basement a Victorian kitchen and dining room have been restored and an herb garden adds interest out-of-doors.
THE PROVOST PRISON
Established 1983. (A satellite of the Albany Museum Complex).
Lucas Avenue, Makhanda.
Tel : (046) 622 2312
In 1835, after the Sixth Frontier War, the Governor of the Cape, Sir Benjamin D'Urban, ordered the building of a fortified barracks and military prison on the Drostdy grounds. The Provost Prison, a Bentham design called a 'panopticon', was completed in 1838. The first and only prisoners it ever housed were mutineers from Frazer's Camp.
Use of the Provost declined with the removal of the military headquarters to King William's Town in the mid-1870's, but it was again in use during the Anglo-Boer War.
In 1904 it was transferred to the newly established Rhodes University. Mr F L Sturrock carried out a major restoration in 1982 when the building was handed over to the Trustees of the Albany Museum. The outstanding feature of the building is its architecture. There are no displays, but it houses coffee shop. The operating hours are as follows:
Hours : Monday – Saturday: 09h00-17h00
Sunday: 08h00 to 14h00
Entrance fee : Free
Parking : Somerset Street and Lucas Avenue
FORT SELWYN
Established 1977. (A satellite of the Albany Museum Complex).
Gunfire Hill, Makhanda.
(046) 622 2312
Fort Selwyn in situated on Gunfire Hill overlooking Makhanda. It was named after Captain (later Major) Charles Jasper Selwyn of the corps of Royal Engineers.
The Fort, which was completed in 1836, is built in the shape of an asymmetrical seven-pointed star, a shape which would enable the maximum number of men and guns to fire from the walls.
In 1845 a semaphore mast was erected as part of a telegraph system that was intended to connect Grahamstown with Fort Beaufort and Fort Peddie. This system was never very successful as the masts were often obscured from each other by mist or haze.
The barrack building is divided into a barrack-room and an orderly-room. It is fitted with shutters and loopholes for a last-ditch defence - an unnecessary precaution as it turned out, since the Fort was never attacked. The orderly-room has been furnished to reflect a British Army orderly-room of the 1840s. In the barrack-room a display of weapons of the Frontier Wars and portable furniture used by British officers on the Eastern Frontier, is to be seen.
Hours : By appointment.
Entrance fee : Free
Parking : Ample parking is available in the car park of the 1820 Settlers National Monument.
Amazwi South African Museum of Literature
Established 1974
25A Worcester Street, Makhanda
Tel : 046 622 7042
Established 1974, Amazwi South African Museum of Literature is the new name of the National English Literary Museum. The museum now has a mandate to collect literary artefacts from all the linguistic communities of South Africa.
Special services offered : Amazwi aims to play its part through its education and public programmes. In-house educational programmes, as well as mobile services are offered in order to enrich the diverse South African communities from various backgrounds. These programmes enable learners, teachers and members of the community to meaningfully engage in issues affecting their daily lives, developments and their well-beings in order to better their livelihood.
Guided tours by an expert curator at Amazwi are available if booked at least one week in advance.
Disability & Access:
- Museum is accessible by wheelchair
- Designated parking
- Some audio exhibits
Hours : Weekdays: Weekdays 9.00-13.00 and 14.00-16.30
Weekends and public holidays by appointment
Entrance fee : Free, donations welcome.
Parking available.
EASTERN STAR GALLERY
Established 1985. (A satellite of the Amazwi South African Museum of Literature).
4 Anglo African Street, Makhanda.
Tel :(046) 622 7042
The Eastern Star gallery takes its name from a newspaper established in Grahamstown in 1871 which was the forerunner of the Argus Company's famous present-day daily, The Star of Johannesburg. Initially it was believed that the Eastern Star had been produced in the building, which is now the museum, but subsequent research has shown that it dates back to the 1860's and has no direct connection with the Eastern Star. The restored 120-year-old Wharfdale printing press is a sister model to the one on which the Eastern Star was produced between 1871 and 1887. The Museum features printing machinery and other historical items related to printing, including John Fairbairn's editorial desk.
Special services offered : Assistance to local schools and tour groups, by prior arrangement. The Museum has an exhibition showing the restoration of the building and Wharfdale press. Demonstrations are given of the press in operation.
Hours : By appointment only.
Entrance charge : Free
Parking : High Street; limited parking in Anglo African Street.
INTERNATIONAL LIBRARY OF AFRICAN MUSIC
Established 1954.
Prince Alfred street, Makhanda. (Follow ILAM signs from gate opposite Rhodes University Theatre.)
Tel : (046) 603 8557
The International Library of African Music (ILAM), situated on the Rhodes University campus, is a research, publishing and teaching centre for African traditional music. Although not strictly a museum, it has a collection of more than two hundred traditional African musical instruments, many in playing order. These are regularly used for teaching. ILAM also has a variety or recordings of traditional African music, books and catalogues.
Special services offered : Regular university courses are offered in African Music. Tuition also offered to other individuals or groups, by prior arrangement.
Hours : By appointment only.
Entrance fee : By donation.
Parking : Limited parking on site, but ample nearby. No facility for buses.
SOUTH AFRICAN INSTITUTE OF AQUATIC BIODIVERSITY
Established 1946.
Somerset Street, Grahamstown. Tel : (046) 603 5800
The South African Institute of Aquatic Biodiversity (SAIAB) formally JLB Smith Institute of Ichthyology, is the leading centre for the study of fishes in southern Africa. It began as a research department of Rhodes University and was declared a Cultural Institution in 1980. Now, it is a national facility of the National Research Foundation (NRF). With a significant amount of funding from the Department of Science and Innovation and the National Research Foundation, SAIAB has developed several high-level platforms capable of undertaking research in various environments; these have positioned the Institute as an innovative leader in aquatic biodiversity research.
A small museum in the Institute focuses on the story of the coelacanth and there is a marine aquarium in the foyer.
The Institute houses the National Collection of Fishes, which is the largest such collection in the southern hemisphere and one of the biggest world-wide. Noteworthy specimens include two adult coelacanths, a coelacanth pup, a six gilled stingray and an extinct pipefish.
The size of the collection consists of approximately 122 466 lots of fish specimens (containing at least 1 012 552 individual fish specimens) which includes 2 444 types, 436 families, 2 250 genera, 5 987 species, and over 60 000 associated tissue samples from southern Africa and its surrounding oceans, and elsewhere in the world.
Special services offered: School groups, tour groups, lectures, slide shows and informal seminars by appointment with the Education Officer. Workshops and holiday activities also offered.
Hours : Monday-Friday
Entrance fee : Free, donations welcomed.
Parking : Ample street parking alongside.
