Why you should visit these Swellendam museums

By Roxanne Reid
Not everyone is madly enthusiastic about history. They’ll wave off philosopher George Santayana’s words: ‘Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.’ I’m not one of them. So when I went to the Overberg and found three museums within spitting distance of each other, I was hooked. Here’s why you should visit these museums in Swellendam.

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Nowadays, Swellendam markets itself as ‘the Republic of Swellendam’ and unless you know your history it’s just a catchy phrase. You won’t know that the district did in fact rebel and declare itself a republic – if only for a very short time – way back in 1795.

The town’s most important museum, The Drostdy, dates back even further; it was built in 1747 and enlarged in 1813. Because it was both home and office of the Landdrost (magistrate of the district), it’s not surprising that it’s quite a coldly formal place. It does contain some lovely bits of furniture and I find the array of kitchen equipment intriguing.

The Drostdy served as the Landdrost's home and office from the 18th century; there's even a small court room

In charge the day we visited was Mimi Rothmann who has lived in Swellendam since she was six years old and whose mom worked in the museum. She had lots of insights to share, but I particularly enjoyed her stories about the museum’s ghosts. There’s a woman who walks up and down the passage and rocks a cradle in the bedroom. And there’s Jan Gysbert Steyn, who bought the property in 1846, after which it stayed in the family for nearly 100 years. Although his portrait glowers over the dining room, it’s a room at the back, where there was a small Mandela memorial exhibition during our visit, that’s haunted by his ghost.

Ms Rothmann pointed out the various floor treatments in the building, from wood, slate, peach pip and dung to lime-and-sand in the living room. ‘See that picture of the Landdrost?’ she asked, pointing a bony finger. ‘It’s one of Lady Anne Barnard’s. She stayed overnight here and drew him from behind because he was so ugly.’ These are the sort of intimate details that make museums so fascinating.

Mayville combines Cape Dutch and Cape Georgian architecture

Nita Steyn left a collection of furniture to the museum and this now makes up a large portion of the displays

Just down the road is Mayville, which was built in the mid 1850s but is now furnished in the late Victorian style. The late Ms Nita Steyn – yes, she was related to Jan Gybert the ghost – left the house and contents to the Drostdy museum in her will. It’s much smaller than the Drostdy and has more warmth about it, as if the owner has just stepped out into the garden, where there’s a gazebo and some lovely heritage roses.

The Langeberg mountains form a backdrop for the recreated Ambagswerf

Behind the office where you buy your entry ticket to the museum complex is the Old Gaol and Ambagswerf. Two of the cells off the courtyard have been opened to the public, one with a sickening display of old shackles and cat of nine tails, the other a windowless space where women were locked up instead of being flogged. I closed the door and the dark silence was complete. I could understand how someone would become either submissive or mad after a few days or weeks.

From a watermill and tannery to a smithy and wagon-maker's shop, the Ambagswerf reflects the crafts of old

The Ambagswerf (trades yard) behind the gaol isn’t actually old. It was built in the 1970s to exhibit tools used in the past by blacksmiths, coppersmiths, coopers and tanners. Any handyman will be intrigued by the uses of some of the tools. There’s also a water-mill, horse-mill and threshing floor. 

The tiny Bloemfontein Huisie in Railton

Set apart, far away over the railway line, in what is the Railton township of Swellendam, the Bloemfontein Huisie couldn’t be more different from the Drostdy. It’s an unpretentious little house that was built by Oupa Bloemfontein in 1922 for his wife and eight kids. The one-roomed house is so tiny that you’ll wonder how they all fitted.

It’s still belongs to the Bloemfontein family. When we knocked at the big house in the same yard to ask if we could see inside, the woman told us it was in poor repair – and she was right. The thatched ceiling was partly collapsed and leaking. The smell of mould filled the air and seeped from the whitewashed walls. There was an open hearth with a potbellied chimney on the outside, but little else. It used to be furnished in the style of those who lived there, but all furniture has been removed, probably to save it from the damp.

Given its historical status, I hope that repair and renovation is on horizon to preserve this piece of local history that rounds out Swellendam’s quartet of museums.

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