... our long awaited trip to the museum. This time we had an appointment!
We caught EVERY traffic light red on the way there! And then we couldn't find the door to get in. Luckily we got found because it was fascinating in there. And we had a very nice guide called Carolina show us around.
The area was first populated by pre-historic man, in fact, a short journey up the road gets you to the Cradle of Mankind
The first European settlers in the area were mostly Dutch farmers who had made the incredible journey from the Cape Province on the other side of the country called the Groot Trek (1834 - 1840.) They came by ox wagen and were called Voortrekkers (Pioneers is the closest word Fi can think of). Fi says it must have been an absolutely horrific journey, she hates doing it in a car, on a tar road, with every possible modern convenience. The though of hacking your way through the unforgiving bushes and terrain and the relentless heat is too much to contemplate Not forgetting the wildlife, lions and snakes and such!)
Any way, they settled here and did their best to survive.
A while later, a major gold find boosted the area in to becoming more prosperous. The museum shows the living areas from the Voortrekkers (bare and minimal), to the Victorian age (busy, fusyy and ornate), to the Edwardian age (a little more refind and less fussy but still decorative leading up to the art deco period) Man, I am so smart for a dog! I will quip yapping on and show you what you REALLY want to see, me and Dilbert posing on EVERYTHING!
This is Fred and Harry Strubens who discovered the gold. There is a street named after them called 'Fred And Harry" and Fi shops in Strubens Valley! Okay, I will shush now...
You need big muscles to make bread in this... Har har har! It is a mould for making GOLD bars...
They made soap and candles from animal fat, nothing went to waste. It looks like cheese but this is soap... the candle moulds are on the shelf above.
Here we have a small potjie (pot) for making meals (still used today!), a very large pot for the smelly job of turning animal fat into soap, a kettle to call the pot black, and a coffee bean roaster.
A leather working station - like I said, nothing went to waste...
The houses were made from mud mostly, with a reed roof, I nearly went wild when I sniffed the floor (Hey! I AM a dog you know, I sniff things...) It was CATTLE DUNG!!! Like I keep saying, NOTHING went to waste! Peach pips were used for both decorative purposes and also traction... dry cow poop is slippy stuff!
Two things every good family had: A bible (the ONLY book in the house) and bottomless coffee...
This one is dated 1699... around the time Fi was born, har har har.... oops, that was 1969!
Bath time:
An original ToyVoyager!
A model ox wagon that a little boy would have played with...
A.... drool.... "dolosse" (knuckle bone)...drool... ox wagon... who'd REALLY notice if one row went missing? II have the creepy feeling someone is staring at me...
A little embroidered bonnet. They were high fashion at the time, and served to protect from the harsh African sun.