The Ditsong National Cultural History Museum. (Photo: Janice du Plessis/Maroela Media)
The cultural-historical heritage treasure of the Ditsong National Museum of Cultural History is safely stored and cared for, despite the dilapidated condition in which the first museum building in Boom Street currently stands.
Maroela Media can confirm this, after criticism and concern about this issue was raised from the community.
Maroela Media earlier reported on questions raised by Leanne de Jager, the DA’s spokesperson for art and culture in Gauteng, about the destination and condition of the objects from the old Boomstraat museum. There was also a report on the new Cultural History Museum and the facilities in which the museum collections are stored. After an in-depth investigation, many of the questions surrounding this part of South Africa’s cultural heritage collection are answered in this article and the museum’s complete story is told.
Museum’s timeline
The beginning of the National Cultural History Museum’s collection goes as far back as the foundation of the State Museum in 1892. The State Museum was a general museum with objects from nature and the cultural space. The very first home was in a room of the Old Council Hall, after which it was moved to the Market Square (later Strijdomplein and currently Lilian Ngoyi Square).
However, the museum had to get its own building, and for that it was decided on a site in Boomstraat.
The building was ready to be occupied in 1899, but the move was hampered by the Anglo-Boer War. During the war it was used by the British as a military hospital, but after 1902 it was turned into a museum. It included the zoo, the cultural history collection, the natural history collection and the geological collection.
Sculptures in the art store. (Photo: Provided)
Soon the building became too small for all the historical artifacts, and the cultural history and natural history collections were separated. The natural history artefacts were moved to the new Transvaal Museum (built in 1910), where they are still stored, cared for and exhibited in the beautiful old Paul Kruger Street building.
Back in Boomstraat, the collection of cultural-historical artefacts grew so much that the building was soon too small again. Numerous attempts were made to enlarge the building, but the collections eventually had to be moved to other buildings right across Pretoria.
For years and through many ups and downs, the collections wandered between buildings, until in 1996 – after the museum had been closed to the public in 1992 in preparation for the move – it was finally consolidated safely under one roof as a complete cultural-historical collection for the first time.
This after the collections had to move 11 times over the course of 45 years.
(Photo: Annelise Lange Photography)
Cultural treasures in safe keeping
Tersia Perregil, Ditsong’s manager of heritage assets, confirms that in the 1990s the museum and collections were moved from Boomstraat to the old Mint building in Visagiestraat, because the Boomstraat building was no longer suitable for the proper preservation of heritage assets, as prescribed by the international convention of museums, Unesco and South African legislation.
“The Department of Public Works and Innovation redesigned and modernized the old Mint building to meet museological standards. The entire museum collection was then moved there.”
She says that museum staff packed up and moved the complete collections themselves, according to the guidelines and standards laid down for such a move.
The ceramics exhibition. (Photo: Provided)
During Maroela Media’s visit to the storage spaces in January this year, Mariana Zdara, senior conservator of the Ditsong group, confirmed that around 2.4 million items are stored in this building. Each one is numbered and appears on a database. The museum collections are also regularly audited.
All the objects that were in the old State Museum building are now part of the collections that are preserved in the new Cultural History Museum in Visagie Street. Any person can view the collections, if such a visit has been arranged in advance. Some of the objects are also part of the exhibitions in the new museum.
Rows and rows of wooden furniture are preserved. (Photo: Provided)
Employees tell
Mauritz Naudé, a heritage consultant who worked at the Cultural History Museum for 39 years until his retirement in 2020, says that in his time the State Museum building was far too small to house the various collections and they had to be housed in 15 different buildings in Pretoria. “When the water pipes in the building burst a second time, there was no longer any doubt that the museum had to move.”
As an interim arrangement, the staff and some of the collections were moved to the old residence Devilliershof at the then Normal College in Sunnyside. At the same time the Mint was privatized. “The Department of Public Works then proposed that the Cultural History Museum and all the collections move there. It was actually ideal, because the building was already designed for high security and was further renovated and improved by the state according to international museum standards,” says Naudé.
When the museum moved to Visagie Street’s renovated Mint building in 1996, the old State Museum building was made available to the zoo. There was talk that the zoo wanted to demolish the building, but it was then already a declared national (now provincial) monument which still may not be demolished.
Annemarie Carelsen, a museum expert and another employee of Ditsong who has worked at the National Cultural History Museum in Boom Street since 1982 and was involved in the move of the collection to Visagie Street, says that in her early years the cultural history collection was divided between eight different buildings in Pretoria for safekeeping. Boomstraat’s museum was the main office and exhibition space and also housed certain collections.
Framed artwork in the art store. (Photo: Provided)
“In the exhibition spaces was a good anthropological exhibition of which the San was part. Archaeological exhibitions included Egypt and Peru – the mummy was part of it.”
Regarding the mummy that so many people remember, Perregil explains that the museum complies with international standards for the preservation of human remains and accordingly preserves the mummy as part of the collection.
Carelsen goes on to say that there were period exhibitions of, for example, what the Castle in Cape Town looked like inside and an exhibition of firearms which were displayed strictly according to weapons regulations. Three rooms contained the Louis Botha, Jan Smuts and Hertzog collections.
“The Botha collection is still preserved in Visagestraat’s storage spaces. The Smuts collection is now at the Smutshuis in Irene, while Hertzog’s family has taken over his collection. The Russian bratina is preserved in the Krugerhuis museum, together with the rest of the Russian collection and all the other tributes that were sent to South Africa after Paul Kruger’s death,” she explains.
The Smutshuis. (Photo: FAK Provided)
What about the old building?
For some experts, the old museum building itself is not that important. In addition, additions have been made over the years, and all the valuable cultural-historical objects have been moved. The only artifact that was too difficult to move is the old ship anchor in front of the building. It still lies there today.
Yet one of the questions is: Whose responsibility is the building now?
According to Perregil, the building is no longer the responsibility of the Ditsong Museum Group and is managed as state property by the Department of Public Works.
Adrian de Villiers, from the Department of Public Works’ heritage advisory board, explains that the building does belong to his department, but that the zoo has the option of using it. Inquiries to the zoo about how it will restore and use the building have not yet been answered.
De Villiers says that the old State Museum building is a heritage building that can be restored and redecorated for a new purpose.
“It was designed by the state architect Sytze Wierda and built in Wilhelmina style. It forms part of a larger group of Pretoria buildings in the same style, including the Old Council Hall, the Palace of Justice, the Old Mint and the Old Nederlandsche Bank, all on Kerkplein, as well as two buildings in Paul Kruger Street. These buildings reflect the Dutch influence on the city’s architecture during Paul Kruger’s presidency and their contribution to the city’s architecture is of cultural and historical value,” he says.
(Photo: Janice du Plessis/Maroela Media)
According to heritage specialist Leonie Marais, who worked at the Department of Public Works in 1999 and currently serves as a councilor of Gauteng’s provincial heritage council, the old building has been empty since the museum moved and has never been maintained. The Pretoria Zoo applied to use it in 2009, because they wanted to set it up as an educational space, but nothing ever came of it.
“In the public service, it works in such a way that any public building must first find a user before it is considered for restoration. If a user, for example the department of art and culture, has been approved, experts and contractors must first be found and presented to the department of public works. This is a process that takes years,” she says.
She says that when considering the restoration of an old building, it must first be determined whether that building is important enough to save and restore. Another consideration is whether there aren’t other buildings that are of greater heritage importance and should instead be restored.
Still, there are ways in which a building like the dilapidated State Museum building’s heritage value can be commemorated, without having to restore the building at millions of rands. Marais mentions that the facade can be retained, for example, while the rest of the building can be rebuilt for modern use.
Another possibility is to erect a monument that tells the story of the first State Museum, even if the building no longer stands there.
“Such alternatives will do more justice to the story of the first State Museum than the dilapidated building does, and they will not cost as much money as restoration.”
(Photo: Janice du Plessis/Maroela Media)
International standards despite challenges
Karin Scott of the public archaeological organization HeritageworX has received numerous inquiries from the public regarding the old State Museum and the cultural history collection, following media coverage of it.
She explains that it is important for the public to be critical of everything they read, especially when it comes to heritage matters, because sometimes it stirs up emotions unnecessarily – and wrongly.
“South Africa’s official museums comply with international standards of heritage conservation and are taken on board if this is not the case. We form part of the international network and are audited annually to ensure that we adhere to legislation and standards.”
It is true that money and capacity for heritage conservation in our country is extremely limited. This makes it difficult to renew museum exhibitions and implement new plans on a regular basis. Still, Scott believes there are many people in the heritage circle who are doing excellent work under difficult circumstances.
She appeals to the community to support the heritage initiatives that are being launched.
“Attend the talks, tours and functions that are offered. That way, you stay up-to-date on your heritage and you also help the museums and institutions financially. We can each take responsibility for our heritage and help preserve it by supporting initiatives, rather than just getting angry about every bit of bad news that may be spread out of context.”
Contact Tersia at (email protected) or Mariana at (email protected) for inquiries or visits to the Cultural History Museum and the stores.
