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4. Gauteng museums

The following is an overview of most of the Gauteng museums in South Africa by location, including descriptions, contact details and website addresses, where available.

Gauteng is geographically the smallest but economically the most significant of South Africa's provinces.

With a modern first world infrastructure it is a province of immense vitality, diversity and, above all, of opportunity.

Museums in the Eastern Cape province by location,...





The entrance hall of the Transvaal museum in Pretoria - Gauteng museums in South Africa
Photo: Antonio Zugaldia

Johannesburg

The ABSA Museum aims to preserve the 110-year history of the Amalgamated Banks of SA group. It houses a unique and very valuable coin and banknote collection. It also covers numismatics, financial history and economic literacy. The museum is the only one of its kind in South Africa.
Gauteng museums in South Africa
187 Fox St, Johannesburg
Tel: (011) 350-4167 (Dr Piet Snyman or Elizabeth Masangane)
Fax: (011) 350-4964
Tues: 8:00-13:00

The Adler Museum of Medicine details both the history of medicine in general and its application in South Africa. It is housed in the Director's House, a national monument designed by Sir Herbert Baker. Among its attractions are a display showing the tools of the sangoma or traditional healer's trade, equipment that was used to make drugs in the early 1900s, and doctors' and dentists' surgeries -- including a century-old dentist's drill.
cnr Hospital and De Korte St, Hillbrow (in the grounds of the South African Institute for Medical Research)
Gauteng museums in South Africa
Tel: (011)489.9480
Fax: (011)489.9001
Web: http://www.wits.ac.za/museums/adler.htm
Mon-Fri: 9:00-16:00

AECI Dynamite Factory Museum housed in the 1895 residence of a mining official, records the history of explosives, with particular emphasis on their use in the mining industry.
1 Main Street, Modderfontein
Tel: (011) 606-3206
Fax: (011)606-3120
Mon and Fri: 10:00-14:00
Wed: 14:00-16:30
After hours by arrangement

The Apartheid Museum, which opened its doors to visitors in November 2001 and will open officially in March 2002, sets out by means of blown-up photographs, artefacts, newspaper clippings, and film footage, to portray graphically the apartheid story. As visitors, carrying their entry card which identifies them as either "white" or "non-white", move through the rooms they are assailed by the sights and sounds of the apartheid era - the violence, the suffering, the anger. They follow the path of the country through decades of oppression to the birth of democracy.
Gauteng museums in South Africa
Adjacent to Gold Reef City, Northern Parkway Road, Ormonde
Tel: (011) 309-4700

The Bensusan Museum of Photography has a world-class collection showing both the history of photography and modern developments. The Photo Gallery has changing exhibitions.
4th level, MuseuMAfrica, 121 Bree Street, Newtown
Tel: (011) 833-5624
Fax: (011) 833-5636
Tues-Sun: 09:00-17:00
Sat morning and Wed afternoon

The displays at the Bernberg Museum of Fashion explain why and how clothing has changed and how the fashions of the past influence those of today.
Gauteng museums in South Africa
cnr Duncombe Rd and Jan Smuts Ave, Forest Town
Tel: (011) 646-0416
Tues-Sat: 09:00-13:00; 13:30-17:00

The Bernard Price Institute for Palaeontological Research, also known as the James Kitching Gallery, is the only museum in SA dedicated to fossils. Some of the most important fossils of prehistoric reptiles, dinosaurs and mammals discovered in South Africa are on view. Two of the highlights of the exhibit are Fred and Fang, two life-sized dinosaurs reconstructed from fossils.
Gauteng museums in South Africa
Van Riet Lowe Building, East Campus, University of the Witwatersrand, 1 Jan Smuts Avenue
Tel: (011) 717-6680
Fax: (011) 403-1423
E-mail: 106sjr@cosmos.wits.ac.za
Mon-Fri: 8:00-16:30

The Bleloch Geological Museum houses a magnificent collection of rocks and minerals used to study geology, geophysics, planetary science and meteorite studies, environmental earth science, crystallography, mineralogy and palaeontology.
Gauteng museums in South Africa
Geosciences Building, East Campus, University of the Witwatersrand
Tel: (011) 717-6665
Fax: (011) 339-1697
Cell: 082 824-7409
E-mail: 163mck@cosmos.wits.ac.za

The collection in the CE Moss Herbarium includes approximately 100,000 specimens, mostly from South Africa, but also from further afield.
School of Animal, Plant and Environmental Studies, University of the Witwatersrand
Tel: (011) 717-6467
Fax: (011) 403-1429
E-mail: herbarium@gecko.wits.ac.za

The Gold Reef City theme park is a recreation of turn-of-the-century Johannesburg, when prospectors poured into the area following the discovery of gold in the 1890s. With its Victorian houses and geological displays, it offers many fascinating insights into life in Johannesburg long before the technological age. Underground tours take the visitor beneath the surface, down Shaft No 14, to see original mining techniques as well as more modern methods.
Gauteng museums in South Africa
Nothern Parkway Road, Ormonde
Tel: (011) 248-6800
E-mail: gold@goldreefcity.co.za
Tues-Sun: 09:30-17:00
Closed: Mondays except during school and public holidays

The Hector Petersen Museum, which will open in June 2002, will commemorate the 566 people who died in the student uprising that followed the events of June 16, 1976. Named for the young boy who was the first person shot by police on the day that changed South Africa, the museum will contain one room devoted entirely to June 16. The focus will be on the social context of Soweto, the political climate, the language issue that sparked the revolt, and national and international reactions to the events.
Orlando West, Soweto.

The James Hall Transport Museum is the largest comprehensive land transport museum in Southern Africa. Exhibits range from horse drawn and steam vehicles to motor powered engines. Among the exhibits is a collection of maritime museum models.
Pioneers' Park, Rosettenville Rd, La Rochelle
Tel: (011) 435-9718
Fax: (011) 435-9821
Tues-Sun: 09:00-17:00

The Madiba Freedom Museum traces the political history of South Africa's beloved former president Nelson Mandela, also known as Madiba. Exhibits cover many aspects of the freedom struggle while photographs capture the mood and events of the times.
Erikson Diamond Centre, Monument Rd, Kempton Park
Tel: (011) 970-1355/69

The Mandela Museum is housed in what was once the home of Nelson Mandela which has been declared a National Monument.
Gauteng museums in South Africa
Dube, Soweto
Tel: (011) 982-5552

MuseuMAfricA focuses on the history of the area stretching from the Zambezi River southwards to the Cape of Good Hope, starting from the Stone Age and moving through to today. Incorporating various aspects such as geology, anthropology, history and archaeology, the museum's large collections include photographs, prints and geological specimens. The museum forms part of the Newtown Cultural Precinct, a cosmopolitan hub reflecting the wide diversity of South African society.
121 Bree St, Newtown
Tel: (011)833.5624/5/6/7
Tues-Sun: 9:00-17:00

The South African National Museum of Military History is a military collection of international status comprising aircraft, uniforms, ordnance, medals, armoured fighting vehicles, military art, and so on. It offers adults a fascinating look at all forms of war vehicles and weapons, while captivating children with the visual spectacle of its displays, from planes to trains.
22 Erlswold Way, Saxonwold
Tel: (011) 646-5513
Fax: (011) 646-5256
Daily: 09:00-16:30

The SA Breweries Museum traces all aspects of the history of brewing.
15 President St, Newtown
Tel: (011) 836-4900 The University of the Witwatersrand Zoology Museum, the only natural history museum in the city of Johannesburg, contains the largest collection of embryological slides in the southern hemisphere - some 40 000 in all - while the total collection exceeds 60,000 specimens.
Gauteng museums in South Africa
First floor, Old Education Building, East Campus, University of the Witwatersrand
Tel: (011) 717-6464
University of the Witwatersrand Zoology Museum
Web: http://www.wits.ac.za/museums/zoo.htm
E-mail: museum@gecko.biol.wits.ac.za
Mon-Fri: 8:30-16:30

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Roodepoort

The Roodepoort Museum focuses on the discovery of gold in Gauteng and the development of Roodepoort from mining camp to city. It also explores the geological history of the Witwatersrand basin. Exhibits include a pioneer farmhouse, dating from the mid-1800s, a Victorian house from the beginning of the 1900s, and domestic interiors reflecting the 1920s and 1930s.
Gauteng museums in South Africa
Civic Centre, Christiaan de Wet Rd, Florida Park
Tel: (011) 761-0225/9
Fax: (011) 674-4043
E-mail: aletts@wgt.org.za
Tues-Fri: 9:30-16:30
Sun: 14:00-17:00

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Soshanguve

The Tswaing Crater Museum is at the site of one of South Africa's three meteorite impact sites and is South Africa's only crater museum and its first "environ-museum". A sizeable 1.4km in diameter, the crater marks the spot where a meteorite crashed to earth some 220,000 years ago. Tswaing was a favoured hunting ground of man between 150,000 and 300,000 years ago during the Middle Stone Age and many artefacts have been found in the area, including tools and weapons.
Gauteng museums in South Africa
Soutpan Rd, Soshanguve (32km north of Onderstepoort)
Tel: (012) 790-2302
Fax: (012) 790-2302
Cell: (082)654.7084
E-mail: nchm@nchm.co.za
Web: http://home.global.co.za/~nchm/tswindex.htm
Guided group crater visit daily from 8:30-16:00 - book in advance

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Pretoria

The African Window is a cultural museum dedicated to the preservation and communication of the culture and heritage of all South Africans. It aims to explore cultural diversity and commonalities, and to link the present with the past to offer a better understanding of both. It has access to a collection of about three million objects which are displayed in a variety of permanent and temporary exhibitions. The African Window works with institutions and community-based organsiations to host film festivals, arts and crafts exhibitions, seminars, conferences, festivals and other cultural events.
Visagie St, between Bosman and Schubart Sts, Pretoria
Tel: (012) 324-6082
Fax: (012) 328-5173
Cell: 083 271-5759
E-mail: awindow1@nchm.co.za

Coin World at the South African Mint showcases South Africa's rich coin heritage. The oldest working mint press in the world - the "Oom Paul" - is still striking coins.
Gauteng museums in South Africa
Old Johannesburg Rd, Gateway, Centurion.
Tel: (012) 677-2460
Fax: (012) 677-2828
E-mail: numismatics@samint.co.za
Web: http://www.samint.co.za/coinmus.htm
Mon-Sun: 09:00-15:30

Built in 1884, Paul Kruger's House commemorates the life of the former president of the Zuid Afrikaansche Republiek. The interior has been faithfully recreated to look exactly as it did when President Kruger lived in it more than a century ago.
1 km west of Church Square, opp. Kruger Church, Church Street
Phone: (012) 326-9172
Fax: (012) 341-6146
Web: http://home.global.co.za/~nchm/khindex.htm
E-mail: nchm@nchm.co.za
Mon-Fri: 8:30-16:00
Weekends and Public Holidays: 9:00-16:00

The Museum of Anthropology and Archaeology at the University of South Africa houses 10 collections and about 27,000 objects reflecting the cultural history of southern Africa, including Ndebele and Xhosa artefacts, pottery, and Stone Age and Iron Age objects.
Gauteng museums in South Africa
Room 4-160, Theo van Wijk Building, University of South Africa (Unisa), Muckleneuk Ridge
Web: http://www.unisa.ac.za/dept/vir/mmuseum.html
Tel: (012) 429-6297
Fax: (012) 429-6091
E-mail: krugee1@alpha.unisa.ac.za
Mon-Fri: 8:00-16:00

The Mapungubwe Collection at the University of Pretoria features remarkable works from the largely forgotten kingdom of Mapungubwe that flourished near the confluence of the Limpopo and Shashe Rivers between 1000 and 1300 AD.
Old Arts Building, Main Campus, University of Pretoria, Lynnwood Road
Tel: (012) 420-3146
Fax: (012) 420-2262
E-mail: piet@ccnet.up.ac.za
Mapungubwe:
Tue-Fri 10:00-16:00

Melrose House is a Victorian mansion requisitioned in 1900 by Lord Roberts and turned into the headquarters of the British forces. Two years later it hosted the signing of the historic Treaty of Vereeniging, which brought an end to the Anglo-Boer War. The interior has been recreated in the sumptuous style of the times. There is a permanent exhibition of photographs of the Anglo-Boer War.
Gauteng museums in South Africa
275 Jacob Maré St, opposite Burger's Park.
Tel: (012) 322-2805/0420
Fax: (012) 320-2742
Tues-Wed: 10:00-17:00
Th: 10:00-20:00
Sun: 10:00-18:00

The National Cultural History Museum tells the saga of 2-million years of history in South Africa gleaned from almost 4-million collected objects.
cnr Bosman and Visagie Streets
Web: http://home.global.co.za/~nchm/awindex.htm
(012) 324-6082
(012) 328-5173
E-mail: awindow1@nchm.co.za
Mon-Sun and Public Holidays: 09:00-17:00

The Pioneer Museum comprises a house and historic farmyard built over 150 years ago. The house is a fascinating example of the architecture and building materials and methods of the time and the furniture reflects the movement of hawkers from the Cape to the interior, as do the pots, pans and porcelain.
Gauteng museums in South Africa
Church Street East and Pretoria Rd, Silverton (Exit 3 on N4)
Tel: (012) 803-6086/7
Fax: (012) 803-5639
E-mail: nchm@nchm.co.za
Mon-Fri: 8:30-16:00

The history of the South African Police Services and some famous cases fascinate visitors to the South African Police Services Museum
Cnr Pretorius and Volkstem sts.
Tel:(012) 353-6770
Fax:(012) 324-4853

The Sammy Marks Museum is housed in the former home of magnate Sammy Marks which has been restored to resemble the way it was in 1886. The attractions include beautiful collections of furniture and decorative objects from the 1880s.
Gauteng museums in South Africa
Exit 11 on the N4 Witbank
Tel: (012) 803-6158
Fax: (012) 803-5308
Cell: 082 754-0944
E-mail: nchm@nchm.co.za Web: http://home.global.co.za/~nchm/smmindex.htm
Tues-Fri: 9:00 - 16:00
Weekends: 10:00 - 16:00 (1 Sep - 31 March 10:00 - 16:30)

The Museum of Science and Technology features fascinating interactive and hands-on displays. Physikon, a colourful and interactive physics-playground, allows visitors to investigate and understand everyday phenomena while enjoying themselves.
Didacta Building, 211 Skinner Street
Tel: (012) 322-6404
Fax: (012) 320-7803
Mon-Fri: 8:00-16:00
Sat: 14:00-17:00

The South African Air Force Museum is the largest military aviation museum in South Africa. Established in 1973, it traces the development of the South African Air Force from its earliest days.
Gauteng museums in South Africa
Air Force Base Swartkop, Old Johannesburg/Pretoria Rd (R101)
Tel: (012) 351-2153
Fax: (012) 351-2346
Mon-Fri: 9:00 - 15:30
Weekends: 10:00 - 16:00
Closed 25 and 26 Dec, 1 and 2 Jan, and Good Friday

The Transvaal Museum was founded in 1892 by the government of the Zuid Afrikaansche Republiek, and moved into its current premises in Paul Kruger Street in 1912. Today the museum serves as a research and documentation centre for the fauna of southern, and specifically South Africa. Part one of the Genesis of Life traces the origins of life on earth, from the simplest to most complex life forms. Part two looks at the prehistory and early life of man, and at prehistoric creatures including whales, hoofed mammals and primates. The Austin Roberts Bird Hall showcases the brilliant and varied bird life of southern Africa. The Museum of Geological Survey features a superb collection of minerals, semiprecious and precious stones.
Transvaal Museum
Paul Kruger Street (opposite City Hall)
Tel: (012) 322-7632
Fax: (012) 322-7939
Cell: (083) 228-5488
Web: http://www-tm.up.ac.za/
Mon-Sat: 9:00-17:00
Sun and Public Holidays: 11:00-17:00

The Van Gybland-Oosterhoff Collection at the University of Pretoria is the largest collection of items of historical interested related to Dutch culture outside of the Netherlands. It includes documents from both world wars, medals of honour, sculptures, commemorative plaques, spoons, paintings, portraits and publications.
Gauteng museums in South Africa
Old Arts Building 2-8, University of Pretoria
Tel: (012) 420-3100/2200
Fax: (012) 420-2262
E-mail: piet@ccnet.up.ac.za
Mon-Fri: 8:00-16:00
. Weekends by appointment.

The Van Tilburg Collection at the University of Pretoria comprises paintings, graphics, furniture, Persian carpets, Oriental and European ceramics. The Chinese ceramics collection is particularly important, tracing the development of ceramics in China over the course of more than 2,000 years. The exhibits range from primitive earthenware to fine porcelain.
Old Arts Building 2-9, University of Pretoria
Tel: (012) 420-3100/2200
Fax: (012) 420-2262
Tel: (012) 420-3100/2200
Fax: (012) 420-2262
E-mail: piet@ccnet.up.ac.za
Mon-Fri: 8:00-16:00.
Weekends by appointment.

The Voortrekker Monument Museum and Fort Schanskop is housed in the Voortrekker Monument which was built to commemorate the Great Trek from the Cape of Good Hope into the interior of South Africa between 1835 and 1852. The museum charts the journey through maps, artefacts and tapestries depicting stories of Voortrekker life.
Gauteng museums in South Africa
Voortrekker Monument, Eufees Rd (M7)
Tel: (012) 326-6770 (monument) or (012) 323-0682 (museum)
Fax: (012) 341-6146
E-mail: nchm@nchm.co.za
Daily: 9:00-16:00
Closed Good Friday and Christmas Day

The Willem Prinsloo Agricultural Museum is a "living museum" that centres on a farmstead dating from 1880, recreating the farming life and methods of the 1920s. It houses an extensive collection of early farming implements as well as very early indigenous domesticated animals. Traditional farming activities are demonstrated, and annual events include a prickly pear festival, mampoer festival and the Agricultural Museum Show.
Turn off the N4 freeway to Witbank at Exit 27, or take the R104. Maps available on request
Tel: (012) 736-2035/6
Fax: (012) 736-2037
E-mail: nchm@nchm.co.za
Web: http://home.global.co.za/~nchm/wpmindex.htm
Daily: 8:00-16:00

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Heildelberg

The Diepkloof Farm Museum is located in the Suikerbosrand Nature Reserve not far from Heidelberg. The farmhouse, built in 1850, has recently been restored.
Gauteng museums in South Africa
Suikerbosrand Nature Reserve
Tel: (011) 904-3964
Fax: (011) 904-3937
Tues-Fri: 9:00-12:00, 14:00-16:00
Weekends: 14:00-16:00
Public holidays: 14:00-16:00

The Heidelberg Transport Museum showcases the history of road transport, from pennyfarthings through Model T Fords, to Formula One cars.
Voortrekker Street
Tel: (0151) 6303
Fax: (0151) 96265
Tues-Sat: 10:00-13:00; 14:00-17:00 Sun: 11:00-17:00

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Krugersdorp area

The Sterkfontein Caves, one of the world's richest sources of knowledge about the development of man, were recently declared a World Heritage site. It was here that Dr Robert Broom found the almost perfect cranium of an adult, the specimen of Australopithecus africanus that became known as Mrs Ples. In the mid-1950s Dr C K Brain uncovered the first stone tools, and in 1998 the caves revealed the world's first complete hominid fossil skull and skeleton. The skull of Mrs Ples can be seen in the Robert Broom Museum at the site and the caves are a wonderland of magical stalactites and stalagmites.
Gauteng museums in South Africa
Isaac E Stegman Reserve, 9.5km north-west of Krugersdorp
Tel: (011) 956-6342
Tues-Sat: 8:30 - last tour begins at 16:00
Sun: 9:00 - last tour begins at 16:00

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Centurion

The Smuts House Museum in the peaceful, rural environment of the farm, Doornkloof, illustrates the simple life-style of Jan Christiaan Smuts, statesman, scientist, philosopher, and former Prime Minister of South Africa.
Jan Smuts Ave
(012) 667-1176
(012) 667-1213
Mon-Fri:09:30 - 13:00 13:30 - 16:30
Weekends: 9:30 - 13:00 13:30 - 17:00
Public Holidays: 9:30 -13:00 13:30 - 17:00
Closed on Good Friday, 1 May, 24 and 25 Dec

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Krugersdorp

The South African National Railway and Steam Museum boasts the largest collection of vintage steam engines and rolling stock in South Africa.
Gauteng museums in South Africa
Chamdor industrial township, off the Krugersdorp-Tarlton road
Tel: (011) 888-1154
Fax: (011) 888-5394
By appointment (still under development)






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