Established in 1977, Simon's Town Museum is a community

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these ...

situated in

Simon's Town Simon's Town ( af, Simonstad), sometimes spelled Simonstown, is a town in the Western Cape, South Africa and is home to Naval Base Simon's Town, the South African Navy's largest base. It is located on the shores of False Bay, on the eastern sid ...

, a suburb of

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

in the

Western Cape Province The Western Cape is a province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , and the third most populous, with an estimated 7 million inhabitants in 2020 ...

of the Republic of

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. It is a province-aided museum which receives support from the

Government of the Western Cape The Western Cape province of South Africa is governed in a parliamentary system in which the people elect the Provincial Parliament, and the parliament elects the Premier as head of the executive. The Premier leads a cabinet of provincial min ...

Province.

History

The Simon's Town Museum was established in 1977 by a group of enthusiastic volunteers, the MOTHS (War veterans of the

Memorable Order of Tin Hats The Memorable Order of Tin Hats (M.O.T.H.) was founded in 1927 by Charles Evenden as a brotherhood of South African former front-line soldiers. The ideal is to help comrades in need, either financially or physically; and to remember all service ...

) of the “Snoekie Shellhole” and the Simon's Town Historical Society. At first, the Simon's Town Museum was located in the old Headmaster's house, but its rapid expansion led the board of trustees to look for new premises. They bought and renovated The Residency, an historical building erected by Governor

Joachim van Plettenberg Baron Joachim Ammena van Plettenberg (8 March 1739, Leeuwarden, Netherlands – 18 August 1793, Zwolle, Netherlands) was the governor of the Cape of Good Hope from 11 August 1771 to 14 February 1785. Plettenberg was presiding governor after ...

in 1777, to serve as the winter residence of the Dutch East India Company Governor at the

Cape of Good Hope The Cape of Good Hope ( af, Kaap die Goeie Hoop ) ;''Kaap'' in isolation: pt, Cabo da Boa Esperança is a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa. A common misconception is that the Cape of Good Hope is t ...

, when on official business at Simon's Bay. To date, it remains the home of the Simon's Town Museum.

Function and themes

The Simon's Town Museum records and preserves all aspects of the history of the Simon's Town community and portrays the vibrant past of this small, maritime port, whose position on The Cape Sea Route, resulted in a history which is intertwined with that of many nations around the world.

Development of Simon's Town

From its earliest days Simon's Town was very cosmopolitan in nature. Consequently, the Museum depicts pre-colonial history, the establishment of the refreshment station at Simon's Bay by the

Dutch East India Company The United East India Company ( nl, Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie, the VOC) was a chartered company established on the 20th March 1602 by the States General of the Netherlands amalgamating existing companies into the first joint-stock ...

in 1743 and the First and Second British Occupations, from 1795 to 1803 and 1806 to 1957 respectively. The

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

established a permanent base at Simon's Town in 1813 and its 144-year presence, rocketed Simon's Town from a tiny, seasonal backwater, to a thriving, bustling, internationally renowned seaport, attracting immigrants from around the globe. The diverse community that developed over more than 200 years, shared a unique history, heritage and traditions.

Apartheid

The greatest tragedy to befall the people of Simon's Town, was the Forced Removals under the

Group Areas Act Group Areas Act was the title of three acts of the Parliament of South Africa enacted under the apartheid government of South Africa. The acts assigned racial groups to different residential and business sections in urban areas in a system of u ...

by the ''

Apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

'' government in 1967. It led to the devastation of the Simon's Town community. One of the Simon's Town Museum's most important undertakings has been Project Phoenix. It was launched in 1996 to record and preserve the history of the former residents of Simon's Town and added much new material to the Museum's collection. Former residents, museum staff and volunteers meet regularly and work together to ensure that the Museum's collections become more representative of the Simon's Town community. Aids Day at Simon's Town Museum in 2007

Other activities

In addition to its exhibitions and projects, Simon's Town Museum undertakes a number of education and outreach programmes and regularly provides activities linked to South Africa's national days. International Museum Day at Simon's Town Museum in 2010

International Museum Day at Simon's Town Museum in 2010

References

Citations

External links

* {{official, http://simonstown.org/ 1977 establishments in South Africa Museums established in 1977 Museums in Cape Town