The South African International Exhibition held in

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 ...

Cape Colony The Cape Colony ( nl, Kaapkolonie), also known as the Cape of Good Hope, was a British Empire, British colony in present-day South Africa named after the Cape of Good Hope, which existed from 1795 to 1802, and again from 1806 to 1910, when i ...

was a

world's fair A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition or an expo, is a large international exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specif ...

held in 1877 which opened on 15 February by

Henry Bartle Frere Sir Henry Bartle Edward Frere, 1st Baronet, (29 March 1815 – 29 May 1884) was a Welsh British colonial administrator. He had a successful career in India, rising to become Governor of Bombay (1862–1867). However, as High Commissioner for ...

Location

The exhibition was held in the grounds of the

Lodge de Goede Hoop Lodge is originally a term for a relatively small building, often associated with a larger one. Lodge or The Lodge may refer to: Buildings and structures Specific * The Lodge (Australia), the official Canberra residence of the Prime Ministe ...

which was being used for the

Parliament of the Cape of Good Hope The Parliament of the Cape of Good Hope functioned as the legislature of the Cape Colony, from its founding in 1853, until the creation of the Union of South Africa in 1910, when it was dissolved and the Parliament of South Africa was establish ...

in a building erected for the exhibition. The building was built of wood, iron, and glass which measured 184 x 78 feet; 56 feet high; and cost £10,027.

Exhibits

During 1876 Signor Cagli had canvassed American and European industries to exhibit “manufactures of all kinds” which were to be grouped in 10 classes: "

alimentation The gastrointestinal tract (GI tract, digestive tract, alimentary canal) is the tract or passageway of the digestive system that leads from the mouth to the anus. The GI tract contains all the major organs of the digestive system, in humans and ...

", chemicals (perfume, medicine and surgical equipment), furniture, fabric and jewellery, transport, hardware, machinery, agriculture, science and education, and miscellany. Exhibitors included Wertheim safes; Taylor's sewing machines, who won a medal; Sheffield based Samuel Marshall who showed hooks, hay knives, scythes and sheep shears and linen manufacturers

Rylands & Sons John Rylands (7 February 1801 – 11 December 1888) was an English entrepreneur and philanthropist. He was the owner of the largest textile manufacturing concern in the United Kingdom, and Manchester's first multi-millionaire. After having lea ...

who won a prize (and another a year later at the

Paris exhibition Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

). There were 395 exhibitors from 14 nations: *Africa: Cape Colony, Natal, Orange Free State, Transvaal *America: USA *Asia: India *Europe: Austria, Belgium, Bohemia, France, Germany, Great Britain, Ireland, Italy, Prussia, Sweden, Switzerland.

Aftermath

After the exhibition, the main building was used as an assembly hall and a theatre, known as the Exhibition Theatre. In the afternoon of 21 February 1892, carpenters and scenery painters were preparing for a new play when a fire broke out about 3:30, near the theatre entrance. In less than one hour, the entire building was destroyed along with the adjoining Masonic Lodge and Native Affairs Office.

References

{{Cape Town, history 1877 establishments in the Cape Colony February 1877 events Festivals in Cape Town Events in Cape Town World's fairs in Africa