Pionier Opelug Museum (

Afrikaans Afrikaans (, ) is a West Germanic language that evolved in the Dutch Cape Colony from the Dutch vernacular of Holland proper (i.e., the Hollandic dialect) used by Dutch, French, and German settlers and their enslaved people. Afrikaans gra ...

for the Pioneer Open-air Museum), is a cultural and "living" museum in the eastern suburbs of

Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends ...

that reflects the lifestyle of early pioneers or " Voortrekkers" of the early 19th century. It is housed in the oldest building in Pretoria, the 1848 House, and the museum is operated by

Ditsong Museums of South Africa Ditsong Museums is an amalgamation of eight museums in the Pretoria and Johannesburg environs in the Gauteng Province. The museums "have diverse collections covering the fields of fauna and flora, palaeontology, military history, cultural history, ...

Museum

The museum is a "living museum" so in other words the guides and the visitors are meant to experience the museum as if they lived in the early 19th century and the guides are clad in period dress. Activities include traditional bread making and butter churning and presentations of "Voorlaaier",

for "Front-loading" musket, firing and reloading. The main tour of the museum follows the history of the 1848 House and the people who inhabited the original farm called "Hartebeestpoort". The surrounding gardens are stocked with a traditional herb and vegetable garden where one can learn about Voortrekker " Boereraat" or "home-remedies", an orchard, a furnished period wagon house and a vineyard.

Events

* A New Year's Festival is held on 1 January every year in the museum complex. * There is also a farmers' market held at the museum every Saturday from 5h30 to 9h30 called the Pretoria Boeremark.

1848 House

The fittingly named 1848 House is the main building of the complex and was built in 1848 by early

Voortrekker The Great Trek ( af, Die Groot Trek; nl, De Grote Trek) was a Northward migration of Dutch-speaking settlers who travelled by wagon trains from the Cape Colony into the interior of modern South Africa from 1836 onwards, seeking to live beyon ...

pioneers using traditional methods, it is the oldest man made structure still standing in the city of

. According to the website the house's specifications are: "The house was built of clay and local materials, with a thatched roof and earthen floors, and is furnished in the traditional 19th century rural style."

History

The Cape Colony farmer David Botha, was the first to settle on the farm Hartebeespoort in 1846 and two years later he built the current main house. The property served the purpose of halfway station for many years with several coach-houses and stables catering to the needs of travelers. In 1961 the property was donated to the Municipality of Silverton and in 1975 it was made into a museum and named the "Pionier Museum" or "Pioneer Museum".

References

{{Pretoria Museums in Pretoria Open-air museums History of Pretoria Outdoor structures in South Africa