The Ceres Transport Riders' Museum, more commonly known by its Afrikaans name ''Ceres Togryers Museum'', was started during the 1970s by members of the community of Ceres,

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

who were interested in preserving the heritage of the town. It was proclaimed a local museum on 7 November 1978 and established as a province-aided museum with effect from 1 April 1987. The Board of Trustees is the governing body of the museum with powers vested in it by 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 mini ...

Province under the terms of the Cape Museum Ordinance and is responsible for the institution, its policies, its operational continuity and well-being, and the assets which it holds in trust for the people of Ceres, to whom it is ultimately accountable. The building in which the museum is housed was built as a flour mill during the early 1930s. The structure of the building was changed somewhat to accommodate the design by well-known

Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

heritage Heritage may refer to: History and society * A heritage asset A heritage asset is an item which has value because of its contribution to a nation's society, knowledge and/or culture. Such items are usually physical assets, but some countries also ...

architect Gawie Fagan.

The Museum

The name "Togryers Museum" or Transport Riders’ Museum originated from the huge influence that the transport riders had on the development of Ceres. The completion of

Michell's Pass Michell's Pass is a mountain pass in the Western Cape province of South Africa which approaches the town of Ceres from the south-west, connecting it to Tulbagh, Worcester and the Breede River Valley. The pass is traversed by the R46 road and the ...

in 1848

Andrew Geddes Bain Andrew Geddes Bain (baptised 11 June 1797 – 20 October 1864), was a Cape Colony geologist, road engineer, palaeontologist and explorer. Life history The only child of Alexander Bain and Jean Geddes, both of whom died when Bain was still a ...

made the town accessible to wagons, and one of the main routes to the diamond fields in

Kimberley Kimberly or Kimberley may refer to: Places and historical events Australia Queensland * Kimberley, Queensland, a coastal locality in the Shire of Douglas South Australia * County of Kimberley, a cadastral unit in South Australia Ta ...

went through Ceres.

Themes

The museum houses the following exhibitions: * Natural history of the Ceres area * Establishment of Ceres and the lifestyles of its first inhabitants. * The Transport Riders and their lifestyle *Photographs and articles on the destructive earthquake of 1969, * A collection of wagons from the area, * Local History, including development of schools and churches * The Slave Uprising at Houdenbek Farm *

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

era forced removals during the 1960s and impacts on the local community

Other activities and services

* Assistance with family/genealogical research * Educational programmes for primary and secondary schools *Outreach programmes to the youth and elderly *Guided tours of the museum *Historic information to the public for school assignments

Gallery

Togryers Museum, Wagon Exhibition.jpg Togryers Museum, Chris Prins Exhibition.jpg Togryers Museum, Exhibition.jpg Togryers Museum, Exhibitions.jpg

References

External links