Eighty guests filled the CP Nel Museum on 13 October for a special fundraising evening hosted by the Friends of the Museum. The night doubled as a year-end celebration and a gesture of appreciation to the volunteers, donors and supporters working to return the museum to its rightful place as Oudtshoorn’s cultural heartbeat.
Guests were divided into four groups of twenty to tour the museum, with highlights including the synagogue, the clock tower and the Polish and porcelain exhibitions.
This year’s restoration efforts were also showcased. The sandstone pillars supporting the museum’s cast-iron entrance have been repaired and strengthened. The left-hand gate column, once badly eroded at the base, and the right-hand post, which had twisted under the weight of the cast-iron gates, have now been fully restored.
With the project management of Hazel Jonker and the skilled work of a team of stonemasons, the gate columns were carefully dismantled and rebuilt to ensure they can once again support the historic gates for many years to come.
Johan Breunissen has been hard at work resto-ring the clock in the tower, and guests had the unique opportunity to climb the ladders and see the intricate mechanism up close.
The recently unveiled Polish Monument, honouring the 500 refugee children who were cared for in Oudtshoorn between 1943 and 1947, was another point of interest during the tour.
The Polish exhibition has been refurbished, and footage of the refugee children can now be viewed on a newly installed screen.
The porcelain collection has also been returned to its original exhibition space, allowing guests to appreciate the fine craftsmanship up close.
The synagogue is the only one in South Africa that has been fully incorporated into a museum. It originates from the Shul built in 1892 by a Jewish community from Kelm, who strove to recreate the atmosphere of their beloved hometown synagogue. The synagogue has been beautifully preserved, showcasing intricate architectural details that reflect its original design.
The event was well attended, and many re-sidents remarked that it was heartening to see the museum returning to its former glory.