MyPE

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Celebrate the South End Museum’s 10th Anniversary

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The South End Museum, situated in the former Seamen’s Institute at the corner of Walmer Boulevard (Old Farie Street) and Humewood Road in South End, Port Elizabeth, will be celebrating its tenth anniversary on Saturday 26 November 2011, together with a number of communities that make up the diverse population of old South End.

In going back into time, some thirteen or fourteen years ago, one finds a group of people from the Northern Areas of our city, and who were imbued by the freedom offered by the new democratic country’s constitution, met at the Gelvandale Swimming Pool, and elsewhere, to discuss ways and means of how to remember the forced removals of communities from South End, and other similarly affected areas in the city, committed by the former Apartheid government.

On 3 March 2001 the South End Museum was officially opened with a registered Board of Trustees at its helm. Over the last ten years the museum has grown in many ways, for example, the badly dilapidated building was systematically renovated, phase by phase, to save the building from destruction and to change it to suit the needs of a museum, and which is now disabled friendly as well.

Further developments over time have included the exhibitions and events that reflect the museum’s main task of putting to memory the heritage of the various communities of the city, for example, the Indian, the Chinese, the Cape Malay, the Khoisan, etc, as well as exhibitions that reflect activities of the once vibrant and cosmopolitan communities of old South End in sport, music, fishing and angling. Simultaneously, the Trustees have also remembered the heroes of the past, namely, Prof Dennis Brutus, Dr Raymond Uren, “Baby” Pillay, Raymond Mhlaba, Govin Mbeki and many others, who have played a prominent role in fighting Apartheid and other forms of oppression.

The Trustees, staff and volunteers have travelled a road of ten years of hard work and can now  smile and pause for a while and look back at the milestones of achievement with very little support from local and provincial government, and zero support from the corporate sector.  The Museum has flourished with good old hard work and a set of committed people who render voluntary services on the Board of trustees, under the leadership of Mr. Errol Heynes, the former Deputy Mayor of Port Elizabeth, who has been the chairperson of the Board since its inception. Success has been achieved against all the expectations of detractors and we now celebrate ten years of existence.

The Board of Trustees of the South End Museum now wishes to use this opportunity to invite the public of our Metro to join in with this tenth anniversary celebration, in a colourful and carnival atmosphere on 26 November with food stalls which will present the traditional cuisines of various communities. The food stalls will be set up on the grass verge around the parking area of the museum. Visitors will be able to park across the road in a large open vacant area and at the South End Fire Station where car guards will safeguard and control.

The activities for the day will include cultural performances that will take place in a large marquee tent, set up on the parking area, and we can look forward to Xhosa dancers, the Scottish Caledonian pipe band, Chinese Kungfu, Khoisan and Cape Malay cultural performances, and many other activities that will keep visitors interested and entertained. The anniversary committee is also finalizing the possibility of setting up a temporary outside radio station from where the general public can be interviewed. Children will be entertained with a jumping castle and figurine sketch drawings. The Nelson Mandela Bay Tourism Department is setting up a marketing stall to keep the public informed of municipal and tourist activities. A final programme of the activities in the marquee tent will be forwarded to the public in due course.

In a fitting tribute to those who were affected by the forced removals of the past, the Trustees are inviting former South End residents from the old age homes, throughout the Metro, to participate in this celebration. The elderly will be transported from the old age homes to the museum and then entertained for the day.

The museum itself will be open for the day, giving an opportunity to those visitors who have not had the opportunity, to receive a guided tour through the museum. The museum’s volunteers and staff will be on hand to give assistance in this respect.

So, come one, come all, and join in with the tenth anniversary celebration of the South End Museum on 26 November at the site of the museum. The celebration will commence at 10h00 and continue for the rest of the day.

South End Museum
The entrance to the South End Museum
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Alan Straton

Chief Cook, Bottle Washer and Broom Mechanic at MyPE
Passionate about Port Elizabeth and definitely NOT packing for Perth. Alan's ethos is epitomised in the words of Nelson Mandela; "I have fought against white domination and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the idea of a democratic and free society. If need be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die." See more articles by Alan.