Amathole museum

Eastern Cape, South africa

One of the oldest museums in south africa showing the history of King William's Town — a town named after king William IV of the British empire and started in 1835 as a military settlement for the Cape mounted rifles, later on becoming the capital of British Kaffraria — one of South Africa's earliest regions.

The museum was built on grounds belonging to the old public library or the westernmost building, opening in 1898 inside what is today the easternmost building, with the middle section being added in 1953. Before that its collection was part of the library.

Since then, its name changed from the natural history museum to the Kaffrarian museum and finally the Amathole museum — after a Xhosa word for the nearby mountains meaning calves.

Today it has grown into a complex of four buildings including the old public library and post office which houses the Xhosa gallery, with displays and artifacts from the indigenous Xhosa people.

The museum's original building houses displays on the area's natural history, including the taxidermied body of Huberta — a famous protected hippo who traveled about 1000 miles from Natal 75 years ago, only to be shot by hunters in the area.

There's also a section on the area's history with documents, artifacts and photos of its past, early European settlers, past equipment and politics.

What to do thereSee or know more about King William's town and its history, people, flora and fauna.

Or visit other attractions in the area.

Best time to visitAny time of the year.

Location of Amathole museumIn King William's town's CBD, opposite the sacred heart church.

How to get thereBy bus, train, vehicle or walking and cycling — if from within King William's town.

There is a bus and train station within the city, and the nearest airport is miles away in East London.

References1. Von Lysippos 18:52, 15. Jun. 2008 (CEST) - own work, CC-by-sa 2.0/de, https://de.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3631170