History Webs
For the Drakenstein Valley
Museums
Internet
Blogs
Archives
Drakenstein Heemkring, corner of Main and Auret Streets, Paarl. Tel.: 021-872-9145. Hours: Wed only from 10am to 9pm or by appointment. Contact Marguerite at 076-473-6176.
Huguenot Society of South Africa, Huguenot Memorial Museum, Franschhoek. Tel.: 021-876-2598. Follow this link to their website.
National Archives & Records Services (NARS), Roeland Street, Cape Town. Searchable database online. Follow this link to their website.
See also Paarl Museum, Wellington Museum and Huguenot Memorial Museum.
Blogs
Patric Mellet's blog on slavery at the Cape. Follow this link to his website.
Internet
Local sites: For a glimpse of the wealth and life styles of people living at the Cape browse through the Inventories of the Orphan Chamber (TANAP). See also Transcripts of Estate Papers of the Cape. The following websites have a broader focus: Cape Town's Iziko Museums has a good website. Then there is the SA History Online website, and the Sunday Times Heritage Project website.
Local sites for genealogical research include: the Genealogical Society of SA's website, Ancestry24, Genesreunited.
International sites: See the BBC's site on African Slavery.
Academic sites: The University of Cape Town's archeology department has two sites that may be of interest: Contracts Office and the Historical Archeology Research Group.
Local organisations
Drakenstein Heritage Foundation, regional branch of Heritage South Africa. Tel.: 021-872-0853.
Drakenstein Municipality, cultural heritage officer.
Friends of Bainskloof. Current chairman, Sieg Kroger and secretary, Sandra Steytler.
Paarl 300 Foundation. Provides financial assistance for restoration project.s
Koinonia Community Centre. Focus on community development, also collects oral histories. Tel.: 021-872-2141. See website.
Vriende van Wellington Museum.
Museums
Huguenot Memorial Museum, Lambrecht Street, Franschhoek. Adjacent to the Huguenot Monument. Tel.: 021-876-2532. Hours: Mon-Sat 9am to 5pm and on Sun 2pm to 5pm. Follow this link to their website.
Franschhoek Motor Museum, situated on the farm L'Ormarins, Simondium. Follow the R45 to Franschhoek. Tel.: 021-874-9000; Hours: Tues-Fri from 10am to 4pm and on Sat-Sun from 10am to 3pm. Follow this link to their website.
Museum van de Caab, on the farm Solms-Delta, Simonium. Follow the R45 to Franschhoek. Tel.: 021-874-3937. Hours: Mon-Sun from 9am to 5pm. Follow this link to their website.
Paarl Museum, 303 Main Street, behind the Toringkerk in central Paarl. Tel.: 021-872-2651. Hours: Mon-Fri from 9am to 5pm and Sat from 9am to 1pm. Follow this link to their website.
Afrikaans Language Museum, Gideon Malherbe House, 11 Pastorie Avenue, Paarl. Within walking distance of the Paarl Museum and the Toringkerk. Tel.: 021-876-2532. Hours: Mon-Fri from 9am to 4pm, and Sat from 9am to 1pm. Follow this link to their website.
De Poort Heritage Village, Turk Street, Suider Paarl. Phase 1 completed. Tel.: 021-863-2871. Follow this link to their website.
Masons' Square, Concordia Street, Suider Paarl. Tel.: 021-863-3016. By appointment only. Follow this link to their website.
Wellington Museum, Church Street, Wellington. Tel.: 021-873-4710. Hours: Mon-Fri from 9am to 5pm. Follow this link to their website.
Ouma Granny's House, 37 Fontein Street, Wellington. Tel.: 021-873-4604. Hours: Fri from 9am to 12pm.
Other societies
Genealogical Institute of SA, Stellenbosch. Tel.: 021-887-5070
Genealogical Society of SA, Houghton. Follow this link to their website.
Heritage SA, formarlly known as the Simon van der Stel Foundation. Follow this link to their website.
Van Riebeeck Society. To see their list of publications, follow this link to their website.
Vernacular Architecture Society of SA. Follow this link to their website.
Government agencies: Heritage Western Cape and the SA Heritage Resource Agency (SAHRA).