Earthquake museum

The Old Church Folk Museum and Earthquake Museum

The museum complex consists of four historic buildings all situated on church street in Tulbagh.

The Oude Kerk Volksmuseum, built in 1743 and established in 1925, is one of the oldest museums in the Western Cape. Its theme is: “The Development and History of the Tulbagh Valley”. The museum complex consists of four very historic buildings in Tulbagh: The Oude Kerk (Old Church), one of the last surviving cruciform churches built by the VOC (Dutch East India Company), is still in its original form with a unique collection of Cape furniture and a restored historic cemetery. Amongst other items is the original table on which the capitulation of the Dutch to the British was signed in 1806..

The Victorian House Museum is an excellent example of a rural Victorian house, depicting the lifestyle of a rural middle-class family in the Victorian era.  With its dark drapes and upholstered chairs, the Victorian House Museum is currently being worked on and will eventually have its unique textiles on display as well.

The Pioneer House Museum depicts the lifestyle of a typical working-class family in the period circa 1800 – 1920s. There’s a red-walled period kitchen with an open hearth, a simple room with a rietdak ceiling, a more formal voorkamer with a wooden ceiling, and an eclectic collection of old kitchen implements, furniture, and china.

The earthquake museum commemorates the devastating 1969 Earthquake, which laid several Boland towns in ruins and which gave rise to the resurrection of Church Street, Tulbagh, in its 1870 form

The Tulbagh earthquake struck on the night of 29 September 1969 and is the most destructive earthquake recorded in South Africa. The main shock measured about 6.3 on the Richter scale and reached intensity VII on the Modified Mercalli scale. It was caused by movement along a strike-slip fault in the Western Cape and was felt more than 1,000 km away.

The quake hit at around 22:04 and lasted between 30 and 90 seconds. Tulbagh, Wolseley, Ceres, and Prince Alfred Hamlet were hardest hit, with Tulbagh suffering the most damage. Buildings collapsed, roads cracked, and water and electricity supplies failed. Landslides occurred in the surrounding mountains, and small fires were reported.

Eleven people were killed, including ten children. Many residents were injured or left homeless. Large sections of Tulbagh’s historic centre were destroyed, including several 18th- and 19th-century buildings. The town was soon declared a disaster area.

Emergency services, supported by the South African Police and Defence Force, assisted with rescue, medical care, and repairs. Around 3,000 tents were erected, and many residents lived in temporary shelters for over a year while rebuilding took place.

The earthquake led to changes in building practices and raised awareness of seismic risk in South Africa. It remains a key event in the country’s disaster history.

4 Church Street, Tulbagh