The Pioneer open air Museum in Silverton is set in a graciously restored Victorian settler farmstead complete with horse mill and threshing floor, farming implements intact.
While enjoying a cup of coffee and homemade bread, visitors can experience a way of life that has irrevocably passed. The stories of the Pioneer Museum and 1848 house, and of the people who lived on the farm, Hartebeestpoort, are enacted against the background of the pioneer years in South Africa. The house was built of clay and local materials, with a thatched roof and earthen floors, and is furnished in the traditional 19th century rural style. The house is surrounded by a traditional herb and vegetable garden, orchard, furnished wagon house and vineyard. Well-trained guides in period clothing present adult programmes and curriculum-based educational programmes. Visitors can make use of the picnic and braai facilities. The two lapas and the hall can be rented for family celebrations and work-related functions. A New Year’s Festival is held on 1 January every year.
