A fully equipped old-fashioned dairy (maybe even with a cow!), and a cottage where you can live like 1899 (or somewhere thereabouts) are on the cards for future visitors to the Bathurst Agricultural Museum. An impressive programme of events and achievements was rolled out by chairperson Alan Pike at the organisation’s AGM at Pike’s Post, The Ploughman, on Saturday November 30.
The dedication of its volunteers, the generosity of its donors and its growing reputation as a worthwhile destination have worked to put the Bathurst Agricultural Museum (BAM) on the map and expand the experiences it offers.
Pike emphasised the value that the Kowie Museum had added to BAM, with the section’s fresh look and curation, along with a host of fascinating new artefacts. The Kowie Museum relocated from its decade-long Port Alfred Station premises, when Transnet concession holder Izenzo Consulting demanded they start paying a rental which was unsustainable for the donation-funded operation.
At the opening of the Kowie Museum’s section at BAM earlier this year, chairperson Yvonne Surtees described how she and other volunteers had planned the move, sorted through 41 years of memorabilia and translocated treasures, item by item.
At Saturday’s AGM, Pike noted that the combined museum had not changed its name.
“Both museums are non-profit organisations and we will need to make changes to their constitutions to do that,” he said.
Charting some of the points of BAM’s growth, Pike noted:
- The completion of the tractor shed, 450 square metres of valuable secure storage space, thanks to donations from pineapple farmers (R120 000), the Pineapple Growers Association (R75K), and Summerpride (R30K).
- Replacement of the museum’s vandalised carriage lamps;
- The opening of The Miller’s Room and adjoining bakoond thanks to a donation by Vivian Leverington in memory of her daughter Kim;
- The establishment of Olga’s Garage, thanks to a donation by Olga Kaplan.
Next on the list was a fully fledged dairy, to house the museum’s extensive dairy equipment, and relieve pressure on the somewhat cluttered main display area, the Geoff Palmer Hall.
And after that, they hoped to build a farm cottage, where visitors could stay for a few nights, and experience old-style farm living.
The museum’s first Farm Fair earlier this year was a great success, with another scheduled for the festive season, on December 21.
While many visitors and locals spend time in the grounds and surrounds, not everyone takes the time to visit the museum itself; but visitor numbers are improving: in 2023 there were 1008 visitors; so far in 2024 there had been 1 300.
The imminent introduction of a card machine for payments was expected to make paying and visiting easier.
The fact that the museum was advertised in some European tourist brochures was a feather in its cap, Pike noted.
Pike thanked a number of individuals for their practical contributions to the museum’s success, including Gary Pagel who had built the cattle grid at the entrance; Jon Pieters, Ryno Hattingh for the live action at the popular Hobson & Co Smithy; Geoff Bladen for the grass used for the hay-bailing demonstrations; and the tractor team, principally Ryno Hattingh, who kept the army of tractors running; Yolanda and Ryno Hattingh for guiding visitors through the museum; and the many volunteers whose contribution helped keep the museum pen seven days a week.
Financials recorded at the AGM were from the 2023/24 financial year and fundraising in that period had amounted to R98 061. After expenses, the museum posted a surplus of R32 133.
“And that in a climate of zero state funding,” Pike noted.
Pike was unanimously re-elected as chairperson and Difford Keeton as vice-chairperson. Neil Pike would continue as treasurer.
- This article was first published in Talk of the Town, December 5, 2024. The newspaper serving the communities of Ndlambe and the Sunshine Coast, with a weekly wrap of Makhanda news, is available at stores from early on Thursdays.
