Old Harbour Museum

This Western Cape Provincial Heritage Site (previously a South African National Monument) is one of few fishing harbours in the world that has been conserved intact. It harbours a few historic fishing boats along the slopes, indigenous veldkos in old brine tanks and re-established coastal fynbos along the cliffs.

This area houses exhibitions portraying the contrast of the history of fishing since 1855 by the poor local fishermen versus angling by the wealthy holiday makers, taking place at the same harbour. It also houses seawater tanks with inter-tidal species, endemic to the area, the historic Bill Selkirk displays, a sono booth and a museum shop.

Research has been started by Western Cape Museum Service for the transformation of these exhibits. The exhibition named 'Fishing, Poverty and Politics' will consist of two sections including the natural and cultural history of the area.

This fish shack was rebuilt in 1995 as an environmental education centre but it was too cold and damp in winter. It now houses the boat storage shed. A section is used in public private partnership with Walker Bay Adventures doing sea kayaking trips with tourist departing from and returning to the old harbour.

Rebuilt on the original foundations of the first buildings in the old harbour. Section one completed in 1990 houses the toilet facilities. Section two completed in 1993 houses the administrative offices of the entire museum complex.

This building was built on an area where fishing shacks previously stood. It was developed as a hatchery to accommodate the first perlemoen farming in Hermanus, started by Dr. Pierre Hugo. When the business grew too big it relocated to the new harbour.

The hatchery then housed the indoor education centre and storage area. Through environmental education the museum is linked, reached out to and included learners and visitors from the Greater Hermanus, surrounding rural areas and further a field. The South African Shark Conservancy is now housed in this building where they do shark and marine research and have further developed the education centre. In partnership with the museum various marine education programmes, camps and special events including World Oceans Day, Marine Week and Coastal Cleanup Week are hosted.

These rebuild shacks were used to mature the small perlemoen to a reasonable size before they were sold to perlemoen farms. When the business relocated to the new harbour the building was still used in public private partnership with Hermanus Abalone for perlemoen displays and talks for visitors until January 2005 when they joined the business in the new harbour.

The nursery then housed the contents from the reduced storage area after the hatchery was vacated to accommodate the SA Shark Conservancy.

A section was used to store some of the décor for the annual 'Passiespele' .

In 2009 the board of trustees agreed to allow the Walker Bay Shore Angling Club Centre to temporary occupy the main room. In exchange they had to provide storage for the contents that was carefully documented and moved. They also have to present regular education sessions in the old harbour on various aspects of shore angling.

This museum houses a collection of photos depicting historical Hermanus as well as furniture from schoolmaster Paterson and fishing reels and trophies from Bill Selkirk.

The newly acquired Ravenscroft site camera and accessories is also on display. TD Ravenscroft, a retired photographer of the Cape Government Railways residing in Hermanus around 1900 and was responsible for most of the photos in the museum's collection. These were originally done on glass negatives. Ravenscroft traveled through most of the country and practically documented South Africa's towns and villages of the 1880s and 1890s, depicting most of the striking buildings and bridges of the day. A lot of his scenic photos, mostly of the Boland and Western Cape areas, decorated the train compartments.

By the early 1990s whale(s) became a chosen tourist attraction. In 1991, board member & chairman of the Friends, Jose Burman, proposed a whale museum for the community of the Greater Hermanus on an open section of the Fishermen's Village. Architect Pat Riley designed the Whale House as her contribution to the museum and plans were ready by the beginning of 1994: A whale museum to inform and educate the many local visitors to the Greater Hermanus and learners as well as national and international tourists, who view the beautiful whales in Walker Bay. This museum is entirely dedicated to whale exhibits, especially the southern right, and anything pertaining to cetaceans.

This concept was taken to community meetings and met with great enthusiasm. Because of the importance of the heritage of the beautiful whales, such a museum would play a vital role in establishing ownership of one of their greatest tourist attractions especially among the previously marginalised communities of the Greater Hermanus.

The Whale House was built in 3 sections: (1) Lecture Room (1995); (2) Whale House foundation, shop, office & toilets (1996); (3)Main Hall (1998) that consists of an exhibition hall especially designed to house a suspended whale skeleton and whale exhibition. In the interim it was used for temporary art exhibitions until a suitable whale skeleton was found.

The board of trustees approached Museum Service (part of the Western Province Department of Cultural Affairs and Sport in Cape Town, South Africa) to assist the museum with the research and displays for the Whale House museum – (This was the first phase of a Transformation Projects of the Old Harbour museum).

After many unsuccessful attempts the search for a suitable skeleton ended in July 2003. A young female Southern Right whale, that had died at sea, washed up on the rocks at Onrus River, just to the west of Hermanus. She was exactly the right size for the exhibition space. With assistance from the Overstrand Municipality and Hermanus Coast Care, the bones were carefully removed by specialist whale taxidermist Piet Pretorius and taken to Cape Town for cleaning and preparation. This took place during the school holidays and generated a lot of interest from the many visitors. A few parents also had to keep inquisitive children away from touching the smelly bones.

As this washed-up whale was in an advanced state of decomposition, some of the bones came loose. A few were retrieved by divers but others were lost. These bones had to be moulded and reconstructed by the Taxidermist with a bone-like substance, which was a very costly affair. The other bones were cleaned and treated in huge containers filled with water and enzymes. This process took about two years to rid the bones of excess oil so that no major oil seepage will occur after the skeleton is hung.

After three and a half years, these bones were then cleaned, prepared and assembled by the taxidermist and are now hanging in the Whale House.

Juvenile Sperm whale washed up on Hawston beach on 18 February 2006

During this waiting period, the intact skull of a young Sperm whale was found on Hawston beach. The taxidermist reconstructed a few of the missing teeth and it is now displayed in a suspended position in the entrance of the Whale House.

In 1998 negotiations were initiated with the Scientific and Technical Divisions of Museum Service, Western Cape Department of Cultural Affairs, Cape Town, for the research and to compile a world-class exhibition on cetaceans.

After years of research and collecting of artifacts and information, most of the research was completed by Museums Scientific Services in 2006. Museum Technical Services continued with the construction of the new Whale House displays for "Welcome to our Whales". Because of the extended research, time constraints and the nature of the designs that were developed, the services of private contractors with suitable equipment was co-opted to ensure that the exhibition is of international standard and something the community of the Greater Hermanus will be proud of.

The first phase of the whale exhibition was installed by the December holidays of 2007 and was well received by the public. The accompanied text was in the three official languages of the Province of the Western Cape – Afrikaans, Xhosa and English. The official opening of this phase by the HOD of the Western Cape Department of Cultural Affairs & Sport, Mr. Brent Walters, accompanied by the Overstrand Mayor, Mr. Theo Beyleveldt, was on 17 May 2010.

The second exhibition phase, "Whales in Art & Culture" has now been researched by Museum Service and the designing of these displays are also completed. When funding becomes available, this section will also be completed.

Since July 2007 The Whale Show, a CD on whales and whale behaviour, compiled by nature artist Noel Ashton and sponsored by International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) is viewed here twice daily at 10:00 and 15:00 and at other times to pre-booked groups.