The Drostdy building in Swellendam is the oldest surviving one in all of South Africa. A national monument, it is the only eighteenth century drostdy building that has been preserved in its original form. It stand on the eastern side of the town on the bank of the Koringlands River (cornfields river) close to the Groote Wagen Weg or Cape Wagon Road, the route of early expeditions to the interior.
In order to apply control over farmers who had moved away from the settled areas the Governor decided to place the territory across the Breede River under the jurisdiction of a local court and in 1747 the Drostdy was built as the seat of the Landdrost (magistrate).
The museum is actually a collection of historic buildings arranged around large grounds and a lovely nineteenth-century Cape garden. The Drostdy Building contains some interesting artifacts.
From the rear garden of the Drostdy you can stroll along the path and across Drostdy St to Mayville, a middle-class Victorian homestead from the mid-nineteenth century with an old rose garden. Also part of the complex are the Old Goal, the jailer's cottage, and an interesting display of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century farm implements and tools.
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Phone: +27 28 5141138
Address: 18 Swellengrebel Street
Directions: Mon-Fri 9am-4:45pm, Sat & Sun 10am-3:45pm
Website: www.drostdymuseum.com
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on Sep 13, 2007
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