Thursday 22 September 2011

This site will be updated on 30 September 2011

WHILE the last part of Paarl’s historic wagon collection was being moved to De Poort Heritage Centre last week, plans were already being drawn up for the next phase of this development.

De Poort (which means Gateway) is a non-profit organisation which was given the go-ahead by the Drakenstein Municipality to erect a heritage centre on the commonage between Turk and Pine Streets in Paarl South.

This has been a dream of heritage and community inspired people in the Drakenstein for the past ten years.

The dream is to establish a unique tourist attraction in the area, which will portray the rich cultural history and diversity of the valley.

This will attract more tourists to the area, which in turn will bring economic benefit to many.

Here an attractive double-storey steel and wood structure has been erected which will now house the wagon collection which has been kept from the public eye in a municipal store in Groenvlei for many years.

In the 19th century, when the gold and diamond rush to the north of the country started, Paarl almost instantly became the transport capital of South Africa.

In its heyday, 87 businesses were directly linked to this flourishing wagon industry, which put Paarl on the map as an economic giant.

Local historians have felt that this integral part of the town’s history needs to be acknowledged.

The cart and wagon industry had no ethnic barriers, and the whole community was involved and prospered through it.

And this is exactly the kind of legacy which De Poort wants to portray.

Apart from this wagon exhibition, many important artefacts depicting days go­ne by, will also be on display.

A multi-functional workshop with craft bays, where craftsmen will demonstrate their skills and also sell their products, will also be opened on the site.

Funding for the second phase, in which the complex will expand eastwards towards Tabak Street, has been obtained from the Lotto fund.

Here a forge, blacksmith and several artisan workshops will be housed, possibly a potter, carpenter, glassblower and harness-maker.

The building will have a covered verandah, public toilets, demonstration and public viewing areas and form an L shape with the existing building.

De Poort has been made possible by a generous grant from the National Lotteries Distribution Trust Fund, as well as generous assistance from the Drakenstein and Ca­pe Winelands District Municipality.

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