Wagon Centre opens on Heritage Day
2009-09-17
THE De Poort board have yielded to public pleas to allow limited access to the Heritage Centre in Paarl South for a preview period. This will commence on Heritage Day (September 24 from 09:00 to 16:00) and continue until the official opening and launch in late February next year. Visitors will be able to engage with those creating a Living Heritage Experience and even assist in “filling in the blanks” in the historical record. The first building in the complex is now complete and houses a rare collection of carts and wagons, most of which were manufactured in Paarl. The majority of the vehicles derive from the collection housed for decades at the Groenvlei store. Recently, the Solomon collection of steam driven machinery and its attendant artifacts (used until 1973) was also lodged in this building. Informative artworks (not yet fully completed) will help any visitor to appreciate the heritage which once made Paarl famous worldwide for wagon construction. A second building is due for construction n the coming months. This will include workshops for skilled artisans and a demonstration area. An arena is to be erected very shortly and the site has been fenced for the safety of the public and the collection. The rural appeal of the site has been retained. Some of these may soon be working and demonstrating their skills on site at De Poort, even during the preview period. The De Poort Heritage Centre is situated on the commonage between Main, Pine, Tabak and Turk Streets in Suider Paarl with the entrance in Turk Street. During the preview period, the public can gain entrance to the heritage collection at reduced entrance fees (R10 and R5 for children under 12) Mondays to Fridays. It will open over weekends, if sufficient volunteers come forward to assist. Prior booking for groups larger than ten persons is required. De Poort is a community based not-for-profit flagship heritage tourism project supported by the Drakenstein and Winelands Municipalities as well as the National Lotteries Fund. The Centre can be contacted at 021-863-2871 or depoortproj@telkomsa.net.
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