Simon’s Town Museum

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Simon’s Town Museum is housed in “The Residency” which was built in 1777, as the winter residence for the Governor of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) at the Cape. Originally housed in the old Headmaster’s House, alongside the Simon’s Town Municipality, the Museum moved to “The Residency” in 1982. The building has a long social history and administrative history, having been used as a hospital, post office, school, customs house, police station, gaol and magistrate’s court, making it a perfect backdrop within which to depict Simon’s Town past.

The Simon’s Town Museum collects and exhibits the history of the people of Simon’s Town and their connections to the Dutch East India Company and the Royal Navy. The town and its people have strong ties to maritime history and to international geo-political events, with its being a significant port on the Cape Sea Route.

Well over 200 years of intermarriage and social interaction, between the local Khoisan, slaves and seafarers, created an exceedingly diverse community, whose shared traditions, history and heritage could be unique in South Africa, if not the world. The greatest tragedy to befall Simon’s Town was the Forced Removals (from 1965 to 1973) under the Group Areas Act, which devastated our community and in many cases, led to the very destruction of families.

It was against this multi-layered and complex history, that the Simon’s Town Museum was established by a group of enthusiastic volunteers and on 1^st April 1977 it was proclaimed a Province-Aided Museum.

Exhibitions: