Kruger Museum

TRIBUTES

 

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Since the house has been furnished as it was when the Kruger's lived in it, it is not possible to exhibit other artefacts of interest in the house. Most of the outbuildings had been destroyed. Two halls, an ofice and a store were thus built behind the house to accommodate other items.

 

Tokens of honour - West Hall

 
History During President Kruger's terms of office 1883-1902, European countries such as France, Germany and Russia were in conflict with Britain. When war broke out in South Africa between 1899 and 1902, no world power dared to intervene in the conflict between Boer and Briton.

They did, however, send tokens of tribute to Kruger and the Boers before and during the war.  This happened both during Kruger's visits to Europe and later. These encompassed  more than 1000 tributes, addresses, pictures, poems, medals, musical compositions, sketches, letters, albums, books and newspapers from countries such as the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, France, Ireland, the USA, Israel, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, Russia and Spain.

The majority of these found their way to the Transvaal Museum and then later to the National Cultural History Museum. One of the most important sources from which many tributes and mementoes were received was the "South African Museum" at Dordrecht in the Netherlands.
Dordrecht Collection The Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek took part in the world exhibition in Paris that opened in April 1900. Their collection aroused considerable interest. War had already broken out in South Africa. At the close of the exhibition in August 1900 there were fears that the valuable collection might fall into British hands.

It was decided to "sell" the collection to a well-wisher who would eventually send it to South Africa. This `friend' was an art collector, J Hidde Nijland, Knight of the Order of Oranje-Nassau. He ostensibly "paid" 30 000 francs for the collection and moved it to Dordrecht, where after two years, it was placed on view in the South African Museum.

In 1906 th Africa decided to bring the collection home. Great was the consternation when Nijland contested the claim by insisting that the collection was his property. After legal cases, claims and counter claims the Dordrecht collection was eventually shipped to South Africa in 1921.
Bratina One of the most precious tokens of honour on display is the valuable Russian Bratina or Cup of Brotherhood, including, at the base, seven albums containing illuminated addresses with 70 000 signatures of Russians from all classes. In Russia, sympathy for the Boers during the Anglo-Boer War (1899-1902) developed. This never culminated in official assistance from the Russian authorities, but Russian volunteers did fight alongside the Boers. The Bratina bears testimony to Russian sympathy. It was presented to General Piet Cronjé and his Boer forces. General Cronjé was held in high international esteem, because of his action during the Jameson raid in 1896 and the Battle of Magersfontein against the British forces in 1899. 
Armchair This was donated by the city council of Rotterdam. The Transvaal coat of arms appears in colour on red velvet. The chair was used in the President's reception room in the Hotel des Indes at The Hague during his stay in 1900. 
Austria This tribute was designed in 1900 by Hermann Scheibe, a printer from Vienna, out of sympathy for the Boers. The base houses 12 960 signatures on gilded paper. Sympathetic Austrians should have sent this tribute to Kruger during the war but were overtaken by events. The tribute was rediscovered in the 1980's. The museum raised money to purchase it and it finally arrived in South Africa during 1990.