Joubert House (Montagu Museum)

Be transported back in time

Joubert House is full of interesting relics and historical items including a kitchen with its floors made of peach stones and beeswax which was comfortable for the women folk who stood for hours in the kitchen preparing meals and doing dishes. Amongst the items displayed in the house is a collection of toys, including a number of handmade porcelain dolls.

The curator is not only extremely knowledgeable, but has a gift of imparting info, so take the tour that is offered for a fascinating glimpse into a bygone era and learn all about the history of the town and the early settlers and how they lived!

In the dining-room pride of place goes to the dinner service in which luncheon was served to President Paul Kruger, Genral Piet Joubert and S J du Toit.

The museum is the proud owner of a unique collection of handmade dolls by Caroline and Jenny McSweeney of Montagu and the dolls and a toy collection can be viewed in the doll-room.

For lovers of bric 'a brac, the museum shop has a small treasure of trove items.

One visit to this historical museum is not sufficient to do it justice - which is all the more reason to return at a later date. You will be missing out on a well preserved and presented slice of history if you don't visit this heritage site!

Indigenous medicinal herb garden

There is a herb garden situated behind Joubert House where one can learn about the medicinal values of plants and that is full of herbs for medicinal and culinary purposes. All the herbs are labelled for convenience and it is a lovely place to relax out in the sun. 

The museum sells lotions and potions made from these plants, the operations of which are carefully guided and monitored by the two universities of the Western Cape.

A must-see for both history buffs and the naturally health conscious! 

Lunch hour

Please note that during weekdays we close for lunch between 13h00 - 14h00.

History

Joubert House was built in 1853 by Pieter Joubert for his father and is the oldest house in Montagu.  It stands on a sub-division of the original Uitvlucht farm. The house was severely damaged in the 1981 floods but was fortunately bought by the Museum, restored and turned into a museum. It was declared a National monument in 1983. 

In 1880 it was here that three members of the Third Deputation who had visited England to plead, without success, for the annulment of the annexation of the Transvaal, were hosted. They were President Paul Kruger, the famous Boer General Piet Joubert and the Transvaal Superintendent of Education, S J du Toit.

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