Anglo-Boer War Monument

Originally built in 1913 as a monument to the British soldiers who fought in the Boer war, it was later rededicated in 1999 to everyone who died in the war.

It is located in the plaza between the museum and zoo. There used to be a zoo entrance/exit that opened to that plaza, but it was closed off when I visited so I had to leave the zoo and walk around the outside of the zoo to get to the museum.

Gaddafi’s T-55LD

In 1979, the South African’s intercepted a shipment of 10 Polish built T-55LD tanks on the French flagged ship Astor that the Libyans were originally sending to Uganda via Tanzania.

The war in Uganda was over before they could arrive, so Gaddafi decided to gift them to Angola instead. To prevent them from being used against South Africa in the Border War, the ship was intercepted and the cargo seized.

8 of the tanks were sent to Rhodesia for use in that countries war, 1 was used as a target for weapon testing, and this 1 is in the museum.

C-47 Dakota

This C-47 was originally in British service in India, flying supplies from India to China during WW2. After the war it was converted to civilian use and sold to Sudan in 1953.

In 1975 it mysteriously changed hands to the South African air force where it was converted for a photo-reconnaissance role. The air force had Dakotas in service for over 70 years.

In 1990, it was taken out of service and became a display aircraft. Climbing around inside and imagining conditions for WW2 paratroopers was a highlight of the day.