All aboard for museum plan
Old U’hage station, engines in need of repair
AFTER just four months as curator of Uitenhage’s three state-owned museums, Balise Mvoko is still the proverbial “new broom sweeping clean”. Mvoko and her team are planning to rejuvenate the old railway station in Market Street into what she says will be a much-needed tourist attraction for the town.
An amount of R450 000 has already been secured over the next two years from the Eastern Cape Department of Sport, Recreation, Arts and Culture, but that is a far cry from what is needed to renovate the station, opened in 1875.
“We are calling on the public to help us restore this Gothic-style building. It is unique and special as a relic of the golden age of steam-train heritage in South Africa. But its value has deteriorated due to lack of funding. The weather has also severely affected the locomotives and carriages. We appeal to the public to assist us,” Mvoko said.
“The paint from the railway station is peeling off and the locomotives are rusty and looking quite sad, crying out for a facelift.
“This area has also been vandalised a couple of times. However, we have strengthened the security by installing security beams. Our aim is to restore the building to its former glory. We have railway enthusiasts who assist us. We want it to be a tourist attraction so that we can contribute towards packaging Uitenhage as a tourist destination.”
Mvoko, who is also curator of Cuyler Manor Museum and the Old Drostdy Museum, said not only financial assistance was required, donations of building materials would also be welcome as would people with experience who could help restore the trains.
“Once we are done with restoring and redecorating the buildings, locomotives and carriages, we are looking at converting some of the venues into a period coffee shop, a rail-themed shop and a small meeting venue. The overall space could serve as a special events venue for private and corporate celebrations during evenings and weekends.”
Mvoko is well aware of the iconic attractions in the town, like Volkswagen SA and its Pavilion museum which also contributes towards packaging the area to tourists.
Former Bayworld director and now department official Sylvia van Zyl said restoring the old railway museum would preserve the cultures of the past.
“We believe by restoring this building we will be able to tell stories of how people travelled back in the old days. In the first year the department has allocated R250 000, then in two years’ time there will be another R200 000. We are also working with other museums around the Eastern Cape,” she said.
Prominent Port Elizabeth architect Bruce Brinkman, who has long had a love affair with trains, said the museum was an important part of the history of transport in the Eastern Cape and South Africa. Brinkman is an avid member of Friends of the Uitenhage Railway Museum.
“It is one of the few original railway station buildings left [in South Africa]. It remains very much like it was in 1875. We are glad that something is going to be done. The building was last painted in 2000. Since then no maintenance work has been carried out,” Brinkman said.
“The water has damaged the ceilings. If it’s not repaired it will suffer further damages. The locomotives have also suffered lack of maintenance. Water has got inside the coaches, causing damage to the interior.
“They also have to be repaired to make them weather-proof.”