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To provide up to date information on the industry and its related activities to schools, tourists and the general public and to educate them about forestry and the environment.
The Museum embraces the modern way of thinking and serves as an information centre about the industry in a fun and interactive way.
Guests are invited and welcomed to learn about forestry from primitive days to the present through different activities typical of plantation environment, sawmills and pulpmills.
The Museum is located on the corner of Ford Street and 7th & 10th Avenue, Sabie, Mpumalanga, South Africa.
Chantalle Sieling
Tel. 27 13 764 1058
Fax 27 13 764 2071
Email : klfmuseum@mweb.co.za
Mailing address:
Komatiland Forestry Museum
Att. C Sieling
P O Box 26
Sabie
1260
Mpumalanga
South Africa
The Museum exhibition offers:
- A unique look into the South African forestry history, dating back to the origin of forestry to the present day
Insight into the way modern technology has influenced the development of forestry over the years
- A view of the birth of forestry and the role trees play in nature
- Information on the processing and harvesting timber procedures, the various uses of timber, timber's contribution to the industrial development, the business spin-off opportunities and the general obstacles to the industry
- An explanation of the public interaction with indigenous forests and the quality of life to be expected
- Information on the land preparation and planting and the management of un-utilised land; and education on how we can add value to an environmentally friendly industry.
You can see the following at the museum:
- A 250-year-old yellow-wood disc on which highlights of the South African history are recorded on
- The oldest, miniature shoes that were carved out of wood by an Anglo-Boer prisoner on St Helena
- The history of the manufacturing of matches and a 'painting' in matches. The painting traces the evolution of man's attempts to harness fire and light and power
- A replica in matches of the Bosman Street N G Church in Pretoria
- The oldest known South African used frame saw, which came to the Transvaal in about 1894
- A hand-made clothes peg that was made by Gypsies in Ireland over a 100 years ago
The Museum's main aim is to tell the cultural-historical story of forestry in South Africa. The wonderful story of farsightedness is shown in the following 'firsts':
- 1689: 10000 oaks are planted on Table Mountain
- 1732: South African indigenous timber is exported to India
- 1852: A sawmill is put up at Pirie Forest Station
- 1882: Mexican pines are planted in the Durban botanical garden
- 1892: Sawmill to saw Kiaat at Rolle in the Lowveld
- 1939: A pulp mill is erected at Springs
- 1948:17 SABS standards published on timber
Adults: R5.00
Children: R2.00
Pensioners: R2.00
Mondays to Fridays: 08h00 to 16h30
Saturdays: 08h00 to 12h00
Closed on public holidays and Sundays
The Museum welcomes people from all walks of life, including school children and tourists who will be introduced to and educated about the historic environmental attraction of the region.
The Museum's conference rooms enable the Sabie community and the Mpumalanga province to have a facility close to nature to host a variety of events.
In 1865, Carl Mauch, a famous geologist, read in European newspapers that hunters and people travelling to South Africa talked about gold occurring in the Sabie region. Mauch wanted to find out if this was true and in 1869 he came from Pretoria to the Sabie area. Here his curiosity was satisfied - east of Lydenburg he found evidence that gold was present in the area.
Standing on the mountain (now named Mauchsberg in his honour) over which the Long Tom Pass goes, he is supposed to have said that gold would be found in the area. His statement proved to be right! On 14 March 1871, the first alluvial gold was found near Sptizkop. Gold was also found at Mac Mac (1872), Pilgrims Rest (1873), Baberton (1884) and Johannesburg (1886).
In 1880, Henry Thomas Glynn (1856-1928), the founder of Sabie (and known among his friends as H.T.), bought the farm Grootvantijn from P. de Villiers. The farm's original name was 'Sabi' but was later changed to 'Sabie'. The Sabie River flowed through the farm. The name Sabi (or Sabie) has an obscure origin.
What we do know is that the indigenous people feared the large river running through Grootvantijn. This could be because some believed that the river was haunted by the ghosts of the many black people that had either drowned in it or by the black soldiers who died in the many tribal clashes and whose bodies were thrown into the river without ripping them open to release their spirits. Sabie could be a derivation of the Shangaan word 'uluSaba', meaning fearful.
It was during 1896 that a 23-year-old H.T. decided to build a new house that would be named Huntington. On a boat trip to England, H.T. met a Miss Gertrude Gilbertson Dales (1876-1970) who would become his wife. They married in 1896 in England and during that same year they moved to Huntington.
During this time geologists and prospectors, who were hired by H.T. and his father, searched Grootvantijn for gold-bearing reefs. Eventually, a gold reef was found. This reef produced the most gold in the district.
In 1895, Alfred Beit and Lionel Phillips started the company Glynn's Lydenburg and appointed A.L. Neale as manager. Between May 1897 and July 1950, Glynn's Lydenburg produced 1 240 646 ounces gold and mined 3 427 784 tons of ore. The company made a profit of R4 234 664.
During 1880 the mines of the Transvaal Gold Mining Estates (TGME) began to exploit reefs and realised that they needed timber. The mines got the timber from the diminutive indigenous forests along the Escarpment. However, these forests were soon exhausted.
In 1895, H.T. was entertaining friends on the banks of the Sabie River. They did target shooting at a nearby waterfall and bullets chipped a rock to reveal indications of gold. Diggers soon rushed to the area and during that same year the Sabie Village was established.
The beginning of forestry in the Eastern Transvaal started in 1876 when the first forester of the region, Joseph Brooke Shires, planted commercial eucalyptus and wattles at Onverwacht, which later became Brooklands State forest. In 1903/1904 the TGME planted gums and wattles at Driekop (Graskop) and the then Department of Forestry at Graskop in 1906. It is these early actions that have made this region the single biggest manmade forest in South Africa. The forest supplies over 51 per cent of South Africa's timber. It is, therefore, only natural that the Museum was established here.
Through this fascinating story of our forestry-past runs a golden thread of courage and determination, which visitors to the Museum can experience in their own way.
In 1972, Mr W.J. Joubert discussed with the Sabie municipality an idea of starting a museum and the Town Council then contacted the Transvaal Provincial Library and Museum Services. Mr David Gevisser contacted Dr Winckler in 1974 and requested that he go to Sabie and start the Forestry Museum. However, by the time the Forestry Museum was started valuable and irreplaceable material was already lost. On 2 May 1977 Dr W.G. Winckler, who had 45 years of experience in forestry, standardisation and promotion, was appointed as the first curator of the museum.
The Sabie Forestry Museum was housed in the old municipal library building. On 18 August 1977 the museum was incorporated into the Tranvaal Provincial Museum Service.
Without the financial and material help from the forestry industry, SA Forest Investments Limited, ACME Timber Industries Limited, the Department of Environment Affairs and the Transvaal Museum Service, who provided artists, museum know-how and guidance, as well as specialised material and finance, this Museum would not have existed.
On 17 October 1981, the Sabie Forestry Museum was officially opened by the Honourable W.A. Cruywagen, the then Administrator of Transvaal.
After Dr Winckler's death, the Sabie Forestry Museum was neglected and the Sabie Village Council did not have the necessary funds to restore the Museum to what it was. Safcol then took on the responsibility of maintaining the Museum. The old building underwent many structural changes and a new building was erected for the Museum.
The forestry industry makes its money by growing trees and then converting the wood from the trees into value-added products, such as furniture, paper, transmission poles, roof trusses and many other wood products. In their pursuit to make forestry accessible and understood by the public, Safcol, with the assistance of Global Forest Products (which used to be Mondi) and Sappi, entered into a 99-year lease with the co-operation of the Sabie T.L.C and invested in a complete make over of the Safcol Forest Industry Museum property.
The new Safcol Forest Industry Museum's official opening took place on 7 May 1998 and Dr Matthew Phosa, the former Premier of Mpumalanga, attended the ceremony. Mrs Serita Bucknell, the eldest and only living daughter of the founder of Sabie, Mr H.T. Glynn, was also present at the ceremony.