SAPS Museum:
The History of the Police Museum in Ventersburg
On 29 October 1983, a small police museum was opened in
Ventersburg in the Northern Free State. The idea of restoring
the old Ventersburg Police Station was suggested by the local
Rapportryers corps. An official decision on the matter was taken
on 20 August 1982, after which a conservation committee was
appointed. On 25 January 1983, plans were set in motion to
restore the tiny building and to use it as a museum for the
police.
The museum consists of the original police station which
consisted of two offices, namely a charge office and the station
commander’s office, and was built between 1902 and 1910. There
is also a prison near the police station that was built from
rock and consisted of four cells. There is evidence that the
jail was already in existence at the end of the 19th century.
The existing iron fencing posts bear the date 1895. Above the
door of the main building the letters and year “RAMC - 1900" are
engraved. This refers to the Royal Army Medical Corps and points
to a connection with the British Forces during the Anglo Boer
War. This means that the old jail already existed at that time
and was probably in use. The stables and pounds were completed
in 1899. A cottage served as the police barracks between 1930
and 1956. The old police station was in use until 1951.
After the official opening, the museum’s keys were handed to
the local police station. The museum was not open to the public
every day and could be visited only by special arrangement. The
museum consequently attracted virtually no visitors, although it
lies directly adjacent to the main road between Pretoria and
Cape Town.
As of 1 April 1984, the curator of the Police Museum in
Pretoria became the commander of the Ventersburg museum as well.
A member of the force, Constable Petro Engelbrecht, was
permanently stationed there so that the museum could be open to
the public every day. This resulted in an immediate increase in
the number of visitors.
The museum in Ventersburg has several items that are of
historical value. One such item is the door of the cell in which
the rebel, Jopie Fourie, was held prisoner in the Central Prison
in Pretoria.
General Christiaan de Wet also had a close bond with this
particular police office during the Rebellion of 1914. In 1987,
the museum was declared a national monument.
On 11 September 1999, the old police station, which is now
the museum, celebrated its centenary. The whole town
participated in the activities that took place in celebration of
this special occasion.
On 15 October 2004 the museum in Ventersburg celebrated its
21st birthday. The Area Commissioner of the police in the
Northern Free State, Assistant Commissioner Lerato Molale, the
Head of Communication and Liaison Services, Assistant
Commissioner MJ Ngobeni, initiated a joint event to commemorate
the 21st birthday of the museum, and Heritage Day,
and to pay homage to the founder members of the museum and all
retired SAPS members in the Area Northern Free State.
As part of the celebrations, a parade, which included members
of the SAPS and the Northern Free State choir, was held. It
started at the Ventersburg Police Station and ended at the
museum, where they were welcomed by police officials from
Ventersburg and pupils from local schools in Ventersburg.
Assistant Commissioner Ngobeni handed certificates to the
attending founding members of the museum, thereby honouring
those members who had the vision 21 years ago to preserve a part
of our heritage.
The museum currently has two staff members, with Inspector
Petro Engelbrecht as the curator.
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