Jansenville's
Museum, better known as Sid Fourie House, stands on Brug (Bridge)
Street, the main north-south road through town.
Sid Fourie,
a true son of Jansenville, was born in 1896 of an Afrikaans father
of Huguenot descent and an English mother. On leaving school
he dug wells and rode transport due to the lack of employment at
that time. In 1913 he clerked for a local firm of attorneys
but in 1914 he enlisted in a local unit, the 20th Mounted Rifles and
soon afterwards saw action on the Orange River near Upington in the
campaign against the rebellion in that area.
In 1918 he bought
the Jansenville Chronicle and was editor of it for 45 years.
He served on the
town council for 25 years, for 15 of which he was mayor. His
time as mayor saw Jansenville getting electricity, an airfield and
thousand of trees. He also played a major role in the
establishment of the SAWAS Hospital (South African Women's Auxiliary
Services) which opened its doors in 1952.
Regarded as
something of an eccentric, he wrote a number of books, travelled the
world extensively, put a number of Jansenville's sons and daughters
through university and, finally, bequeathed his house to the town.
The house, which
bears his name, is to-day Jansenville's museum and has a surprising
variety of interesting collections relating both to the lifestyles
of the past and the locality in particular.
|
Sid Fourie House in the
heart of Jansenville |
The dining room |
The lounge. Sid
Fourie was well-read |
|
The bedroom |
Some of the wide variety
of exhibits |
Carts and conveyances of
yesteryear |
|
A fine restored ossewa
(ox wagon) |
Another original wagon |
Artist's impression of
dinosaurs of the area |
|
Mentzichthyes fossil
frorm Lake Mentz |
Some of Jansenville's
angora/mohair legacy |
An exhibit of local
angora breeding |
|
Jansenville V.L.V.
exhibit |
A cutting edge dental
surgery in its day |
Recreation of the local
hairdresser |
|
An old-time telephone
exchange |
Sid Fourie's Bible |
A bust of Sid Fourie |
Top 
|
