Successful genealogy day at the Roodepoort Museum

By Penny Evans

On 22 January 2011 the West Gauteng Branch, in conjunction with the Roodepoort Museum, held a successful Genealogy Day in the foyer of the Promusica Theatre.

Guides took small groups of visitors on a tour of the museum which had exhibits and photographs of the early days of gold mining in the vicinity of Roodepoort. The museum has a section converted into an mid 1800's Highveld farmhouse, the kitchen, lounge and bedrooms furnished according to the style of the day. In addition various rooms depict the decor of the Victorian era and even that of the 1920's and 1930's. A wonderful worthwhile visit.

Above:  Ann Smart, curator: Roodepoort Museum

Exhibitors arrived early to set up their tables. Although the day got off to a slow start, by mid morning many visitors had arrived. The exhibitors were kept busy answering questions, giving advice and handing out information sheets. Visitors eagerly waited while the databases were checked for any infomation on their ancestors. Some delighted visitors were inspired to join our branch. Members had the chance to socialize over a cup of coffee.

We would like to thank the following branches for their support:
Johannesburg branch;
Northern Transvaal branch representing the Barkhuizen and Diedericks families;
Isabel Groesbeek (right above), a knowledgeable and experienced researcher;
Anne Smart, curator of the Roodepoort Museum and her staff;
Neels Coertse (left) for being available to take photographs of the family history information in Bibles;
Lucas Rinken for spending many exhausting hours searching his database;
Barbara Bouwer for sellind the CD's and enrolling members;
The members who helped set up tables and
The staff of the Civic Theatre.

Right:  Members paging through some of the genealogy books.

The planning and hard work of the committee made this a successful day. A very special thanks to John Stephens for his input and for supporting us on the day, despite his illness.

Newsletter: January 2011

The latest newsletter of the branch is published below. 

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Wes-Gauteng-nuusbrief 2011-01

Newsletter: December 2010

The latest newsletter of the branch is published below. 

Please be patient while it is loading. 

Click on "Full Screen" below to enlarge it. Wes-Gauteng-nuusbrief 2010-12

Genealogy day on 22 January 2011 in Roodepoort

On Saturday, 22 January 2011, the Roodepoort Museum in partnership with the West-Gauteng Branch of the Genealogical Society of South Africa is hosting an open day to promote and facilitate interest and research in genealogy and family history.

Time and venue

The function starts at 09:00. The Genealogical Society will have their displays in the Jo'burg Promusica Foyer and the Roodepoort Museum will be open until 15:00 for free guided tours of the museum.

Database of 586 000 names

Visitors will also have the opportunity to ask Lucas Rinken, Chairperson of the branch to look for their family name on his database which numbers about 586 000 names.

Lucas Rinken, has already done some “home work” on the gold discoverers. He has a genealogy lined up for the Struben Brothers, a family tree.

He also has one for Willem Boshoff, the first Afrikaans Mine millionaire. This he’ll have on his computer and will project it on a screen for people to see.

Family Bibles

Neels Coetzee, a members of the meber of the branch, is compiling a photographic database of old family Bibles. Visitors are requested to bring their old family bibles to be photographed free of charge. These family Bible photographs will form part of an International Database on the internet.

Look for our next week's article in the Roodepoort Record to find out more about this exciting event and the other organisations and researchers that will be available to assist you with your family history.

Guided tours

On the 22 January you can get a free guided tour of the museum without making a prior booking. Remember that the museum is only open by appointment if you want to come on another day. Tours are tailored to your needs and interests and on average last about one hour. For more information contact the museum on 011/761-0225/6/8.

Where to find us:

The museum is situated in the Civic Centre, 100 Christiaan de Wet Road, Florida Park. Entrance to the museum is right next to the Joburg Promusica Theatre.

Genealogiedag vervang maandvergadering: 22 Januarie 2011

Vandeesmaand se maandvergadering word vervang met ‘n genealogiedag saam met die Roodepoortse Museum.

Dit vind plaas op 22 Januarie 2011. Dit begin om 09:00 en eindig om 15:00 .

Alle lede is welkom.

Toegang tot die uitstallings is gratis.

Ander uitstallers sluit  Isabel Groesbeek; die LDS onder leiding van Isebelle Krauss; die Heidelbergse Erfenisstigting en moontlik ook Linda Lombard van die Noord-Transvaalse Tak van die GGSA.

Voorts is Neels Coertse oorgehaal om familiebybels te fotografeer. Die publiek en ons lede gevra word om hul familiebybels saam te bring.

• Intussen het Lucas Rinken en Graham Southey gesorg dat die takbiblioteek nou na die kelder van die NG Kerk verskuif is, terwyl Kriek en sy aanstaande skoonseun met die deur wat installeer moes word, gehelp het.