The Old Court House Museum is the oldest public building in the central business district, and has a rich and chequered past. The building was loop-holed during the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879, it bore witness to both the South African Wars and the Bambatha Rebellion, and more recently acted as a recuitment centre and canteen during both World Wars.
Bergtheil Museum Named after Jonas Bergtheil, the Bergtheil Museum is housed in the oldest building in Westville, dating back to the 1840s. The building, due to its relevance and association with the first settlers, was declared a national monument in 1983. Although the building has undergone alterations over the years, the original cottage features massive stonewalls and hand-hewn yellowwood floorboards.
Durban’s Phansi Museum houses one of the largest collections of African arts and crafts worldwide, making it one of the world's largest publicly accessible collections of southern African artefacts. It began as a small cache of craftwork in a basement before being accorded private museum status in 2000. Today the museum operates from Roberts House, a fully restored Victorian house in the residential suburb of Glenwood.
The KwaMuhle Museum in Durban has the unenviable reputation as once being one of the most hated buildings in the city when it was the former Department of Native Affairs, an authoritative body responsible for enforcing punitive apartheid legislation. Ironically, today it provides a home for the historical records of the many different cultural groups whose contributions shaped Durban into the colourful and vibrant city that we know today – in spite of restrictions imposed by apartheid.
Pinetown Museum is a multi-cultural museum featuring a range of topics. Outlining several aspects of the surrounding region, the museum provides an overview of the development of the Pinetown region from prehistory to modern times. Local history features include well-known settlers and characters from the region dating from the mid 19th century, awards from the first Rand Show, the development of the Paradise Valley waterworks and Edwardian funiture and other paraphenalia.
