Exhibitions on display
Huberta
World famous wandering hippo
The Amathole Museum is the home of Huberta, the world’s most famous hippopotamus. More than seventy five years after her death, young and old are still captivated by the story of her wanderings.
Huberta’s probable birthplace was in northern KwaZulu Natal. In 1928 she first came to public notice and during the course of her 21/2 year journey, frequently made headline news.
Animal Displays
A must-see exhibition
The Mammal displays in the museum depict a magnificent selection of over 400 specimens including most of the larger southern African mammals and many smaller species too. Most were collected on expeditions by Captain Guy Shortridge, director of the museum from 1920 – 1949, One visitor described the display as “The Kruger Park in still-life“, when he was able to see all the species he had recently seen from afar in said park really close up in the museum.
In addition, our museum is one of only three museums in South Africa that has a beehive with a live swarm of bees on display with accompaying information, which is useful to researchers and students alike.
History
Local struggle for liberation
Idabi is a powerful, local history installation, representing a benchmark in struggle exhibitions. This is achieved by displaying cutting-edge research material and never-before-seen artefacts with the use of exhibition technology.
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Xhosa Gallery
Anthropology collects and documents Xhosa traditional knowledge, ranging from artifacts and medicines to myths and rituals.
Owing to its predominantly oral character, traditional knowledge is doomed to extinction in a modern hi-tech world in which its poetic language and practical significance are likely to be misunderstood, unless recorded and documented for posterity.
Ethnological artifacts are displayed in the XHOSA GALLERY, which documents social and cultural change among the Xhosa of the Eastern Cape from pre-colonial times to the present.