Dates: 1880
Brief historical background: the powder house, or kruithouse, was built in order to safely house the dynamite needed by the roads construction department
Collection summary: this collection comprises photographic images, and an information document.
Collection sourced by Rita Wiesemann and Carol Preston; April 2021
Size: A. eighteen photographic images; B. historical information document
Restrictions: none
Storage: hard material stored in one archival folder
GPS coordinates: -27.3352701,30.147966
B: Information document:
The Powder House was built in 1880 by the local municipality in order to store dynamite for the road construction department. Its location, on top of a koppie on the outskirts of the village, was specifically to ensure that the village would be protected in case of accidental explosion. The structure is a square plan building with a corrugated iron timber roof, and constructed from blouklip. Sandstone quoining adorn the corners of the building and door surrounds. There remain aspects of the hinges and locking system for double doors – the internal door being a heavy steel plated wooden door with an external steel door. The double door system was for extra security. Timber racks were fitted inside and used for shelving. These are no longer there. There is a pole situated outside of the doorway and this is presumably the remains of a lightning conductor.