The dwelling is a low single-storey structure with few architectural features of note. However it was spacious and well built, and remains in its original condition. Only the tall trees that formerly stood close to the street verandah have been removed. The land was acquired by President Kruger in the 1860s, when he was still living on the farm Boekenhoutfontein, in the district of Rustenburg. Following the restoration of independence to the Transvaal in 1881, Kruger moved permanently to Pretoria. At about this time he bought land from a James Kelly for £500, upon which this house was built. After his election as President of the new ZAR in May 1883, contractor Charles Clark began construction on the house, which was handed over to its owner on or before 14 August 1884. Electric lighting and a telephone were installed before 1899. Kruger occupied the house until 29 May 1900 when his Government was forced to flee Pretoria before advancing British forces. His wife continued to live there however, until her death on 20 July 1901. After her death it was used by the British Military Police until 1904 when it was acquired by FC Eloff, Kruger's son-in-law, who used it until 1908, when it became the first premises of a maternity home run by the Bond van Afrikaanse Moeders. The house was purchased from the deceased; 'Estate of Eloff', on 25 August 1925 by the South African Government, who its restored the interior to its original condition. The following year it was handed over to the Transvaal Museum to house its collection of Kruger relics. The two stone lion sculptures located on either side of its entrance were presented to President Kruger as a mark of appreciation by mining magnate Barney Barnato. It was declared a National Monument under old NMC legislation on 6 April 1936.
This was the last house in which President Paul Kruger was to live, between 1883 and 1901, before he left South Africa to go into exile in Europe. The Kruger House Museum lies just a few blocks from Church square, where his bronze statue takes centre stage facing the Palace of Justice.
This beautiful Victorian style home was interestingly built using milk instead of water for mixing the cement as the cement of the time was deemed to be of a poor quality. Paul Kruger’s home was one of the first in the city to use electricity, and he had one of the first telephones installed in Pretoria in 1891. This unpretentious home has been refurbished to reflect the time when Kruger and his second wife, Gezina Kruger, lived here and, amongst a number of bits and pieces is a knife that 'Oom Paul' (Uncle Paul), as he was fondly known, used to amputate his thumb after a shooting incident. The lions on the verandah were given to Kruger by Barney Barnato, the mining magnate, as a birthday present in 1896.
Paul Kruger was State President of the South African Republic and was renowned internationally for his struggle for freedom from the British during the Second Boer War (1899 - 1902). Both the Kruger National Park and the Krugerrand coin are named after him, and today pipe manufacturers continue to produce a style called ‘Oom Paul’, that is similar to the large-bowled, full-bent shape of the pipe with which he was so often portrayed in photographs.
Interestingly, the hat he wore on his voyage to Europe is today displayed at the Rijksmuseum in the Netherlands.
Geolocation
-25° 44' 44.8275", 28° 10' 52.6526"
References