Housed in an 1890 Dutch Reformed Church in Polokwane, is the Hugh Eksteen Photographic Museum. Browse through over 23000 negatives and original photographs taken by Hugh Eksteen, who lived to be 91 years old. This talented photographer was the son of Jacomina Hendrina van der Poel and his physician, anthropologist, geologist, and collector father, Hugh Exton. (Exton also spelled Eksteen)
Eksteen moved North from Cape Town in 1886, visiting the Marabastad Goldfields near Pietersburg to eventually settle down in the Town that was once called "the bastion of the North" by Paul Kruger- (3rd president of South Africa) and has long been a center of Afrikaans culture.
He photographed a variety of Historic events, including the Anglo-Boer War. Self-taught photographer Hugh Eksteen lived to the age of 91 and during his lifetime, he carved out a unique position for himself within the local History. Have a look at the cameras he used and browse through Eksteen's appointment books, containing notes about every photo he took, the subject, and the cost. Kept here are the valuable original glass negatives capture the fascinating first few years of the Town's bygone History on celluloid and portray what the Area of Polokwane looked like between 1892 and 1945 as well as provide an insight into the architecture, celebrities, clothing, industry, and trade of the time. Photographing the full spectrum of Polokwane residents regardless of race, age, or religion, Eksteen captured both black and white people, migrant laborers, and hunters. From formal portraits of young dandies in three-piece suits, to loving couples and demure farmers' wives, dive into this exceptional collection and get a better sense of South Africa's complex history.
The photos portray what the Area of Polokwane (previously known as Pietersburg) looked like between 1892 and 1945 as well as an insight into the architecture, celebrities of the time, clothing, industry and trade.
