East London Museum in East London, Eastern Cape

About East London Museum

Residents of East London tend to mention their museum and the coelacanth in one breath, and with good reason.

Did you know? Established in 1921 and considered to be one of the most interesting natural and cultural history museums in the country, the East London Museum features a number of fine exhibits, including an extensive collection of beadwork relating to the Xhosa-speaking people.

The East London Natural History gallery features the original coelacanth - a prehistoric fish that has lived in the Indian Ocean for 400 million years, thought to be extinct until it was re-discovered in 1938.

The discovery of a live coelacanth in the East London harbour was regarded internationally as the most significant zoological find of the century, which makes the East London Museum, open on every day of the year except Christmas day and Good Friday, worth a visit to see this specimen alone.

Of course there are other galleries at the museum. The border gallery gives a fine depiction of the history of the region and includes displays of southern Nguni beadwork and traditional culture; the costume gallery is a fine treat with period settings from the Late Victorian through to the 1930s Art Deco style; and the maritime gallery includes model ships and shipwreck artefacts.

The East London Museum lies in upper Oxford Street. It also serves as the home of the world’s only surviving Dodo egg and a reconstruction of the flightless bird that lived on the island of Mauritius, standing about a metre tall. Thought to be related to pigeons and doves, it has been extinct since the mid-to-late 17th century.

Need to Know

WhereEast London Museum, 319 Oxford St, East London, 5201, Sunshine Coast, Eastern Cape, South Africa

WhenMonday to Thursday from 08h30 to 16h30 Friday from 08h30 to 16h00 and Saturday from 09h00 to 13h00 Sunday and Public Holidays from 10h00 to 13h00 Closed on Christmas Day.

Telephone+27 (0)43 743-0686

OvernightStay in East London Accommodation, Eastern Cape

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