White River History & Motor Museum

About White River History & Motor Museum

A growing attraction of the Mpumalanga Lowveld is the White River Motor Museum, one of only a few places in South Africa where lovers of the automobile and its history can get up close and personal with survivors of a graceful era past.

The site of the museum, situated at Casterbridge Centre outside White River, is a striking 3-level complex with 2000m² of floor space and covers an impressive exhibition of more than 60 vehicles. The motor museum is a part of the White River Local History Museum, giving visitors an insight into the town’s colourful and sometimes chequered past.

Among the oldest vehicles to be displayed are those built in 1911, not too long after the introduction of the automobile or ’horseless carriage’ as it was then known. These are a Willys Overland, a Swift and a famous Model T Ford. Several 1924 models include a four-cylinder AC and a grand old 7-seater Packhard Phaeton with a giant 8-cylinder engine, bought new by Lord Delamere and discovered on his Kenyan estate in the 1970s. A 1929 Austin Seven represents one of the most successful cars of all time, Another famous marque, MG, is represented by a 1929 M-Type and 1934 L-Type with its 6-cylinder 1100cc engine restored beautifully. The 1936 Jaguar SS100 has pride of place being one of only 314 ever built and the only one to exist in South Africa.