De Wets Huis Photo Museum

Erf 556 in Church Street was granted to Dirk Wouter Hoffman in 1835. The building was constructed by Jacobus Petrus de Wet, a family from Boontjieskraal, who bought the property in 1889. He owned it until 1918. Dirk Cornelius Eksteen Wolhuter owned it in 1933. He was the last owner before it was taken over by the Dutch Reformed Church to be used as a Sunday School.

In 1983 the cottage was earmarked for demolition, but for the intervention of Oskar Prozesky, former curator of the OHM and the Board of Trustees. An agreement was signed between the Dutch Reformed Church Board and the Board of Trustees of the Old Harbour Museum whereby the old Sunday School house was donated to the museum. It was dismantled by Mr Prozesky, the factotum, Mr Pieter Claasen and some extra hired labour. The plaster was knocked off and each stone numbered with paint to facilitate the re-assembly of the building. This entire structure was moved to the Fishermen’s Village site.

The building was re-erected number by number at the present site under the curatorship of Mr Guy Clark during 1986/87. Today it houses a photo exhibition of mostly photos of T D Ravenscroft, and some by Ardene Tredgold.

The photos were collected by Margaret de Villiers who was also responsible for the designing of the exhibition in co-operation with Johan du Plessis, a photographer, who restored and printed the photographs. The sponsor was Alexander Forbes.