East London Museum
East London Museum
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
4.0
72 reviews
Excellent
29
Very good
23
Average
18
Poor
0
Terrible
2
Brian E
East London34 contributions
May 2015 • Friends
Still a well worth while place to visit. Take the whole family and find out what historical artifacts are to be seen.
Can recommend.
Can recommend.
Written 1 September 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Guido L
Erkelenz, Germany67 contributions
Mar 2019 • Couples
We went to a lecture in the little auditorium of the museum. After this we were given the opportunity to visit this nice colonial style (inside) museum with a quick tour from the curator himself. A very passionate with a wide knowledge. We considered it as a privilege and were very excited afterwards.
If you have the chance and the time visit this gem.
If you have the chance and the time visit this gem.
Written 10 March 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
busisiwek2016
Vanderbijlpark, South Africa16 contributions
Jan 2018 • Solo
A great place to visit, will be very beneficial to history lovers and learners. I love the cultural displace and difference between nguni tribes. no to be taken as a solo outing, a group to engage in discussion will be good.
Written 1 February 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Annie M
East London, South Africa5 contributions
Oct 2016 • Friends
An informative report and photos showing the challenges and struggles lived through by the early Europeans during their journey towards the South African coast.
A wonderful store of information on East London's only Coelacaths.
A huge collection of a variety of sea-shells from all over the world
A good view into the animals , birds and plants in and around the Eastern Cape.
and lot more....worth spending a few hours .
A wonderful store of information on East London's only Coelacaths.
A huge collection of a variety of sea-shells from all over the world
A good view into the animals , birds and plants in and around the Eastern Cape.
and lot more....worth spending a few hours .
Written 11 July 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
AmzHZA
East London, South Africa13 contributions
Nov 2015 • Couples
The museum is completely unassuming from the outside and you make the unfortunate assumption that this will be a quick little outing. As a marine biology enthusiast, this museum has a stunning collection of shells, fish mounts and of course the coelocanth. The history of the coelocanth in East London is simply but effectively portrayed by a series of photographs and original hand written letters. A variety of other displays are available ranging from palaeontological displays, mammals, reptiles and birds (including an amazing bird egg collection) as well as beautiful cultural displays. The museum also organizes public lectures and even the occasional "Night at the Museum". You could get lost for hours in this surprising little museum...
Written 15 December 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Christien H
East London, South Africa28 contributions
Nov 2015 • Family
The museum is only open Monday-Friday, so you cant even get the time to visit it. When you get there the staff at the counter not very helpful.
Written 26 November 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
KEITH R
East London, South Africa11 contributions
Aug 2015
good place to take children who like to see weird and wonderfull things as it is educational for them.
Written 30 September 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
NineofCups
at sea267 contributions
Mar 2015 • Couples
Established in 1921, the East London Museum is considered to be one of the most interesting natural and cultural history museums in the country. It was much larger than we expected and its primary claim to fame is the coelacanth (pronounced seel-ah-canth … who knew?), a “funky fish with limb-like fins” presumed to be extinct 50+ million years ago and caught in a nearby river in 1938.
Enough about weird fish ... the museum had much more to offer. Plaster casts of human footprints dated at 120,000+ years were on display, providing evidence of the earliest homosapiens in Africa. The Hofmeyr Skull, further evidence of Africa as the birthplace of modern man, is also on display.
The natural history section of the museum is somewhat tired. Some displays are missing and some of the info placards are missing. Some of the animals on display have seen better days. Still, it was quite complete and displayed several animals we'd probably never see in the wild.
On the cultural side, the displays of period costumes, furniture and early life in Eastern Cape was well done. We especially like the extensive and very distinctive beadwork collection and exhibits on the Xhosa people, native to this area in the Eastern Cape.
Enough about weird fish ... the museum had much more to offer. Plaster casts of human footprints dated at 120,000+ years were on display, providing evidence of the earliest homosapiens in Africa. The Hofmeyr Skull, further evidence of Africa as the birthplace of modern man, is also on display.
The natural history section of the museum is somewhat tired. Some displays are missing and some of the info placards are missing. Some of the animals on display have seen better days. Still, it was quite complete and displayed several animals we'd probably never see in the wild.
On the cultural side, the displays of period costumes, furniture and early life in Eastern Cape was well done. We especially like the extensive and very distinctive beadwork collection and exhibits on the Xhosa people, native to this area in the Eastern Cape.
Written 25 March 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Anton v
London, UK126 contributions
Feb 2014 • Solo
I was shocked to see East London Museum absent from the Travel Advisor list of attractions in that city, as I would have thought it would have been in the Top 3 at the very least.
The Museum opened it's doors nearly a century ago in 1921, and from it's earliest days was blessed by an exceptional team who's dedication to local natural history, indigenous cultural legacy made it a Museum to take pride in.
The Museum was caused an international sensation when the young curator, Coutenay Latimer-Smith found an unusual fish on the local docks to put on display. It was a Coelacanth, from the time of pre-historic Dinosaur-era, believed to be extinct for millions of years, and front page news around the world, making it the most famous and photographed fish in history.
Times must have changed, as the Museum didn't even get a mention on this site before this posting, but there's more to the Museum than just celebrity fish.
The only existing intact egg from the extinct Mauritian Dodo is on display, then there are the countless galleries that display the shell varieties of this region, along with cases full of butterflies, moths and other things-on-pins, along with displays dedicated to keep local Xhosa culture alive, with examples of intricate beadwork, baskets and other rapidly dissapearing facets of their traditional ways.
I enjoyed the maritime history area, as it had a very entertaining exhibit on wrecks along the notoriously unpredictable local coast, that had some very amusing bits from when East London was again front-page news, when the cruise liner Oceanos sank nearby, when the Greek captain and crew were on the first lifeboat, and the casually-recruited entertainment team were the only ones left onboard to organize the passengers rescue.
The Museum is well worth a visit, the entrance fee is a pittance, there's a small gift-shop, and a simple tea-shop with light snacks.
The Museum opened it's doors nearly a century ago in 1921, and from it's earliest days was blessed by an exceptional team who's dedication to local natural history, indigenous cultural legacy made it a Museum to take pride in.
The Museum was caused an international sensation when the young curator, Coutenay Latimer-Smith found an unusual fish on the local docks to put on display. It was a Coelacanth, from the time of pre-historic Dinosaur-era, believed to be extinct for millions of years, and front page news around the world, making it the most famous and photographed fish in history.
Times must have changed, as the Museum didn't even get a mention on this site before this posting, but there's more to the Museum than just celebrity fish.
The only existing intact egg from the extinct Mauritian Dodo is on display, then there are the countless galleries that display the shell varieties of this region, along with cases full of butterflies, moths and other things-on-pins, along with displays dedicated to keep local Xhosa culture alive, with examples of intricate beadwork, baskets and other rapidly dissapearing facets of their traditional ways.
I enjoyed the maritime history area, as it had a very entertaining exhibit on wrecks along the notoriously unpredictable local coast, that had some very amusing bits from when East London was again front-page news, when the cruise liner Oceanos sank nearby, when the Greek captain and crew were on the first lifeboat, and the casually-recruited entertainment team were the only ones left onboard to organize the passengers rescue.
The Museum is well worth a visit, the entrance fee is a pittance, there's a small gift-shop, and a simple tea-shop with light snacks.
Written 6 December 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
RobertsonRussell
Robertson, South Africa18 contributions
Dec 2018 • Family
This is a well maintained museum with lots of interesting displays. Bonus was the talk to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the discovery of the Ceolocanth. It is great that there is willingness of staff to interact with visitors. It is worth a visit!
Written 23 December 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hi. Is Gately House still in existence? Or has it been stripped of its treasures over the years? Google maps just shows a view of Buffalo street.The enrance used to be through the zoo, but that is such a dangerous area these days, I last visited it in about 1985. - Marion Brown
Written 29 December 2014
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