It all started with a phone call in early May, informing staff at the McGregor Museum in Kimberley that one of its exhibition pieces had gone missing.
After this alarming call, personnel at the museum engaged in a search for this piece, requesting the help of the public. The missing piece was identified as Private Bob, part of the Regiment Gallery exhibition on the top floor of the museum.
At the McGregor Museum, housing fascinating and unbelievable parts of history, it is not uncommon for strange things to happen.
Private Bob is a soldier without a rank, and although headless, was neatly dressed in uniform.
As the days passed, the mystery of his disappearance deepened as he was seen at different spots in and around Kimberley. Hesitant to confront a headless soldier, the public kept personnel at the museum updated on his movements.
Private Bob was first spotted in the newly opened Slice of Nice coffee shop and deli at the museum in Atlas Street. Unfortunately, on the museum personnel’s arrival there was no sign of him – only a few crumbs on a table and an “IOU” scribbled on a napkin.
Next he was sighted at the Duggan-Cronin Photographic Gallery, close to the McGregor Museum. Again, on arrival of personnel, there was no sign of him except for his visitors book entry. The Duggan-Cronin Gallery is a photographic museum displaying the photographs of Alfred Duggan-Cronin, Aubrey Elliot, Jean Morris and Alice Mertens. Their photographs of rural and indigenous people of Southern Africa, taken from 1919 to 1980, show aspects of traditional but transforming life and dress through an era of enormous change. This building, originally known as “The Lodge”, was built in 1889.
Days later, he was spotted at the Magersfontein Battlefield Museum, approximately 45km from Kimberley. Maybe he had a longing for a quiet evening with a starlit sky and the lingering sound of a bagpipe? It was here that Gen. PA Cronjé and his Boer troops defeated the English forces of Lt.Gen. Lord Methuen who were on their way to relieve the besieged Kimberley, on 11 December 1899.
It seems Private Bob also had a longing for fun, as he was spotted playing billiards at the Rudd House Museum in Belgravia, Kimberley. Rudd House is a typical example of a residence built for wealthy people during the 19th century. The building is surrounded by verandahs and is lavishly furnished. It boasts a billiard room with a full-size billiard table, still in excellent condition. Outside the house is a gigantic fig tree with its characteristic thick roots showing above ground level.
But travelling, even without a head it seems, makes one thirsty and he was seen popping in for tea at the Victorian-style Dunluce House, also in Belgravia. Dunluce, or Lillianville as it was first known, is a typical late Victorian house with wooden facade and much of the original furnishings. It is one of Kimberley’s most elegant buildings. The name means “strong fortress” and is named after Dunluce Castle in Northern Ireland, the land of John Orr’s birth.
All fun comes to an end, however, and Private Bob is back in his exhibition, where he belongs.
‘Museums are fun’
His travels were nothing more than the McGregor Museum’s initiative of taking part in the International Council of Museums’ (ICOM) annual International Museum Day, observed on 18 May.
Dominique McAnda, a curator at the museum, says this year’s theme was “The Future of Museums in Rapidly Changing Communities”. With this in mind, they decided to create a new awareness on the McGregor Museum and its satellite museums.
Museums are key contributors to the sustainable development of communities. As trusted institutions and integral threads in a shared social fabric, museums are uniquely placed to foster positive change on a global scale.
In the search for Private Bob, the public had to follow information on the Facebook page McGregor Museum Kimberley. Pictures of his whereabouts were published, and a winner and runner-up were selected through a lucky draw.
McAnda says they were surprised by the positive reaction, and how much people enjoyed it. Some even thought he was really stolen. She was the one who moved Private Bob to the different locations, which was also a lot of fun.
“A beautiful story with a surprise. Kudos to those who initiated the prank,” was one comment on Facebook.
When looking at the video of the phone call on Facebook, where it all started, until the last video where McAnda locked the door to Private Bob’s exhibition case: Museums are indeed a lot of fun.
You must be logged in to post a comment.