Mini Educational to the State Archives in Roeland Street
- Details
- Thursday, 24 February 2011
- Written by Annie Delport
- Back to: Educationals
During our CTGA educational at the State Archives on 24.02.11 we were taken on a guided tour of the Archives by Jaco van der Merwe. His guidance was delightful and informative.
We learned that only the front wall of the Roeland Street Prison gate remained. The rest of the building was specially built for the Archives. They studied the architecture of Archives in other European countries and eventually decided to use the design of the archives in Germany. The foundations as well as the different floors have reinforced concrete. The weight of the books is more than the weight of parked cars in the same area. The bottom floor is empty and has special filters in to pump water and damp out to ensure that the books are kept dry. The temperature and humidity are strictly controlled and the Archives are fumigated every 6 months to keep them bug free. The shelves would stretch over a distance of 45km if it would be put next to each other!
The records were sent to the Archives in 1920 from different state departments. The documents originate from different areas like Batavia, Holland etc. There is also a section about Robben Island. The Dutch government provided an amount of R7 million for the restoration of some of the books. This only allowed for small portion of books to be cleaned. The individual pages of each book were chemically cleaned and then dipped in silk.
We were privileged to see a letter which was written on 30 Dec 1651 on board the Drommedaris and signed amongst others by Jan van Riebeeck. We also saw the first letter that was written at the Cape after Van Riebeeck arrived. The letter is dated 8 April 1652.
Until the 1790’s the Dutch used pig skin with metal plate inside to make the cover of their books. This lasted remarkably well over many years. The paper was also of an exceptional good quality and made from material and not wood (pulp). Each page has its own watermark. Some of the paper is 240 years old and it is still in immaculate condition. The typewriter came into being in 1906 and since then they started using files instead of books.
There is a reading room on the bottom floor where one can do research. The Archives has a quick lift system so that the staff can collect requested books fast and the client does not have to wait long for the documents.