Transport Museum
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Pioneers of Aviation Museum |
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The Transport Museum, situated in Kimberley’s railway station, showcases an accurate record of the history of the railways and the development of other forms of transport as the need increased, time passed and developments advanced.
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Kimberley is regarded as the cradle of aviation in South Africa and in 1913, South Africa's first flying school opened here. Pilots of the South African Aviation Corps, later to become the South African Air Force, were trained in Kimberley.
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Included in the display at the Transport Museum of Kimberley is a cycle that was used by the volunteers from Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) during the Anglo-Boer War, model trains from the Baxter Collection and the cabin of an authentic steam locomotive. This makes the museum a fantastic place for the whole family to visit, combining fun and a sense of insight into the background of modern South Africa.
As a bonus, on the platform is a magnificent steam locomotive, the SAR Class 25NC 4-8-4 Locomotive No.3411. This locomotive was built by North British Locomotive Co as works no 27311 in 1953. The engine& tender measures 91 feet end to end. The engine, when working, weighed 117t & the tender 105t. The main cylinder bore is 24 inch and the stroke 28inch. The driving wheels are 5 feet in diameter.
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On 18 June 1911 John Weston flew the first flight in Kimberley creating a South African a flight record of eight-and-a-half minutes in his Weston-Farman biplane.
Fearing numerous attempts of this nature, the Aeronautical Society of South Africa was established in 1911. It was the start of the John Weston Aviation Company of South Africa, which did much to popularise flight in the country by travelling to the main centres and offering flights to the public. The museum can be found on the site of the original flying school and houses a life-size replica of the Compton-Paterson bi-plane as used for the training of pilots who included the nucleus of the future South African Air Force. The first female on the African Continent to receive her pilot's licence, Ann Maria Bocciarelli, was trained at this school. 
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