The big Talana Live weekend is here
It will be a weekend of ghosts, battle re-enactments, historical tours and talks, the 'Wheels Thru Time' Car Show, the SA Irish Pipes and Drums Band, as well as the exciting Night at the Museum on Friday evening.
Friday, October 17 from 6pm to 8:30pm
Night at the Museum – come and find out if ghosts do walk after dark… Talk by Paul Garner. Food and refreshments will be available.
Saturday, October 18
10am: Parade of SA Irish Pipes and Drums Band through central Dundee from 10:30am at the museum: full programme of various events. Food court with wide variety of food. 2:30pm: Battle of Talana re-enactment. 4pm: Attack on the train and capture of Winston Churchill. There will be Red Coat soldier demonstrations, dancing, pipe band performances, chess tournament, traditional children’s games, crafts, and the first aid tent, manned by doctors, will be offering a free service to test you blood sugar levels and blood pressure.
Sunday, October 19
6:30am: Tour will depart from Ingudlane Lodge parking lot. From Lennox Hill, look over the Talana Battlefield and listen to Kevin Burge recount the story of the battle from 115 years ago. Ingudlane Lodge will be serving a buffet breakfast. Please book in advance: 082 879 7734. 9:30am: Meet Pam McFadden in front of the War Memorial in Victoria Street to walk the central Dundee Heritage Trail and hear stories of the town from days gone by. Wreaths, accompanied by a piper, will be laid at Penn Symons’s grave in the Anglican churchyard and at the Boer memorial at the Dutch Reformed Church. 11:30am: Meet at the Talana Museum for departure on a tour with a difference.
Visits to Thornley (Boer headquarters during battle of Talana), Adelaide Farm (skirmish site between Boers and 18th Hussars) and then on to the hills to view newly-discovered fortifications.
Visit www.talana.co.za for the full programme and ticket prices. Tickets for the whole weekend: R50 per adult and R20 per scholar. If you only want to attend certain events then you can buy a ticket for each day at the entrance gate
October 20 to 22
International Military History Conference: this conference is to commemorate the 115th anniversary of the start of the Anglo Boer War and the centenary of the Great War, hosted by Talana Museum and the South African Military History Society. Twent-seven world-renowned speakers – eight from the UK and Ireland – will be presenting papers on a number of themes relating to the two wars. Contact Talana Museum on 034 212 2654 or e-mail info@talana.co.za for further details.
Visit www.talana.co.za for the full programme.
October 20
Anniversary Ghost Walk: join us in the cemetery at Talana Museum at 5:15pm for a short commemorative wreath-laying service, and then follow Pam McFadden up Talana Hill to hear different accounts of the soldiers’ stories. On the plateau you can enjoy bully beef sandwiches and sherry while you listen to ghostly tales of the battlefield and wait for the anniversary ghosts to appear.
Wreaths will be laid by the mayor, Moths, representatives of the Natal Carbineers, Royal Regiment of Artillery, Dublin Fusiliers’ Association, Irish Fusiliers’ Association, Inniskilling Fusiliers’ Museum, Connaught Rangers’ Association, Kings Royal Rifle Corps, Rifle Brigade, Boer commandoes, the Dundee Town Guard and Dundee Rifle Association. If any member of the public or organisation would like to lay a wreath please contact Pam McFadden to be included. Contact Talana Museum on 034 212 2654 or e-mail info@talana co.za for further details.
