Parys Museum: Building relationships

It all began with a visit from the National Geographic (USA) on 17 November 2016, in    search of the relationship between Parys’s economy and the Vaal River. Ishan Thakore, 2016 Fulbright-National Geographic digital storyteller, saw the Parys Museum as no stranger to the geo-economic status of its vicinity.
Ishan came all the way from New Jersey, USA, to research the Vaal and Orange rivers  in conjunction with their impact on their immediate communities respectively (whether it be good or bad).
Following Ishan’s visit, a relationship was forged with the great-great-grandson of the influential Cecil John Rhodes and his wife, Reena Lee, who also happens to be the great-great-granddaughter of the famous John Lee.
John Lee was the mediator between the chiefs in Zimbabwe and a great friend of the legendary Mzilikazi, king of the Ndebele   people.
Both Rhodes and Lee played a great role  in shaping the history of the then Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) and South Africa.
Simon and Reena were in Parys to give a lecture on John Lee and Mzilikazi at the event hosted by the Parys Museum and held at the Kultuurkamer (a privately-owned library in Water Street, Parys). Mzilikazi   was once in Parys and settled in the area where part of the airport is situated after he fled Zululand. On that note, Prof. Graeme Addison was one of the speakers at the event to rubberstamp the existence of Mzilikazi in Parys.
Prof.  Addison is the former head of communications at the North-West University and a well-known author of books on science and technology and writer on the Vredefort Dome, asteroids, rivers and environmental issues. He  gave a broader history of Parys and the battlefields around it, including the wars fought by Mzilikazi himself. The event took place on 26 November 2016 with the purpose of raising funds for the Parys Museum.
It led to the establishment of a relationship between the Parys Museum and the Kultuurkamer and in pursuit of another gathering of this sort that will be held sometime in January 2017. The venue will be announced at a later stage to raise further funds for the local museum.
The event was initiated to address the financial issues faced by the museum, covering overheads and office equipment.
The Parys Museum’s committee would   like to thank everyone who attended the function including the Matabeleland Interest Group and the Lesotho’s Kraal Group.
For more information on how to be a part of the Parys Museum,  visit their facebook page, Parys Museum or call Mr Huma Sehume, manager of the Parys Museum on +27 74 515 0000 or email: hsehume@gmail.com.