All things militaria at the Saaaca Arms Fair
SAXONWOLD – The tradition of collecting firearms for various reasons related to history and heritage lives on through Saaaca.
Preserving one’s history and heritage includes the good and the bad that came with it. While some may view firearms in a negative perspective, the Southern Africa Arms and Ammunition Collectors’ Association (Saaaca) see them as a reflection of what is happening in society, industry or country at a point in time.
The association, which was established in 1994, held their annual Arms Fair for two days at the Ditsong Museum of Military History in Saxonwold.
According to Saaaca president Carvel Webb, the collection of firearms dates back to about 300 years with Louis the 13th who had about 200 firearms in his personal collection.
“We have continued with that tradition here in South Africa which started in the 1950s and was enshrined in the legislation in 1994 and is still in legislation today. What legislation says is that firearms can be possessed in a private collection if the person or collector is a member of a collectors’ association which is accredited under the Firearms Control Act and Saaaca is such an association,” Webb said.
He added that the association must conform to certain attributes in the act like history, heritage, science and technology. The exhibits on the day exhibited the members’ interests and knowledge in those various areas and they collect them for different reasons particularly cultural and artistic reasons.
Webb said, “So often people say, ‘Guns kill people, how can you collect them?’ So, we correct them and say ‘Guns don’t kill people, people kill people’. The exhibits around are the windows into society, into the industry; what’s been happening in the country and what it’s capable of doing at a point in time. They are all things that tell us about our history and as such are recognised under the Heritage Resources Act and are preserved for the same reason.”
He said part of the association’s mission is, therefore, to conserve firearms because they are such a valuable part of our history and heritage.
The family-friendly fair had a programme filled with talks and events by subject matter experts and entertainers, traders; cannons fired; classic militaria auction and a prize-giving and competition draw. Chairman of Saaaca, Willem Germishuys gave the closing word and thanked everyone involved in making the fair the success it was.
Details: Southern Africa Arms and Ammunition Collectors’ Association www.saaaca.com
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