Our media colleague Kumbirai Mtshakazi spent the day at Castlebridge Motor Museum with Ford South Africa in White River Mpumalanga to get to spend time with some golden oldies.
Established over 25 years ago by an automotive enthusiast, Louis van der Merwe, who said, “I sell furniture and other things here. I wanted a place where wives could shop and their husbands could come and look at the cars without rushing their wives”.
Louis, who also owns over 15 cars in the Castlebridge Motor Museum, including a Model A and a Model T, says he gathered everyone to take their cars out of their garages so they could be displayed at the centre.
Some cars, which are over 100 years old, are owned by international guests as well as some local guests. He notes that the museum is entirely free to visitors and relies solely on donations to keep the place running. Cars are also started and dusted frequently to keep them clean and running while some are sold if you manage to convince some of their owners. The museum frequently hosts car shows where guests from all over the world flock to see some of the most elegant golden oldies. In a single weekend alone, Louis claims that the museum can attract over five hundred people and this was almost the case when we visited the museum.
We also got to view the 1957 Ford Skyliner Fairlane V8 which is rumoured to be one of only two models in the country and marvelled at just how beautifully kept the piece was. With technology having advanced so much, the old masterpiece took about 1 minute 30 seconds to open its top in what is an intricate process. Something which we can laugh about now considering just how fast these convertibles remove their covers.
Another car that stole our hearts was the Ford Capri MK1 which was in mint condition.
The museum has two sections to it and the other section houses single-seater race cars as well as other models that also take part in the famous Simola hill climb classic car Fridays. If you are around White River, the museum is open throughout the week.
Written by Kumbi Mtshakazi