Knysna Museum
Your guide to the five historic buildings of the Knysna Museum
The Knysna Museum preserves and explores the history of the town, and also of the Knysna Lagoon and the Knysna Forests here in our corner of the Garden Route. Timber and shipping are two of the museum’s important themes - but our community is a diverse one, of course, and this is reflected in the range of displays in the five buildings that make up the Knysna Museum.
The Knysna Museum is owned and managed by the Knysna Municipality.
Please follow the links below for more about each building and its displays.
Visit the Knysna Museum
- Old Gaol: Corner of Queen Street and Main Road, Knysna
- Millwood House, Parkes Shop, Parkes Cottage & the Pitt St. House: Corner of Queen Street and Clyde Street, Knysna
Hours
- Mondays to Fridays: 9.00 a.m. to 4.00pm
- Saturdays: 9.00 a.m. to 12.00pm
Museum Contact
- Telephone: +27 (0)44 302 6320
Knysna Museum
The Old Gaol
The oldest municipal building in Knysna, built in 1859 and converted to a museum in 1993. Corner Queen Street & Main Road
Millwood House
House built of yellowwood at Millwood Goldfield in the 1880s. Now houses our local history collection, with local history publications on sale. Corner Queen & Clyde Streets
Parkes Shop
Wood-and-corrugated-iron shop (general dealers) erected in the early 1900s. Displays early history of Knysna forests and the timber industry. Corner Queen & Clyde Streets
Parkes Cottage
Yellowwood cottage originally erected at the Millwood Goldfields in the 1880s. Houses displays of Millwood History and the story of George Rex (Knysna’s most famous, early 19th century settler)
Pitt Street House
Wood and corrugated-iron labourers’ cottage from Parkes Sawmill. Originally erected in Pitt Street; now houses a display about the South African War (Anglo-Boer War)
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