IN 2019, on a visit to the former presidential home of Paul Kruger in Pretoria, I noticed an item in one of the exhibits that caught my attention. Unknown to me until then, the collection hosts a magnificent double-barrelled four-bore rifle which, according to the curator, Oom (Uncle) Paul received as a gift and used between 1842 and 1872.
The Kruger House or Krugerhuis as it is known in Afrikaans, is currently a periodic museum and hosts most of Kruger’s original household goods as well as other items of note, including the presidential train carriage which he used during his official visits to other parts of the country. It is a wonderful glimpse into the life and times of Oom Paul.
Stephanus Johannes Paulus Kruger was born in 1825 as the fourth son of one of the Voortrekkers (Voortrekkers literally means ‘those who trek ahead or in front’) in the district (ZAR) from 1883 up to the end of the Boer War in 1902. His hunting exploits and his conservation efforts towards establishing the Kruger National Park – the reserve that to this day carries his name – are often overlooked because of his well-known role as a statesman.
