Observatory Museum

About Observatory Museum

Visit a rare Victorian amusement once considered 'The Magic Mirror of Life'.

This unusual multi-storeyed 19th century Victorian shop and home is now a museum housing interesting displays, a Meridian room, an observatory and the only camera obscura in the southern hemisphere.

Known for its identification of the Eureka in 1867, this house had a place in the identification of the first diamond that was found in South Africa, and a display on the ground floor tells this story.

This connection with the Eureka prompted De Beers Consolidated Mines Ltd. to purchase and restore the Observatory in the 80s to commemorate the start of the diamond industry in South Africa.

The Observatory Museum is part of the Albany Museum complex – www.ru.ac.za/albanymuseum.

Weekdays 09:00 – 16:30
Saturdays 09:30 – 13:00.