17/12/2025
St Francis gets a Shipwreck museum
(Edited by Bev Mortimer) St Francis now has a formal Shipwreck Museum that opened its doors this morning in St Francis Drive, at the corner of Diana Crescent.
The museum, previously a house, now preserves relics salvaged of all the ships that sank off the St Francis coastline.
The museum's first small shipwreck display was unveiled at a small ceremony for locals in St Francis at the Irma Booysen Nature Reserve open-air site at the entrance of Cape St Francis. This first shipwreck display was organised by local historian Dave Bowmer, who previously previously ran a small shipwreck museum alongside his ice cream shop and Matt Gennrich, chairperson of Friends of the St Francis Nature Areas (FOSTER). The pair were later joined by a shipwreck expert, Malcolm Turner, renowned maritime historian and author of Shipwrecks & Salvage (1988), who helped with the organisation of the museum's growing collection.
Two women ,Jonck and Heidi Halgryn, from the municipality’s Finance and Economic Development section were inspired by the region’s shipwreck heritage and helped to find a suitable building, and secure permissions to bring the project to life. A partnership was then formed with the Humansdorp Museum Association, custodians of the Shell Museum in Jeffreys Bay, the Humansdorp Museum, and the Surf Museum.
Under Gennrich’s leadership, the museum’s layout was designed and Turner and Bowmer curated an impressive display of maritime artifacts. Artefacts originated from specific wrecks between Plettenberg Bay and Bird Island have been included in the final exhibition.
One of the museum’s most striking features is the exterior display where two cannons from the Atalaia in 1647 and an anchor from the Lady Head in 1859 serve as a visual beacon for locals, visitors, pedestrians and motorists passing by. The cannons have been loaned by local businessman Phil Gutsche, who kept them in his private garden.
The museum’s mission is to highlight the connection between local heritage and everyday life in Cape St Francis. Many CSF street names are named after shipwrecks on this part of the Eastern Cape coastline. The museum gives the names context and the road names are reminders of untold stories resting beneath the waves.
Kouga Executive Mayor, Hattingh Bornman, said the museum preserves the local maritime and that there are now five museums in Kouga: St Francis Shipwreck Museum, Bruce's Museum, Humansdorp Museum, Shell Museum, and Surf Museum.
