A visit to Darling is not complete without a trip to the Darling Museum.

The museum was founded by a group of local farmers’ wives in 1978 to preserve the butter making history of Darling. It has since grown into a comprehensive country museum reflecting the lifestyle and growth of the village over the century and a half since Darling was founded in 1853.

This very special museum features Victorian and Edwardian interiors depicting life at home, in business and at church; an early schoolroom; a unique butter museum and an outside barn showcasing local agricultural machinery and implements plus transport through the last two centuries.

A section honouring the heritage of the San and Khoe peoples of Southern Africa contains traditional huts with hearth, hunting weapons and literature about the San way of life with reference to !Khwa ttu, the San Education and Culture Centre on the R27.

Darling Museum has a very active “Friends of the Museum” association and a selection of talks/slideshows on historic subjects plus craft workshops are held regularly throughout the year. At an annual Open Day held in May to celebrate International Museum Day, age-old crafts such as quilting, spinning & weaving, butter making, calligraphy, fletching, etc are demonstrated to visitors.

Displays are regularly updated and improved and the addition of a touch area, dressing up corner plus a special children’s leaflet to colour in and stories about Milton, the Darling Museum Mouse, have made the Darling Museum a great choice for family-friendly outings.

The museum experience includes a Darling Historical Walk brochure; a reference/reading room and the ‘Ouma’s Treasures’ museum shop.

The Darling Museum is open 7 days a week thanks to the selfless efforts of volunteers. The local tourism information office is situated in the museum and the tourism officer or museum volunteers will be delighted to help with your queries.

Entrance fees: R10-00 per adult; R8-00 for pensioners; R5-00 per scholar and free for pre-school children.