Hout Bay Museum mourns founder Pam Wormser

Jonty Dreyer and Jean Fairhead

Hout Bay Museum mourns its founder, Pam Wormser, who passed away in Kommetjie on Friday March 21.

With extraordinary foresight, Pam appreciated the heritage value of Hout Bay Valley and dedicated much of her life to establish a museum to record the past and prepare for the future.

The museum precinct as it stands today is a living memorial to Pam and her efforts 50 years ago.

Pam was born in Pretoria. She lived with her parents, Ruben and Clara Turnball and her two brothers, James and John, until her marriage. Her home in Boom Street in Pretoria was across the road from the Boer War Museum and the Pretoria Zoo. These both played an important role throughout her childhood and in her choice of career.

While she was in high school, she twice represented her school at the Durban Cultural Festival. Selected participants came from cities and towns throughout South Africa. For two weeks they attended cultural activities, such as theatre, art and music. Pam matriculated in 1953 and in 1974 she joined the staff of the Trigonometrical Survey, where she trained and worked as a cartographer.

Pam married Jens Wormser in 1956, moved to Cape Town and began a new life as a wife and then mother to her three daughters; Karen, born in 1957, Theresa in 1959 and Pamela in 1964. They moved to Llandudno in July 1963. “The Homestead” was the third oldest house in Llandudno, the first to be built with bricks. Its history is on record in the museum.

In 1975, the chairman of the Hout Bay Library Committee, Jimmy Steele, set up a committee to organise a cultural festival in Hout Bay. Pam was asked to represent Llandudno. Her portfolio on the committee was to set up exhibitions on "The History of Llandudno", "Early man in Hout Bay'' and "Shipwrecks along our coast line''. The festival was to run for one week and at the end of the week, all loaned items were returned to their owners.

The festival was a great success and had proved that the people of Hout Bay and Llandudno had much to be proud of and to preserve. Jimmy Steele called a meeting to put forward the idea of creating a museum for Hout Bay. A committee was formed of those interested. Pam was on that committee.

By 1978 the present building, which had been standing empty, was cleaned and painted by the Lions Club and rented from the Kronendal School Board for a peppercorn rent of R1 per annum.

A Board of Trustees was formed and Pam was appointed curator in September 1978. She began work in an empty house without even a table or a chair.

Pam and Jimmy were able to attend a museum conference in Calvinia, which gave them invaluable information on accession and administration skills. They then began the work of collection and display of the many items from the original festival and the other items donated by local people. A child from Marais Road gave Pam an old coin and that was her first exhibit.

There was a need to organise a deadline for the opening date, to prove to the Divisional Council that the museum was a project worth supporting. The Museum Workshop built the display cases. Pam with her loyal assistant, May Nicholas, and many volunteers and friends dedicated themselves to having Hout Bay Museum ready for the official opening on April 5 1979.

For 19 years Pam dedicated her life to the growth of the museum. Special exhibitions, open days, festivals, celebrations, camps, guided walks, fireside chats, museum conferences and workshops became part of her family’s life. She retired in 1997 and moved to Noordhoek but was asked to remain on the Board of Trustees. She was persuaded to work part-time until the next curator was appointed.

Pam was able with her dedication and powers of persuasion to interface with municipal authorities and government officials effectively. At first, the museum operated on a shoestring and gradually as it began to be more established and recognised as a place of interest, Pam won support from the provincial authorities so that today the museum is supported by the Provincial Department of Culture and Sport.

Above all, Pam must be recognised for preserving this special corner of Hout Bay for all its residents.

The museum houses artefacts and displays relating to the unfolding development of Hout Bay in its all its diversity going back to its San-Khoi past, its development as a fishing village and its environmental splendour.

Under Pam’s guidance, the museum became an important educational and community centre. Today, school children flock to the museum to enjoy lessons on rock pools and estuaries and the hall is hired for meetings, community events, judo, yoga and ballet. The space is also today occupied by the House of Hope, which celebrates the more recent history of Struggle hero, Denis Goldberg.

The museum deeply mourns the passing of its iconic civic warrior, Pam, and extends its condolences to Pam’s three daughters.

There will be a memorial service on Saturday May 3.

• Jonty Dreyer is the Hout Bay Museum manager, and Jean Fairhead was a close associate of Pam Wormser.

• This article has been updated.