Jetty 1 Museum

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A small and easily missed museum that is found in the Waterfronts Jetty 1, guests can enjoy visiting this museum and national monument for information on Robben Island. Most people encounter the Jetty 1 Museum for the first time as they embark on their journey toward the world famous Robben Island across the Atlantic Ocean, which departs at Jetty 1. The Jetty 1 Museum is a national monument which is located in a small, easy to miss white brick building, minutes away from all the excitement of the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront in Cape Town city.

Jetty 1’s building was formerly the start and end point for many travellers to and from Robben Island, prisinors, visitors, wardens and staff. Rich in history, the Jetty 1 Museum separated from the Exhibition and Information centre, filled with interesting black and white photos and numerous facts, providing visitors with the full account of Robben Island, before and after South Africa’s apartheid years. Guests can even see the holding cells at Jetty 1 Museum, very similar to those on Robben Island, displaying hard beds and woeful, empty seats in the waiting rooms. Inside the Jetty 1 Museum’s waiting room, the walls are covered with copies of aging applications for visitor’s permits, which were hard to come by and involved strict rules and limitations. This Jetty was originally referred to as the east jetty, first built in the Victoria Basic. With association to Robben Island established here long before apartheid years, when Robben Island was still used by the British as a convict station and hospital.