CP Nel Museum, Country museum in Oudtshoorn, South Africa

The CP Nel Museum occupies the former Oudtshoorn Boys' High School, a late Victorian Colonial-style sandstone building designed by Charles Bullock and opened in 1907. Its 30-metre clock tower carries Corinthian ornaments and a wrought-iron dome; the clock, made in England in 1902, reached Mossel Bay by sea and crossed the Outeniqua Mountains by ox-wagon.

Charles Bullock designed the building, which opened in 1907 as Oudtshoorn Boys' High School; J.E. Vixeboxse added a hall in 1912. By 1963, when the town's single-sex schools merged, it was nearly demolished, but an alumni petition saved it. The Education Department sold it, and Colonel CP Nel's antiques were moved in for the museum's 1972 opening. It became a national monument in 1979.

The museum's Jewish gallery, opened in 1973 at the suggestion of trustee Isidore Barron, reconstructs the St. John Street Synagogue as it stood in 1896. It presents the Lithuanian Jewish community's part in the ostrich-feather industry, and the room is still occasionally used for services.

Visitors can see the main building and a preserved residence from that period, with access to both parts included. On-site guides help you understand the collections and architecture more fully.

The synagogue gallery opened in 1973 on a suggestion by trustee Isidore Barron, recreating the St John Street Synagogue of 1896. It shows how Oudtshoorn's Lithuanian Jewish community shaped the ostrich-feather industry, and services are still occasionally held in the room.