Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA)

Date of tip: 18 April 2011

Source: Jamie Miller jmm97@cam.ac.uk

In 2009, the records of the DFA were moved from the historic Union buildings into a new facility on Soutpansberg Road in Rietondale. The records are held in countless boxes in a variety of storerooms, and indeed lining an entire corridor; in short, the movers failed to finish the job. This naturally makes it difficult for the archival assistants to satisfy requests for documents and certainly not as promptly as a researcher might desire: they simply can't find the boxes which contain what one wants. Consequently, I spent one entire day in my second week inside the store rooms, labelling and sorting all of the unlabelled boxes myself; those who follow will see my scrawled numbers on the sides of boxes, a small contribution to posterity. However, as of October 2011 the boxes were being rearranged into a new room off the main corridor. It remains to be seen whether this facilitates access or merely reveals which boxes in the sequences can no longer be found at all.

The archive itself is located off the car park of the new DFA building. It is located underground; ventilation is poor. Regular visits outside to feel the warm Pretoria sunshine are advised. There is a paper catalogue which is very easy to use and the knowledgeable Neels Muller is indispensable in helping overcome all obstacles. There is also a superb cafe servicing the DFA officials upstairs which serves as a source of sustenance (and company). For accommodation, it is impossible to go past the Leaping Lizard bed and breakfast run by the charming Liz and Carel Loubser (loubscp1@telkomsa.net). The rooms are excellent, the hosts lovely, and the location – just four doors down from the archive itself - too good to be true.

Contact Person: Neels Muller

Email: mullercj@foreign.gov.za

Address: Soutpansberg St, Pretoria