Eight chairs once from the Raadsaal on Church Square and used by the Executive Ministers in President Paul Kruger's Tranvaal Republic, have been proudly restored by the owner. These sturdy walnut beauties are now used as dining chairs. The history of the chairs has been researched and an article stating the complete history from planning to the inauguration without great fanfare was discovered and is published below. The original leather backs and seats had intricate floral patterns embossed into the leather. The horse hair that was used in the backs and arm rests have been retained and the springs and straps in the seats are still the originals. The original leather that the chairs were covered in when they were first made in 1894 was imported from Morocco, the walnut from Norway and the chairs were made in Britain and assembled in South Africa. The frames, doors and windows of the Raadsaal building were manufactured in the Orkney Islands and according to the article only 24 of these high-back intricately carved walnut chairs were imported, eight of which are now owned by the owner of Moindis Guesthouse.


The following article, directly translated from the original in Afrikaans, makes for interesting reading.
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