Alana Bailey

A few weeks ago we reported the tragic news that Mostert’s Mill, originally built in Cape Town in about 1796, was severely damaged by a fire on 18 April 2021.

Meanwhile, the Friends of Mostert’s Mill (FoMM) got to work. The Friends are not a charity, but in fact a registered non-profit organization with the official number 120-838 NPO.

Fundraising projects began almost immediately. AfriForum also made a contribution to the restoration fund. Some interested parties inquired whether the building had been insured. Officially, it is owned by the state and managed by the Department of Public Works and Heritage Western Cape. As such, the structure is insured, but the state does not employ millers who can operate and maintain the mill. These functions were therefore transferred to the Friends. They have kept the mill in full working order for the past 25 years and tragically had just completed a restoration project the weekend before the fire. To restore the mill to full working order, contributions from the public are needed. Before the fire, Mostert’s Mill was the only remaining working windmill south of the Sahara in Africa and the ideal is that it will once again regain this status after restoration.

Because the Cape’s rainy season is upon us and other issues such as theft pose risks, the Friends also immediately applied for a licence from Heritage Western Cape to secure the remaining structure. All the metal parts that can mostly be reused have been removed to preserve them and sails have been fastened over the structure to protect it from the infiltration of rainwater. These actions have now been completed.

Currently the Friends are negotiating with Heritage Western Cape that the restoration process may be undertaken with the help of Gabriel Fagan Architects. The latter was involved in the comprehensive restoration process of 1995, about which you can read more on the Mill’s website. At the time, some of the wooden parts were manufactured by the company Dunning Bremmer in the Netherlands. Dunning Bremmer was also involved in the restoration of 1935 (see http://mostertsmill.co.za/restoration/restoration-1935). At present, however, the intention is that the wooden parts will be manufactured locally.

The official website will provide you with photos of the Mill before and after the fire and the latest news about the progress with the fundraising and restoration process.

As explained above, donations are urgently required to ensure that the Mill will be in working order again in future. Deposits can be made in the Standard Bank current account of “Friends of Mostert’s Mill”, number 077441672, branch code 051001. Donations from abroad can be made via www.GoFundMe.com/f/Mosterts-mill-restoration-fund.

All donations are acknowledged by the Friends, unless an EFT does not include an email address, or a donation has been made using Snapscan, as it is then impossible to identify the donor. In such cases the organization asks you to send an email with your name, the date of the payment and the amount to the treasurer at thorpex@iafrica.com.

Thanks to John Hammer, the miller, who sent this photo of the structure to AfriForum. The sails that will protect it from rain damage can be seen here.