The exhibition, which is organised by the National Museum, monuments and Art Gallery, is held at the Octagon Gallery and will be running until the end of February next year. The aim of the exhibition is to reflect on the evolution of the postal service in the country from postal trees, runner posts to the current mailing system.
Botswana Post's head of communications, Lebogang Bok, revealed how people used to deliver mail on foot.
Bok said there are some designated trees around the country, which were used as post offices. One such tree is in Palapye while the other one is in Molepolole at the main Kgotla. Bok said they recently held the commemorations of the World Post Day at the Molepolole Kgotla because of the historical significance of that place to the Post Office.
been holding discussions with the National Museum to declare some of the trees as national heritage sites. Talking about the exhibition, Bok said you "cannot separate a postal stamp from a letter or a stamp from a post office". She said this is why the exhibition is depicting the history of the post office.
Bok said every time, the National Museum considers some of the artefact that it has in store. She said this time they decided to stage an exhibition on stamps. "We also wanted to showcase the postal artefacts."
Bok said by this exhibition, they also want to teach Batswana about philately, which is the art of collecting stamps.
They would also want to create awareness among the public about the usefulness of postage stamps. According to Bok, postage stamps can be used to market the country as every stamp carries a lot of history. In her view, postage stamps can also be used to promote the tourism industry of a country. "Some of the stamps depict our wildlife heritage."
Some of the items at the exhibition include old mail bags. The mail bags became common during the era of the mail train. The bags would be delivered by the train guard at their intended destnations.
Other artefacts on display are animal horns, drums and whistles. These items illustrate how people used to communicate in villages before the postal service was introduced. There is also a railway track, which signifies the mail train. In relation to the train, there are fire extinguishers, which were used at railway stations as a safety measure in case of a fire broke out.
There is also the colourful bicycle, which was used by the postmaster as well as old typewriters and the telephone exchange. Old post boxes are also on the display. Post boxes were distributed all over the country. The mail would be deposited into the boxes and postmen would be responsible for taking and collecting such mail to the sorting centre.
There are also scales that were used to weigh the scale. Some of the stamps exhibited include the one showing the late Pope John Paul during his visit to Botswana in 1988. There is also another stamp, which was dedicated to Mpule Kwelagobe when she scooped the Miss Universe title in 1999. Some stamps depict cultural implements like the ox hide milk bag and wooden spoons. The Principal Curator at the National Museum, Winni Kgwatalala, said they have been holding exhibitions on different themes. She said this is the first time that they have held a stamps exhibition. Kgwatalala said when the capital city of Bechuanaland was in Lobatse, a philatelic museum was opened in that town. It was later relocated to Gaborone. Kgwatalala said the Botswa Post provides them with an issue of any postal stamps that they produce.
She said the exhibition relates the history of the post office, revolving from the time when people used to deliver mail by running like in a relay race. One person would run from a specific point and pass on the letter to the next person until it reached the final destination. She said later on, mail was delivered by mail train. She said a stamp could be an ambassador. "They can show history like the papal visit to the country. They also carry culture. The stamp is an ambassador. It is an informer. When a letter is posted to the United Kingdom, people will be able to learn about Botswana from the stamp."
She said they also want to promote stamp collecting. She noted that stamps are collected for different reasons, some of which are commercial. She cited that a stamp, which was bought for P5, could later be sold for P50, 000. Kgwatalala said they still want to promote communicating by letter.
Source: http://www.mmegi.bw/index.php?sid=1&aid=7438&dir=2010/December/Friday17
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