STRIKING OUT IN NEW DIRECTIONS - CHANGES IN HISTORICAL COLLECTING ANDRESEARCH AT THE NATAL-MUSEUM

This article describes the growth of the historical collections of the Natal Museum since the colonial era. The problems and limitations of the collection and the historical exhibitions are discussed and the de velopment of new directions in the Department of Cultural History, onc e it was formally established in 1989, is outlined. The two most signi ficant of these new directions are the participation of the Department in environmental impact assessments and the collection of the materia l and visual evidence of the anti-apartheid struggle in Natal.