Schreiner House

Olive Schreiner (1855-1920) came to Cradock when she was 12 years old and lived at No. 9 Street Cross with her siblings Theo, Ettie and Will – with Theo as head of the household – until 1870. She left to become a governess in Barkly East, but returned in 1875, moving from one governess post to the other.

Schreiner appears to have started writing while she lived in Cradock. It was here that her religious and philosophical convictions were given form, and where she made friendships which were to play a role in directing her activities in the decade to come.

By 1880 she had finished the first version of The Story of an African Farm, and sailed to England the following year where it was published.
Schreiner returned to the Cape a famous writer and she went on to create a considerable body of work. On a visit to the district in 1892 she met Samuel Cron Cronwright, then farming on Krantzplaas. They were married in February 1894.

During the 1980’s the house in which she once lived was bought by the AA Mutual Life Assurance Association and, with funding from the Cradock Town Council, was restored to look like it did at the time when the Schreiners lived there.

The house was donated to Amazwi and opened to the public in 1986. It was declared a National Monument in 1988. The exhibitions at Schreiner House explore the life and work of Olive Schreiner. Some of her belongings and part of her and her husband’s personal libraries are on display.

In 2003 Schreiner was awarded The Order of Ikhamanga in Gold (posthumous) for her exceptional contribution to literature and her commitment to the struggle for human rights and democracy.