The Chavonnes Battery on the Cape Town harbour front was built by the Dutch East India Company between 1715 and 1726 and designed to protect Table Bay from direct attack. Aside from being a fortification, it also served as a gaol, soldier’s barracks and smallpox isolation hospital over the years. In 1860, a breakwater and the Alfred Basin was added to the V & A harbour and much of the original battery was either destroyed or concealed under rubble. The battery lay buried until 1999 when a company, seeking to build its head office on the land, had the area professionally excavated and approximately one third of the original Chavonnes Battery was uncovered. Architects planned the head office building over part of the excavation and in 2012 the Chavonnes Battery Museum was officially opened to the public. Visitors are transported via boardwalks through the ruins to gain an interesting insight into the old building techniques and to view the many discoveries made here that include an old well and various cannons, cannon balls and other weapons. The outdoor section contains section of the outer walls and mounted cannons recovered from the site.

The battery was named after Maurits Pasques de Chavonnes, the Dutch governor of the Cape at the time and who was instrumental in enforcing uniforms on military personnel. This uniform is worn by the official guides at the museum who bring the museum to life with the history and past stories of the battery. The tour of the museum includes a walk through the V & A Waterfront to appreciate the role of the battery and to point out other places of interest during the period the battery was in service.

Regular art exhibitions take place at the museum and the occasional firing of old cannons is a popular event.