The transformation of the farm where the Rivonia trialists were arrested honoured the "selfless acts" of African National Congress, the party's treasurer general Matthews Phosa said on Friday.
"It captures our brave past for the future," he told small gathering at the launch of the Liliesleaf Legacy Project. Among those present were trialists and members of the ANC National Executive Committee.
Police arrested 18 of the Rivonia trialists in a raid on the farm on July 11, 1963.
The home of Mkhonto We Sizwe headquarters, Liliesleaf farm also served as a hideout for the ANC and the South African Communist Party and their leaders, including former President Nelson Mandela and Walter Sisulu.
"We cannot be South Africans if we do not know where our roots are," said Phosa. He said places such as Liliesleaf would forever remain beacons in history.
The museum served as a "remembrance and reminder that the future calls on us to provide leaders who will liberate us from economic, political and intellectual poverty," Phosa said. - Sapa