Natal Photographers: Larsen Brothers

Cabinet print by E Larsen, 410 West St, Durban
Emil and Gusta Larsen with daughter Dora. Gusta was
the daughter of Thomas and Ane Dahle of Lot 30 Marburg

Twin brothers Emil and Sigvart Larsen were photographers from circa 1890s in the Dundee, Vryheid and Volksrust Triangle. On 8 October 1900 the Larsen family's home was occupied by British forces serving in the Anglo-Boer War. Affidavits about this are preserved in the State Archives. During the occupation of the house the British removed and destroyed all of the Larsen photographic plates, a tragic loss of valuable material. A Military Officer took the Larsens' keys and their home was immediately occupied by Lieut Col Gawne, OC, and a Captain Shaw. Most of Gawne's force of 900 were garrisoned on Lancaster Hill outside the town.

The Larsen brothers were expelled from Vryheid and later moved their photographic operation to Durban. They were at 410 West Street; earlier they had had a studio in Greyville, and Emil was in Winder Street, Durban, in 1904. They were gone by 1905.

For more on Larsens in South Africa go to http://home.mweb.co.za/sa/salbu/home.html


Acknowledgement to David Larsen.

Whaling Days in Durban 1900s

Whaling in Durban ca 1900s. Note the female fashions of the time.

In 1907, two Norwegians (Jacob Egeland and Johan Bryde) started whaling off the coast of Natal, with a factory sited below the Bluff in Durban. It was to become the largest land-based whaling operation in the world. Two steam whale catchers were brought out from Sandjefjord in Norway and whaling began on 3 July 1908 when the first whale, a 40 foot Humpback, was brought in to the port. The company was named the South African Whaling Company.

Objections were soon raised about the site of the whaling station, which was then moved to the sea side of the Bluff near Cave Rock, but the penetrating smell of the operations at the factory remained a problem for residents on the Bluff. The station was moved again, towards the South West, where the winds carried the smell in a different direction. 

Egeland and Bryde's partnership came to an end in 1909. With a cousin, Abraham Larsen, Egeland then formed the Union Whaling and Fishing Company in 1910. By 1912 thirteen whaling companies were registered in Durban. 

Union Whaling Company came into being in July 1920, formed by Larsen and Egeland who had started the Union Whaling and Fishing Company, and was to last to the end of the whaling era, merging with the Premier Whaling Company in 1954 and operating the largest shore whaling station in the world. By 1960 850 people were employed in the Company. Coastal whaling ended in 1975.

Souvenir Saturday: Hojem, Oftebro, Larsen in Natal

The twins are Johan Christian and Thora Katrine Hojem, b 28 July 1894, children of Gustav and Berte Marie (nee Oftebro) Hojem. Berte Marie and Gustav were married at Eshowe Mission Church, 9 April 1891, by Ommund C Oftebro, Berte Marie’s now-famous missionary uncle. Witnesses were O S Norgaard and Olaus H Skerve, the latter one of the original Marburg settlers (he married Gustav Hojem’s sister, Ragna).

The photographer was Emil Larsen, whose studio was then at 410 West Street, Durban. Judging by the age of the twins the picture was probably taken early in 1895.

Photo and information courtesy of Warwick Hojem.

For further details on LARSEN and descendants see
http://salbu.co.za/debora/LarList.html