Passenger arrivals at Natal October 1875

MISCELLANEOUS ARRIVALS Natal Mercury 2 October 1875 
Hannah Nicholson, Actaea, Natal, Zulu, Umkomanzi, Adonis, Elizabeth Martin, Kafir, Lady Selborne, Florence

SHIPPING

Sept 3 - Hannah Nicholson, barque, of Adelaide, 252 tons, Farquhar, from Adelaide, sailed July 16. Cargo: flour. 
PASSENGERS 
Messrs 
Hardy 
Rodds 
H and T McCubbin, agents.

Sept 7 - Actaea, barque, of London, 300 tons, A Walker, from Calcutta and Mauritius, sailed from Calcutta, July 11. Mauritius, Aug 25. Cargo: general. 
PASSENGERS 
Mrs and Miss Maingard 
Mrs Porley and four children 
Mr and Mrs S Guillaman and three children 
Mr Nicholas and four children 
E Snell and Co., agents.

Sept 7 - Barbara Taylor, 3-masted schnr, of Greenock, 252 tons, Taylor, from London, sailed June 12. Cargo: general. 
Bullard, King and Co., agents.

Sept 7 - Surprise, barque of Norway, 454 tons, Wagner, from London, sailed June 1. Cargo: general. 
Steel, Atkinson and Co., agents.

Sept 8 - Natal, RMS, of Southampton, 587 tons, JC Gilbert, from Capt Town and intermediate ports. Cargo: general. 
PASSENGERS 
From Southampton 
Mrs King and 4 children 
Lieut de Hoghton 
Messrs 
E Escombe 
Heys 
Macfarlane 
Gregory 
5 men, 2 women, and 5 children. 
From Cape Town 
Mrs H De la Cour Travers, child, and servant 
Messrs Pretorius 
C Fleek 
G Bocca 
Beather 
Henderson 
Kennedy 
J Noeman 
H Thomas 
A Fisher 
C Kirsten 
J Domon 
R Cook 
From Algoa Bay 
Mr and Mrs Railie 
Dr Barbour 
Mr L Bamball 
Messrs 
Barbour 
Somberg 
W Reigg 
Weitzel 

Report 
Left Cape Town at noon on the 3rd Sept., experienced light variable winds till midnight, then the wind freshened to NW and increased till morning. During the 4th strong gale; at midnight heavy gale with violent squalls, wind, hail and rain, thunder and violent lightning. Arrived Algoa Bay 5th, at 1 p.m. Off Cape. St. Francis, on the morning of the 5th passed RMS Kafir bound to the westward and a brigantine running. Left Port Elizabeth on the 6th at 3.20 p.m., anchored off East London next morning at 7; left again at 11.20 a.m. From Port Elizabeth to Port Natal, light easterly winds and fine. 
Escombe and Co., agents.

Sept 11 - Annie, schooner, of London, 40 tons, Le Clercq, from East London, sailed Sept 8. Cargo: general. 
S Crowder and Co., agents.

Sept 11 - Zulu, RMS, 678 tons, H de le Cour Travers, from Zanzibar and intermediate ports. Cargo: general. 
PASSENGERS 
Alex Turnbull, Esq., MD, Staff-Surgeon HMS London, 
Messrs 
Thompson 
Brown 
Joublet 
Mrs and Miss Samuel 
17 Naval invalids 

Report 
Left Natal August 19, 9 a.m., arrived Mozambique August 25, 3.15 p.m.; arrived Zanzibar August 28, 9.15 a.m. From Natal to 26° S experienced heavy NE gale and very high sea; thence to Zanzibar moderate fair winds and strong adverse currents. Left Zanzibar August 31, 3.15 p.m. arrived Lindi Bay September 2, 8 a.m.; sailed at noon same day; arrived Mozambique September 4, 7.30 a.m.; left 3.15 p.m. same day; arrived Delagoa Bay September 8, 2.30 p.m.; sailed September 9, 11.45 a.m., arrived Natal September 11. From Zanzibar to Cape Delgado experienced light SW monsoon and strong adverse currents, thence to 21° S light fair winds, but no current; thence to C Corrientes similar weather; Delagoa Bay to Natal, strong gale and heavy head sea. 
Escombe and Co., agent.

Sept 12 - Umkomanzi, barque, of Aberdeen 397 tons, Airth, from London, sailed June 29. Cargo: general. 
PASSENGERS 
Mrs Bachan and seven children 
Steel, Atkinson and Co., agents.

Sept 12 - Adonis, of Amsterdam, SS, 80 tons, Thompson, from Scottburgh, sailed Sept 12, not having effected a landing. Cargo: sundries. 
PASSENGERS 
Mrs Collingham and three children 
S Crowder and Co., agents.

Sept 15 - Elizabeth Martin, CMS, of Leith, 1500 tons, Duncan, from London and Cape ports. Cargo: general. 
PASSENGERS 
Messrs 
Mc-om-ie 
Ridson 
Buyers 
Report 
Sailed from London, August 4th; arrived at Cape, Sept 2nd, left 5th; arrived Mossel Bay, 6th, left 7th; arrived Algoa Bay, 8th, left 10th; arrived at Kowie, 11th, left 13th; arrived East London, 13th, left 14th; arrived Natal, 15th. 
Black, Baxter and Co., agents.

Sept 15 - Eastern Star, brig, 208 tons, GW Arnot, from London, sailed Jan 10th. Cargo: general. 
Steel, Atkinson and Co., agents.

Sept 22 - Kafir, RMS, of Southampton, 900 tons, Garratt, from Cape ports. Cargo: general. 
PASSENGERS 
From Southampton 
Mr and Mrs Topham, four children, and nurse 
Rev., Mrs and Mr AJ Abrahams 
Mr G Woodley 

Mr Krafer 
Miss Nickse 
Mr Dowse 
Mr Hooper 
Mr RG and Mr G Hooper 
Sergt Hawgood 
Mr and Mrs Fairburn 
Misses Pople (2) 
Mrs Heller and daughter 
From Cape Town 
Miss Lloyd 
Mr GL Morton 
Mr and Mrs Bonever 
Mr E Moore 
Mr Thomas Kirkwood 
Mr T Hastings 
Messrs 
A Nelson 
J Leis 
Robert Hunter 
From Algoa Bay 
Messrs 
Macleroy 
Mann 
TA O'Flaherty 
Bisset 
From East London 
Mr JN Holden 
John Nixon 
From Cape Town for Zanzibar 
Muchmoet 
Noomen 
one boy 

Report 
Left Cape Town, Monday, Sept 13th, 4 p.m., light variable winds, to Mossel Bay; arrived at Mossel Bay, Tuesday, Sept 14th 7.30 p.m. left Mossel Bay, Wednesday, 15th, 2.30 p.m.; moderate head winds to Algoa Bay; arrived at Algoa Bay, Thursday, 16, 8.30 p.m.; left Algoa Bay, Sunday, 19th, 10 a.m.; light fair winds and calm to East London; arrived at East London, Monday, 20th, 5.30 a.m.; left East London, Monday, 20th, 5.30 p.m.; light fair winds and calm to Natal; arrived at Natal, Wednesday, 22nd, 5.30 a.m. 
Escombe and Co., agents.

Sept 23 - Lady Selborne, 3-masted brigantine, of Plymouth, 299 tons, N Keen, from Port Alfred, sailed Sept 19, in ballast. 
PASSENGERS 
S Stanley 
J Lyons 
P Murphy 
R Wilhelm, agent.

Florence, CMS of Leith.

Did your ancestor emigrate to Natal?

In Natal, organized immigration from overseas began at the end of the 1840s. While the 1820 Settlers were coping with the change in their circumstances on the Cape frontier, Natal, on the south-eastern coast of South Africa, was in its infancy as a settler destination. A small settlement of hunters and traders had been founded there in 1824, mainly to establish trade with the Zulu.

It wasn’t until 1828 that an overland route was opened up to Natal,and another twenty years would pass before Natal acquired colonial status. Meanwhile, dissatisfaction with the Cape’s British government – especially regarding the abolition of slavery – led to an exodus of the Dutch community from that Colony: we know it now as the Great Trek of the mid-1830s. Some trekkers crossed the Drakensberg and established themselves in Natal, declaring their own Republic of Natalia in 1838. Conflict with the British at Port Natal followed in 1842, the Dutch moved on and Natal was annexed by Britain.

The white population of Natal had diminished after the trekkers’ departure, and immigration was the obvious solution. This coincided with a dramatic economic downturn in Britain – the ‘hungry forties’. Going to a new colony offered at least the hope of survival and perhaps even an opportunity to prosper.

As a result of the marketing efforts of Irish entrepreneur, Joseph Byrne, approximately 2200 British settlers headed for Natal between 1849 and 1851. Though Byrne’s Natal Emigration and Colonization Company ended in his own financial ruin, the concept provided an impetus for further private schemes to bring settlers to Natal.

Fortunately for family historians with Natal settler ancestry, this era is well-documented: more about sources in future posts.

See: Emigration from Britain to Natal updated at molegenealogy.blogspot.com/2014/03/emigration-from-britain-to-natal.html