Names of Norwegians to Marburg Natal 1882

Families who arrived on Lapland 29 August 1882

Numbers refer to the Lots allocated to each group
w= wife
c= child
Where occupations of leaders of groups are known, these are shown in brackets.

1
SANDANGER Rasmus (builder) w Helene
KNOTTEN Peter w Maren c Anders

2
HOLTE Matias (blacksmith) w Karen c Konrad
MYKLEBUST Johan
MUREN Ane

3
ISGESUND Isak (farmer) w Dortea c Anna
RIBBESTAD Jakob and Olava

4
NERO Johan w Karen c Anna and Dorthea
AMUNDSEN Martin
SANDE Ane

6
VALDAL Ole (tailor) w Beate c Marie, Lina, Olaf
JOHNSON Regine
LOKEN Severin

7
RODSETH Kristian (goldsmith) w Kristine c Aage, Anna, Marie, Elisabet
OIE Johanne
ERTESVAAG Peter 
8
KIPPERBERG John (seaman and fisherman) w Gurine
EMBLEM w Marit c Trine, Lauritz

9
PAHR Elling (teacher) w Ane c Olava, Kristina, Pernille, Peder, Anna, Eilert and Ole
HANSEN A

10
LILLEBO John (builder) w Kanutte c Peder, Anna, Pernille, Andreas
MYKLEBUST Knut
ERNSTI Jorgine

11
STANDAL K O (painter) w Johanne
STANDAL K E w Oline

12
MARTINSEN K (merchant) w Elisabet c Margrete, Klara, Elise, Martin
ROGNE Kaia and Gudve
BRUDEVIK E

13
HAAJEM Ole (shipbuilder) w Hendrikke c Edvard, Anna, Laura, Karl, Ole, Nora
HAAJEM Petrine, Hans and Nille

14
BERG Emil (Reverend) w Kornelia, c Johan, Gusta, Marie, Magda, Alfa, Harald, Arthur
BRUNGOT Anna
MELSETER J

15
LUND C D w Marie c Sverre, Einar Raghnhild Astrid
LUND Tank

16
ANDERSEN A (bookseller) w Gertrud c Johanne, Hilma, Andreas, Karen
RODSETH Elias
INGEBRIGT
BYE Edvard
JOGENSEN Marie
VAERNES

17
Church and School

18
BRUNE Peter, son Ole
MOE Marie
NEDERHUS R

19
VINJEVOLD O (farmer) w Oline c Oline, Peder, Oluffa, Anna, Josefine, Andreas
STIGEN Anders

20
HUFFT F (weaver) w Kristine c Sofie, Inga
VOLD Jorgen
FRISVOLD Gurine

23
GIDSKE Martinus w Anna c Anna, Petter, Bernt, Berte
PETERSEN Johan
LÖNDAHL Nikoline

25
KVALSVIG Gjert w Marie c Gustav
JOHANNESEN J
PAULSEN Sevrine

29
OIE Nils w Malene c John, Guttorm, Kannutte, Ingeborg, Komelia
BRAUTESETH J O
HAAJEM Karoline

30
DAHLE T O (mechanic & shoemaker) w? c Anna, Gusta, Thea, Ludwig, Oluff, Kornelius
DYB Ingeborg
ANDERSEN W
DAHLE Marie

31
BIRKELUND (or Bjorkelund) A (farmer) w Marta c Lars and Larsina
VATNE Ane
DAHLE Peder

32
HARAM P (farmer) w Cecilia, 6 children
33
OIE John (farmer) w Karen
VATNE Olai
EIDSETH Malene

35
BORGENSEN (bookbinder) w Marie c Elvind
LONDAHL w Ragnhild c Martha, Devold, Dorthea

36
PETTERSEN (farmer)
ANDERSEN J

37
HAGGESELLE Knut (farmer) w Johanne c Sofie and Ida
With mother Maren, brother Anders & KARLSEN Anna

41
BÖDTKER F (carpenter) w Cecelie c Fritz, Paul, Marie, Rebekka
BERNSTEN L

43
TRANDAL P (baker)
HJELLE Haakon
EKORNES Elen

44
KJONSTAD J (farmer) c Dina
VALUM Ingeborg
SKJERVE Olaus

45
KJONSTAD G (teacher) w Elise
HOLTE Dagna and Emil
OLSEN Zefanias
GRIMSTAD
MEEG Karl
PETTERSEN Lina

46
ANDREASEN H
OLSEN Kristian

50
BJORSETH Endre (cabinet maker) w Anne c Anna, Peder, Alfred, Olivia
VERNES Johan

Note: this list is taken from 'The Norwegian Settlers in Natal 1882' compiled by Andrew and Anna Halland and Ingeborg Kjonstad published by Norwegian Lutheran Church, Marburg, 1967.

There are spelling variations which occur in the Centenary Supplement 'The Norwegian Settlers : Marburg Natal, 1882-1982' ed Aagot Gulbrandsen, Borhild Cawdry, Merle Kjonstad published by Norwegian Church Marburg 1982 [e.g. Dorethea instead of Dortea in IGESUND Lot 3]. This supplement offers descendants of the original families as at 1982.

Passenger arrivals and departures at Natal in 1852

The Natal Witness 23 January 1852 reported:

ARRIVED
The Duo, brig, Captain Eneroth, from Cape Town.
Passengers
Messrs.
Cloete
Meurant (45th Regt.)
Marru
Phipson (and 2 children)
Fairbridge
Fenton
Mrs. Searle and four children
Miss Scott
One servant
One soldier (45th Regt.)

INSIDE
Devonian, E. P. Lamport, agent
Iris, J. Millar and Co. Agent

OUTSIDE
Typhena (sic - error for Tryphena)

Natal Witness 20 February 1852

Arrived
Feb. 11 - Elizabeth Jane, from Mauritius, and sailed the 13th inst. for Port Elizabeth and Cape Town
Feb. 15 - Mayflower, Captain Langmair from London

INSIDE
Devonian, E.P. Lamport, agent
Iris, J. Millar and Co. agent
Rosebud, H. Jargal, agent

OUTSIDE
Trent, J. Brown, agent
Mayflower, J. Millar and Co. agents

Natal Witness 15 March 1852

Sailed
Mayflower, J. Millar and Co. agents

Arrived
March 11 - Wanderer, N. Glendining, from Algoa Bay.
Passengers
Mrs. Adendorff (sic) and two children
Mrs. Jones, five children and servant.  J. Proudfoot, agent.

March 15 - Larne, schooner, from London, Mr. F. Simmons, master, for Comoro Islands, put in for water.

March 15 - Gem, J. Glendining, from Table Bay.
Passengers
Mr. A. J. De Kock and family and J. De Kock and family
Rev. Mr. Appleyard and Mrs. Appleyard
Mrs. Snell
Mr. and Mrs. Field and family
Misses Bresler
S. De Kock
Revs. Dunn, Sabor, Logegary, and Allard
Messrs. Bompain, Herbert, Moore, and Long.
J. Proudfoot, agent.

INSIDE
Wanderer, Gem and Larne.

Natal Witness 20 August 1852

Arrived
August 14th - Sir Robert Peel, Royal Mail Steamer, 233 tons, Captain J. Boxer from Table Bay and Algoa Bay 11 August, to this port. Cargo sundries.
Passengers
Mr. and Miss Fairbridge and servant
Mr. Thompson and son
Mr. Symons
Lieut. Inglis, R.E.

Brings a Cape Mail. Crossed the bar on the 16th inst. E. Snell, agent. Reports the Ceres having sailed on the 30th July with the English mail for May and June.

INSIDE
Sir Robert Peel, steamer, J. Boxer, for Algoa Bay and Table Bay To sail on Saturday. E. Snell, Agent.

OUTSIDE
Bydal, (sic, Rydal?) for Mauritius, E. P. Lamport, Agent

VESSELS EXPECTED
From London - Narcissus and Hannah From the Cape - Ceres, Rosebud and City of Rotterdam

NATAL WITNESS OCT 1852

ARRIVED
October 7th - Sir Robert Peel, Royal Mail Steamer, 234 tons, John Boxer, from Table Bay. Cargo - sundries.
Passengers
Captain Smales and family
Messrs:
Kuhr
Brown
Stratton
Amyot
Goodricke
Gain
Buck
and another

STEERAGE:
Mr. Stretch

VESSELS EXPECTED:
From the Cape: Lord Auckland, steamer, Sanspareil and Sarah Bell
From London: President and Wee Tottie

NATAL WITNESS OCT 12

SAILED
Sir Robert Peel, steamer, to Port Elizabeth and the Cape
Passengers for Port Elizabeth (in the Cabin)
Capt. Messum

Mrs Appleyard

Rev. Mr. Appleyard, wife and child

STEERAGE
Messrs.
Stretch
Hirst
Caldwell
Bruton
Hernes, wife and four children
For the Cape (in the Cabin) -
The Lieutenant Governor
Mr Christopher
Mrs. Christopher, child and servant
Messrs
Burge
Taats

STEERAGE
Messrs
Heys
Crowder
Williams
and five shipwrecked seamen

VESSELS EXPECTED
From the Cape - Lord Auckland, steamer, Sanspareil, Sarah Bell and Rosebud
From the Mauritius (sic) - Ceres
From London - President and Wee Tottie

Passenger list: Ballangeich to Natal 1850

Arrival of the Ballangeich was reported in The Natal Witness 2 July 1850:

SHIPPING AND COMMERCIAL INTELLIGENCE

ARRIVED 
July 26th - Ballangeich, Ship, Captain Liddell, from London with Emigrants; 
left Gravesend, on the 17th, and the Downs on the 19th May;
and arrived off this Port on the 26th ult. 
July 27th - Sandwich, Brig, Peddie, from London with Emigrants. 
July 29th - Border Maid, Schooner, from Cape Town.

SAILED 
July 29th - Gem, Schooner, Glendinning, to Cape. 
July 29th - Douglas, Schooner, Clarkson, to Cape Town.

IN PORT 
Sandwich.

OUTSIDE 
Conquering Hero, Henrietta, Ballangeich, and Border Maid.

VESSELS EXPECTED 
From London 
Coromandel, Justina, Nile. 
From Glasgow 
Ontario. 
From Liverpool 
Henry Warburton. 
From Hull 
Palace, Haidee. 
From Launceston 
Lalla Rookh. 
From Cape Town 
Sarah Bell, Rosebud, Water Witch. 
From Mauritius 
Natal (ship)

List of Passengers per Ballangeich, 68 days from London. E. Morewood, Esq., Agent. 
C Owen 
TS Hopley 
R Salter 
Wm Newman 

I (or J) Reed 
J Dryden and family 
T Arnold 
Jane Arnold 
Jane Arnold (infant) 
T Ordish 
W Ordish 
J Green 
E Green 
Robert Surtees 
Ralph Robson 
HGL Smith 
CC Dennis 
Emma Dennis 
EF Dennis 
PJH Zohrab and family 
WJ Coltam 
J Denize 
E Coward 
J Coward 
R Short 
R Chapman 
F Hammond 
Joshua Upton 
R Hodgson 
WA Hodgson 
WF Russell 
JH Brooks 
David Sparks 
Hannah Newell 
Eliz Newell 
JH Davis 
H Davis 
GC Cato, agent for the ship.

DOMESTIC INTELLIGENCE 
Christenings 
On the 29th July, by the Rev James Green, daughter of William Peters, pensioned from the 45th Regiment, and Ann, his wife, christened Mary Ann.

Passengers to Natal per Devonian 1851

Arrival of the Devonian at Port Natal on 31 October 1851

LIST OF PASSENGERS AND EMIGRANTS
Per Devonian
Sailed from Liverpool on 30 July 1850

George Aldrich
HL Barker
William S Barrington
George Berrington
Alfred and Catherine and Thomas Bowes
Richard Baynes
JF Churchill
WM Collins
George W Cossar
Andrew and Mary Curle
John D and Margaret Doig and 5 children
AW and Mary Evans
Joseph Ferguson
Charles Good
Michael Hastie
Edmund Hay
Thomas and Mary Hinman
Benjamin Horne
Peter and Elizabeth Jaffray
James E Jevons
Sarah Lockwell
Joseph McHardie
W McMillan
Matthew and Mary Ann Middlebrook
William and Jane Miles and 5 children
William and Eliza Molton and 1 child
Robert Pickering
Thomas Reynolds
William and Mary Roberts and 4 children
Rev Joseph and Mary Shooter
William Smith
Josias Stephenson
Frederick and Jane Symes and 1 child
Elizabeth Walker
Joseph B and Isabel Watson
William and Ellen Watson and 3 children

WESLEYANS
William J and Mary Clark and 4 children
Luke and Mary Newberry and 3 children
John Stratford

Passengers to Natal: Evangeline and Priscilla 1860

Arrival of the Evangeline and Priscilla, Natal Mercury 20 September 1860

ARRIVED

September 13 - Walter Glendining, brigantine, 111 tons, N Glendining, from Table Bay, September 1

JD Koch, agent

September 15 - Evangeline, barque, 231 tons, G Wigg, from London, sailed June 18

Evans and Churchill, agent

PASSENGERS

Mr and Mrs Blunt

Messrs

George Lyall

Hamilton McCreight

William Jalland

PJ Sanders

James Ellis

September 16 - Priscilla, barque 253 tons, G Brown from London, sailed June 10

W Hartley and Co, agents

PASSENGERS (Cabin)

Mr and Mrs Roach and infant

Mr and Mrs Crowder and five children

106 immigrants in Steerage [see separate list below]

SAILED

September 17 - Early Morn, barque, 315 tons, Lowry for Algoa Bay and London

Evans and Churchill, agents

 GOVERNMENT EMIGRANTS [i.e. steerage], PER PRISCILLA

Donald Toyner

Ann Russom

Jane, Angelina, Sarah, William, Robert, Charles, Dalcie Taylor

Amelia Richardson

Charles and Julia Dunton with five children

George Parry

John and Christiana Tennant and six children

Emma Lurridge

John and Margaret Thompson and five children

Mary and Ann Willliams

David Williams

Benjamin and Honor May and six children

Walter Gray

Joseph Dickens

Edwin and Katherine Brown

John and Jane Dyer and five children

James and Mary Henwood and five children

James and Isabella Cass and one child

William and John Cass

Robert and Phoebe Moore and five children

William and Caroline Pigeon and three children

Ann and Annie Merrick

George Pinkney

Alexander and Nancy Lindsay and two children

Elizabeth Lindsay

Samuel Goldsworthy

Henry L and Mary Ann Thurston and two children

Ellen Kirkwood

Margaret Graham

Samuel and Jane Deane and two children

Thomas and John Davidson

Robert Hall

Henry Furlong

Alkin Gollan

In all 106 souls, equal to 77 statute adults.

For more on the Priscilla: 

molegenealogy.blogspot.com/2013/04/souvenir-saturday-captain-george-brown.html

Passenger Lists Natal: Iris 1852

Natal Witness 2 January 1852

SHIPPING COMMERCIAL AND AGRICULTURAL INTELLIGENCE

SAILED

Natal Witness 2 January 1852

Kellermont, Captain Shaw, to Port Elizabeth

Rosebud, Captain A. Murison, to Cape Town

INSIDE

Gem, J. Proudfoot, agent

Devonian, E. P. Lamport, agent

ARRIVED

Iris, Captain Dobson. 

The following is a List of the Passengers:

CABIN

Surgeon - Mr. J. H. H. Lewellin, wife, 3 children

Messrs. G. T. and Henry Lee

Mr. Wm. Henry Middleton and wife

Mr. Vivian

Mr. Charles Thomas Wheelwright

Miss Shuttleworth

INTERMEDIATE

Miss Sophia Hawkins

Mr. Thomas Cope and wife

Mr Wm. Hill Allen

Mr. J. Grant

Mr. T. Grant

Mr. E. Holland, wife, and 6 children

Mr. J. C. Slatter, wife, and 3 children

Mr. Wm. Slatter, and son

Mr. Wm. Bullock, and 5 children

Mr. West, wife, and 4 children

Mr. Simmons

Mr. Martin

Mr. Withington, wife, and 2 children

Mr. Jeremiah Wilson

Mr. Martin Hirsch

Mr. Moritz Hirsch

Mr. Samuel Parish

Mr. George Gain

Total - 44 (56 listed, including all the children)

Early settler dwellings at Port Natal:
wattle and daub under thatch

For more on 1850s lifestyle at Natal enter 'Eliza Feilden' in the search facility.

Passengers to Natal on Nyanza: the Willowfountain settlers

THE WILGEFONTEIN (WILLOWFOUNTAIN) SETTLERS

In February 1878 the Natal Land and Immigration Board (LIB) acquired 5000 acres of farmland south of Pietermaritzburg for the purpose of bringing settlers from England to farm there. This land had been granted to a former Voortrekker, Paulus Hermanus Zietsman, who had named it Wilgefontein. In August 1879, the LIB commissioned James Methley to sail to England and find agricultural families for thirty of the forty plots; the remaining ten plots were to be sold to farmers who were already in Natal.

The plan was for all families to live on their own capital for the first two years, until houses, fences, roads, irrigation and crops were established, before they had to start paying for their land in ten instalments over the next ten years. These prospective settlers had to not only produce proof of enough capital, but had to deposit it into a bank in England and were unable to access it until their arrival in Natal. This was to prevent the same mistakes made with the Byrne settler programme, in which settlers had delved into their capital before arriving in the colony. Because of both the stringent requirements and the penalties for default, Methley only managed to find twenty-three families, many of which were not even farmers.

Passengers on deck of  Nyanza 1877

The settlers came mainly from the Midlands of England, with a few from Scotland, southern England and Wales. They departed from Southampton on the S.S. Nyanza on June 11th 1880, and arrived at Durban via Madeira and Cape Town on the 12th July 1880.
While anchored in Durban bay that evening, the male heads of the families gathered in the ship's saloon with the representatives of the LIB to draw slips of paper from a bag for their Lot numbers.

The following day, because there was no actual quay, the disembarkation process took most of the day. Each person had to be lowered in a basket down to a tug next to the ship, and then transported ashore in the tugboat. Late that afternoon, a specially commissioned train carried the settlers inland to Inchanga Station, which was as far as the railway line had been constructed. The journey was continued over the next three days in twelve ox-wagons.

At around noon on Friday 16th July, the wagon train came over the crest of a hill, giving the settlers the first sight of their new home. The so-called 'promised land' did not look impressive, mainly because a veld-fire had blackened the land in recent weeks, adding to the bleak, treeless appearance. Three of the families - the Hanns, the Liddels and the Rowlings - elected to stay on the wagons and continue into Pietermaritzburg to either settle there or return to England in due course. The accommodation on the lots consisted of tents, which were supposed to be available to the settlers for the first three months, but were never claimed back by the LIB. One lucky man, a bachelor called William Clarke, had drawn the lot with a shale house on it. Another, larger house was on the Government Reserve land, which was to be common property for the use of all the settlers. In 1884 it was put to use as a school for male children of the settlers, and the motto was 'Semper Paratus' - Always Prepared. This farmhouse was the same one later inhabited by the last members of the Hall family, the last people to move in 1975 from their farm, which they had called Brandon. The papers and documents collected and kept by Dudley T. Hall (himself a descendant of original settlers Brown and Clarke), form the basis of the Willowfountain file in the Killie Campbell Africana Library in Durban, from which much of this material was sourced.

Some of those who chose to stay were soon to regret their decision, upon realisation that their new land was steep and stony, did not have enough fertile soil, decent roads, reasonable access to water, or even trees for firewood. In fact, the local farmers had been aware of the poor conditions there, so the ten plots originally intended for sale locally had never found buyers for this very reason. Within a few months all unoccupied lots were offered to the new settlers as well. Many settlers acquired a second lot in the hope of farming for profit rather than mere subsistence, which was all the original small lots could promise. The most popular crop to be grown was barley, which was needed to supply the garrison at Fort Napier. Due to the increased presence of Imperial Troops in the Colony, fodder was needed for cavalry horses, as well as mealies for the troops fighting in the Basuto War. Many settlers also kept cattle, which were allowed to graze on the twelve or so acres of common land.

Some families fell on bad times personally, with death or illness, crop failure or the lack of roads causing delays in getting their produce to the Market, thus spoiling on the wagons and failing to fetch the intended price. Barnett left after the first year when he realised he would never be able to make a living from his land, and Hamlyn left soon after to work for Natal Government Railways (NGR) in Durban in order to have a steady income and to live closer to a school for his children. After the first year, Mr CA Butler from the Land and Immigration Board (LIB) visited the settlement and was satisfied that most of the eighteen families of settlers that were left were progressing well, except for Bradley, Walker and Roberts. The Bradley brothers left during the second year. Unfortunately, floods, drought and Rinderpest disease took their toll on many settlements before the first instalment fell due after two years. Once the repayments began, only about two families were not in arrears at any one time.

In the Spring of 1886, the discovery of gold on the Witwatersrand, combined with a drought in Natal, tempted the sons of settlers, if not the settlers themselves, to leave Willowfountain and journey north in search of the fortunes needed to pay off their farms. In 1888, having exhausted their original capital, both Aitchison and Haworth joined the gold rush and illegally sublet their farms.

Many petitions were sent to the LIB regarding lack of roads and right of way of water. In April 1887, Roberts, Walker, Oldfield and Powdrill spearheaded a petition to reduce the original purchase price of the land by 50%. Eventually, in 1888, the LIB agreed to reduce the price by 10% and to give the settlers an extra four years to pay, but at an interest rate of 5%. Pleas and petitions abounded from desperate settlers who had sunk life savings into their plots and couldn't afford the interest, especially since the land was clearly not worth it. Their cries were eventually heeded, and the prices were reduced by 20%, and the extension was granted for another four years, at no interest, meaning that all plots had to be paid for by 1900.

In 1889, another law was relaxed, enabling settlers to sublet their allotments and seek employment elsewhere. This was necessary because at least two settlers, Parkin and Clements, had died, leaving their widows to bring up several children and work on the farm alone - an impossible task under the circumstances. Haworth had died in Johannesburg and his widow left Willowfountain to settle in Pietermaritzburg. Christieson left to become a carpenter in Pietermaritzburg. By 1889, the population of Willowfountain had reduced from 137 to 65.

Only four families paid off their allotments within the original 12 years, and another three had paid by the end of 1892. The LIB disbanded in 1894, and the Willowfountain community began to break up as most settlers sold their allotments immediately they received their title deed upon full payment. The Surveyor-General's Office (SGO) sent letters to the remaining ten defaulters in 1895, reminding them they were in arrears. Most settlers acknowledged this and assured the SGO that they intended to pay as soon as they were able. A further five settlers paid by 1900. All allotments were eventually paid for, with the last payment being made only in 1927, having thus taken 47 years for the owner to pay it off!

A Wesleyan Church was constructed on the settlement, as well as a graveyard, and some settlers were buried there. Those settlers of the Anglican and Presbyterian faiths went to Church in town, and when they died, they were buried there. In 1932, a Memorial to the settlers was erected next to the Wesleyan Church and cemetery at Willowfountain, to commemorate those who stayed to become part of South Africa's history. This stone, unveiled by the Honourable Dr W J O'Brien, mentioned the names of the original heads of families who settled there.

Names of the original settlers and their apprentices and wards include Aitchison, Barnett, Bradley, Brown, Christieson, Clarke, Clements, Delvin, Hadden, Hamlyn, Haworth, Leiper, Martin, Neden, Oldfield, Parkin, Pearse, Powdrill, Roberts, Symons, Thornycroft and Walker, who later changed their name to St Goran.

The writer of this article (Susan Roberts) is indebted to the 1949 thesis of Donald William Bosch for much of the information contained herein.

BOSCH, Donald William; 1949; The Wilgefontein Settlement 1880, thesis presented in the University of Natal for the degree of Master of Arts; University of Natal; Pietermaritzburg.

Susan Roberts

Natal immigration in the 1870s

West St, Durban, 1874

In its Report for the year 1879 (the year of the Anglo-Zulu War) the Natal Land & Immigration Board stated:

'During the first quarter of the year 1879 owing doubtless to the disturbed state of South Africa, only four immigrants arrived in this Colony under the auspices of the Land and Immigration Board. During the latter part of the year however the number of arrivals rapidly increased to a monthly average of nearly 31 souls, the total number during the whole year being 287. In addition to those who arrived, approved applications for 340 more persons were sent to England during the latter half of the year, and of these 72 had arrived up to February 16 1880. The total number of applications received by the Board during 1879 was 300, being 165 in excess of those received in 1878.

In all cases where free passages are granted by the Board the nominee is under engagement of service for a period of not less than one year or more than three years at the rate of wages current in the Colony, according to trade. This arrangement has been found to work very well, so much so that in some cases immigrants who came to the Colony under this system are now in their turn employers of labour introduced in the same manner.

In November last a special agent, Mr J E Methley, proceeded to England, by direction of the Board, to select 32 families to be located on the farm ‘Wilgefontein’ [Willowfountain] purchased by the Board in 1878 for the purpose of forming a special agricultural settlement in the vicinity of Pietermaritzburg. This farm 5 500 acres in extent has been subdivided in the manner specified in Government Notice No 257 of 1878 and it is expected that the immigrants will be located on this settlement in June next.

Several proposals have been received … from Missionary Societies and others with the view of forming German, Norwegian and other settlements.'

The Willowfountain settlers were to arrive on the Nyanza 12 July 1880.

Immigrants to Natal in the 1870s

This photograph shows Field Street, Durban, during the 1870s: the road is unsurfaced and could become a quagmire in the rainy season. Structures vary in size and style. It's still the era of the horse and the horse- or ox-drawn wagon. Dalton's Saddlery, in business from at least a decade earlier, (sign shown in white on the side of the first building at left), would have been kept busy. In fact, George Dalton did so well that in 1872 he opened a branch 'at the Umgeni, adjoining Allen's Ferry Hotel'.

Everything looks peaceful enough, yet the 1870s would prove to be a turbulent decade in Natal's history. The inhabitants were continually fearful of an uprising of local tribes. 1873 brought the much-mishandled Langalibalele incident: in brief, the chief of the AmaHlubi resisted orders from the magistrate to register guns held by the tribesmen and failed to report personally in Pietermaritzburg. This was regarded as rebellion and British troops assisted by Natal volunteers were sent on a punitive expedition to Hlubi territory. Langalibalele (loosely translated, Blazing Sun) escaped but was eventually arrested. In a skirmish at Bushman's River Pass, Major A W Durnford's force lost three Natal Carbineers (one of the them the son of the Colonial Secretary, Erskine) and Durnford received a wound to his arm which made it unusable for the rest of his life (only about six years, as he died on the field of Isandhlwana in 1879). Langalibalele and his sons suffered banishment and imprisonment.

Meanwhile, various political factors, including a boundary dispute with the Transvaal, were causing additional pressure on the Colony of Natal, and would culminate in the outbreak of war in 1879 - now referred to as the Anglo-Zulu War.

Yet Natal continued to be advertised in the press and elsewhere as a suitable prospect for immigrants from overseas. Certain occupations could guarantee a free passage.  The Natal Almanac of 1877, under the heading 'Immigration from Europe' states:

Assisted and free passages are granted only to persons nominated under applications and contracts by residents previously approved by the Protector of Immigrants in the Colony. Assisted passages from Great Britain are in the first instance paid in full by the Natal Government upon the written undertaking of the applicants in the Colony, ratified by their nominees, who ... become responsible for the part payment of the passage money at the rate of 10 pounds sterling for every statute adult, in two equal instalments ... Free passages are granted from the United Kingdom for immigrants of the following classes: Domestic Servants, Farm Labourers, Mechanics viz Engineers, Engine-drivers, Carpenters, Bricklayers, Stonemasons, Blacksmiths, Wheelwrights, Shipbuilders ...

Natal Almanac and Yearly Directory 1877

                                                           

More on Natal Immigration

1879 was the year of the Anglo-Zulu War, and the Natal Land and Immigration Board reported a downturn in the number of incoming immigrants 'owing to the disturbed state ' of the Colony. Later in the year arrivals increased to a monthly average of 31 souls, the total for the year being 287. Additionally, applications had been received for 340 more persons, of whom 72 had arrived up to mid-February 1880.

J E Methley was sent to England to select about 40 families for agricultural settlement in 1880; this group became known as the Willowfountain (or Wilgefontein) settlers. Further information is held in the European Immigration Department records at Pietermaritzburg Archives Repository.

Walter Peace took over as Natal immigration agent based in London and during 1880, according to the Natal Mercury, brought out 200 immigrants. The newspaper commented that in May 1880 the URMS African had arrived at Port Natal (Durban) from England carrying 60 immigrants - 20 men, 10 women and some children. 'The men are carpenters, blacksmiths, farm labourers, engineers, gardeners and joiners, and the women housekeepers and domestic servants. We have to thank Mr Walter Peace ... for such a large and respectable class of immigrants as landed at the Point yesterday. Mr Reid of the Immigration Depot ... boarded the African for the purpose of looking after those who were arriving here under the Immigration Act' and the immigrants were safely landed at the wharf.

'Some friends of the immigrants were present, but there were some who found themselves on a foreign land without those who required their services being there to receive them.' (The immigrants had already been engaged by prospective employers in Natal.) Accommodation in tents was available for the reception of such settlers, but 'in no instance was a poor stranger allowed to enter the tents; those who had found friends kindly looked after their less fortunate fellow passengers, and in a short time they were all distributed throughout the town in boarding-houses.'

By 1887 more than half the white population of Natal, then totalling about 36 000 and predominantly English-speaking, were living in the two largest towns, Pietermaritzburg and Durban.

For passenger arrivals at Natal between 1845 to about 1910, original registers are held in the Archives of the European Immigration Department (EI) at Pietermaritzburg Archives Repository.

There is a surname index to the registers (not online): a local Natal researcher could check this index, going to the original volumes if an entry is found and providing digital copies or a transcript. Alternatively, access the LDS Family Search site at www.familysearch.org/ and, under the Family History Library Catalogue section, see the list of available films on Natal immigration; films can be ordered at a Family History Centre near you.

UPDATE: www.eggsa.org/arrivals/eGGSA%20Passenger%20Project.html  Access to learn more about the eGGSA Passenger List Project now. (2012)

The original Natal passenger registers are a valuable source, but the lists are not all-inclusive at any period. Generally, with the approach of the 20th c factors such as increased volume of shipping, inconsistent record-keeping or lack of preservation of records, may militate against finding certain arrivals.

Passenger lists - even in the original registers - often contain inaccuracies; spellings of surnames vary, handwriting may be difficult to read etc. Newspaper shipping columns may offer passenger lists which do not tally with the Port Captain's lists.