The Norwegian Settlers: Marburg Natal 1882

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F ree translatio n by A. H. E. A ndreasen jointly w ith Anna H alland of the book “N orsk N ybyggerliv i N atal,” compiled

by A ndrew and A nna H alland and Ingeborg K jonstad in 1932 coinciding w ith the

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50th Jubilee

Landing of the Settlers on the 29th August, 1882 Published by the M arburg N orw egian L u theran Church P rinted by South Coast H erald (Pty.) Ltd. P ort Shepstone, N atal

All righ ts reserved

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JBebtcatum '91a © ur Ciractous (Sob anfr to the JiHcmorg of our brake parents for ttje ^ o b le R entage of our ■Lutheran i f ait b anh our ^orfaegtan 3Race p ie ©foe © ur O&ratefitl ^Ehattks

CHAPTER ..............................................................................

H ow it began D eparture from A alesund â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Ju ly 14, 1882 ...............................

The New H om eland .................................................................

S hattered H opes .............. ...................................................

C hurch Life ...........................................................................................

E ducational A ctivities .................................................................

F arm ing and its p r o b le m s ..................................................................

Difficulties Arise .. .................................................................

Snake S t o r i e s .......................................................................................... ............. ............................

W ars 1899-1902 and 1914-1918 The V iking Boats and F ishing A ttem pts ...............................

The B antu ..........................................................................................

Short Fam ily B io g ra p h ie s ................. ........................................

A T ribute by R u t h ..............................................................................

The Young G en eratio n: A ttainm ents ........................................

Social L ife : (a) A nniversaries ................................................ (b) G reetings F ro m : Consul J. J. Egeland.

The M ission by L. M. Titlestad.

The Seam enâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s M ission by O. Aarvold.

T he M ission by N. B raadtvedt, V eteran M issionary.

The first C hristm as in a strange l a n d .......................................

Statistics ...........................................................................................

S u p p lem en t: A fter 1932 .................................................................

W orld W ar II. L ist of soldiers, etc.

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1 2 3 4 5 G 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

17 ^8 19

Preface To THE ENGLISH TRANSLATION 1967 Eighty-five years have elapsed since the landing of the N orw egian S ettlers in 1882 and the last m ale im m igrant, A ndrew Vinjevold, passed aw ay last year.

Six wom en are still alive: 1. A nna H aajem Tuckell (94); 2. Magda Berg Jacobs, H illary (91); 3. Alfa Berg L andm ark, Johannesburg (89); 4. Sophie H ufft Bjorseth (87); 5. Anna Nero H alland (86); 6. Dorthea Nero Tvedt (84) (6 m onths on arrival).

A lthough th e im m igration scnem e m ay be considered a failure, not only as far as the prom ised harbour is concerned, but also as regards the poor soil, lack of m anure and fertilizers, lack of im plem ents, transp ort and m arket facilities, there are redeem ing features, the greatest of w hich is the in herent streng th of character of the Vikings. B jornson’s prophecy “They will carry streng th to others” has been fulfilled.

W e feel proud of our U niversity graduates, and our arm y officers. Look at the list in the Supplem ent of our young m en (94) and our young girls (nine or m ore) in Active Service in W orld W ar II, in various ranks and regim ents.

W e are indebted to Oscar Nero, by whose initiative and unfailing zeal, this book has come into being.

To A rth ur A ndreasen, our sincere thanks for his tim ely help and th e m onths of strenuous w ork he has pu t into his able translation, and proof-reading.

To Merle K jonstad, our grateful th ank s for typing the m anuscript, and proof­ reading.

To me it has been a pleasure to help in condensing and verifying th e contents.

W e tru st th a t the book will be accepted by our young generation as an in te r­ esting part in the history of South Africa.

To God be th e glory, ANNA HALLAND.

SPECIAL THANKS The Com m ittee w ishes to th an k Mrs. A nna H alland for h er w ork in revising th e translation and collecting data and th e nam es of our soldiers in W orld W ar II.

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Sir W alter Peace

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Translation Of PREFACE OF ORIGINAL BOOK The com pilation of the item s recorded in this book, w as anything b u t an easy undertaking. Photographs and “m aterial” had to be sought and pieced together; this had to be concise, to keep costs at a m inim um ; it had to be factual, and w ithout m alice tow ards anyone. M ainly it is concerned w ith perpetuating the m em ory of our parents.

It is through photographs and reference th a t the younger generation w ill hon­ our father and m other, and th ank them for th eir labours in tim e of hardship.

The earlier generation received a m eagre education through no fault of the parents, bu t entirely due to prevailing circum stances.

Our parents feared God, and held H is nam e high; th ey built a church, and regularly attended church services; as C hristians, they had th e high ideal of being industrious, dependable and loyal citizens of th eir new hom eland. W ith confidence they settled down in a strange environm ent, and learn t a strange language; but they did not forsake th e ir m other tongue; it w as no disgrace to be Norw egian, th e opposite w as th e case. L et us therefore continue to honour our p aren ts’ heritage.

In conclusion, thanks to all who helped w ith photos and inform ation for this book, and the prin ters for a job well done. Special th ank s to Rev. A arvold for the valuable assistance in proof-reading. T hanks are due to Rev. and Mrs. H alland.

Miss I. K jonstad, G. Kvalsvig for valuable inform ation and Iv ar Carlson for his poems. Last, but not least, thanks to th e W om en’s Com m ittee and all who gave solid support in raising funds.

It is sincerely hoped th at th is story will be accepted in the rig h t sp irit by people interested.

P. A. RODSETH.

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PARAPHRASE OF PROLOGUE In the inspired prologue, our poet, Ivar Carlsen, describes the epic depart足 ure of the intrepid N orw egian em igrants from th eir m ountain hom es on th e w est coast of Norw ay, and th eir voyage to a new land and a new life. T heir greatest heritage, th eir faith in God, stood them in good stead during the difficult years w hen the hazards of pioneer life m ight have completely overw helm ed them .

We, th eir decendants, in looking back, salute them w ith am azem ent and gratitude, and hum bly try to follow in th eir footsteps and protect th e heritage they have passed on to us.

T ranscription by Aagot G ulbrandsen.

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1. HOW IT BEGAN

B jornson, N orw ay’s great poet, expressed the Norse folks’ “ w ander-lust ” — urge to em igrate — from early history, w hen he w ro te : “ N orrona folket det vil, fare, D et vil fore-kraft til an d re.” and th e V ikings and later, th e explorers, N ansen (N orth Pole) and A m undsen (South Pole) w on fam e and renow n fo r Norway.

D espite th e w onderful nature, m ountains and fjords of Norway, its valleys w ere narrow , and living hard.. Up to 1880 Am erica had been th e goal for seek­ ing “ pastures new .” Now, voices from the South, brought a change of direction.

In th e trail of m issionaries to Zululand, Captain L andm ark, M aster of th e Mission ship, “ E lieser,” w ent on an exploring trip through N atal and Zululand. He was im pressed w ith th e green hills, fruitful soil and sunny land. H e found few w hite people about and it struck him w h at an ideal country N atal w ould be for N orse Colonists.

Back in Norw ay, he w rote articles to th e press, extolling th e glories of Natal.

H e also published a brochure giving inform ation about the geography and clim ate of N atal, also giving a list of fruits, grain and vegetables to be grow n. These brochures w ere quickly sold out, as they gave valuable inform ation to prospective farm ers.

In terest w as aroused especially am ong farm ers round Aalesund. A letter of enquiry w as sent to Mr. E m il Berg at th e Seam en’s M ission in London for fu rth er inform ation, and how to get there. Mr. Berg contacted Mr. (later Sir) W alter Peace, w ho w as th e agent for the G overnm ent of Natal.

A fter negotiations for em igration to Natal, th ey w ere prom ised free passage from London for fifty families, un der certain conditions, to land at th e m outh of th e U m zim kulu R iver. T hey w ould be given a lot of 100 acres for each fam ily w ith 2,000 acres of com m on grazing of cattle. The land w ould cost R1.50 p er acre payable in ten years. E ach applicant w ould need a m inim um sum of R100 (£50) on arriv al against w an t in th e early years. A pplicants m ust have a doctor’ cer­ tificate of good health and a m in ister’s letter of good conduct. T hey w ere required to be m en of integrity, sober, hard w orking and C hristian people, w illing to be of m utual help. E ach fam ily w as allowed to bring tw o single persons.

People reckoned th a t these conditions w ere favourable, especially in view of th e presen t hard tim es in Norw ay. L etters from the Colony such as those from D aniel N ilsen and Isak R affteseth also influenced th e relations favourably. One w arning le tte r cam e from Rev. Stavem of the N orw egian M ission, w ho considered th a t a sum of R600 (£300) w ould be needed for th e first years. Able artisans m ight get w ork a t R1 (10/-) a day. Rev. Stavem also feared th at C hristian w hite people w ould not th riv e am ong the black heathen inhabitants. B ut the hardy young people w ere determ ined to overcom e such difficulties.

A com m ittee w as selected com prising Mr. A. A ndersen as chairm an, Mr. K. M artinsen, a business m an, and Mr. E. B jorseth, a cabinet m aker. A pplications cam e in m ostly from Sunnm ore and Aalesund, three from Trondelag, tw o from Bergen — about th ree hundred in all, bu t only fifty fam ilies w ere provided for.

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E arly in 1882 th e necessary docum ents w ere received for com pletion and attes足 tation by doctors and clergym en. A busy tim e followed in m aking preparationsand disposing of such assets as they possessed to ensure th a t th e necessary m oney w as available. The m oney w as handed over to R asm us R onneberg in A alesund and paid out to th e em igrants after th eir arrival in N atal by Mr. A ndersen.

Mr. Berg visited A alesund early th at spring and accepted his call as p riest for th e colonists in the new country.

W hen the tim e cam e to em bark, it w as found th at only 34 fam ilies w ere ready for th e venture.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17

NAMES OF T H E HEADS OF T H E 34 FA M ILIES 18 J. Nero, agronom ist K. M artinsen, m erchant A. A ndersen, bookseller 19 C. Rodseth, goldsm ith E. Bjorseth, cabinet m aker 20 L. H aram , farm er 21 I. C. Lund, landscape gardener 0. P. Valdai, tailor 22 F. H ufft, w eaver 0. A. Yinjevold, farm er 23 J. Pettersen, farm er J. Lillebo, builder 24 P. Trandal, baker 0. E. H aajem , ship builder A. Bjorkelund, farm er 25 J. K ipperberg, seam an and fisherm an N. Gidske, farm er 26 S. Borgesen, bookbinder K. Hageselle, farm er 27 R. Brune, boatbuilder 28 F. Bodtker, carpenter J. 0. Oie, farm er E. Pahr, teacher 29 K. 0. Standal, painter I. Igesund, farm er 30 N. Oie, w agonm aker 31 R. Sandanger, builder G. 0. Kvalsvig, farm er M. Holte, blacksm ith 32 T. Dahle, m echanic and shoem aker 33 H. A ndreasen, farm er G. K jonstad, teacher 34 Rev. E. Berg J. K jonstad, farm er

Aalesund

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2. DEPARTURE FROM AALESUND-JULY 14, 1882 narrated by G. O. Kvalsvig, veteran of the immigration

Being anxious to m eet th e em igrants, descendants of the Vikings, Mr. W alter Peace arriv ed in A alesund on 9th July, 1882. A large festival had been arranged w here friends and relatives m et for goodbyes. Rev. Jerv al spoke on th e tex t from R om ans 12:12 “Rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfast in p ray er”. L aypreacher Olsen adm onished th e people w ith the tex t “Do not fall out on th e w ay.” M any heartw arm ing w ords w ere spoken, and a special hym n w ritten as a p artin g w ish by friends w as sung. I t contained th e w ish of God’s presence, protect­ ion, and blessing. It w as sung in a solem n tune.

On th e 14th July, th e W ilson boat, “ Tasso,” lay anchored at the quayside ready for departure. Small boats in great num bers lay round the ship — it seem ed as if all A alesund and district had come to see them off.

T he w eather w as beautiful, th e sea sm iling, and th e em igrants in high spirits.

As th e ship m oved out, m inds began to realise th a t th ey w ere leaving th e be­ loved land of th e ir birth, w here th ey had been accepted by God in baptism and w h ere th ey had learned th e w ay of life from godfearing parents and teachers.

B ut a th o u g h t of com fort also occurred, th a t th eir God would be w ith them also in regions beyond.

N earing Stadt, th e point of tu rn ing South, seasickness attacked th e passen­ gers. One sm all boy in distress asked “ Shall we be sick all th e way, even in th e train , Dad ? ” table

M O U N T A IN «. C A P E T O W N

Cape

Town

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Soon, how ever, E ngland w as in sight and they landed in H ull, on M onday, 17th July. A fter a good breakfast, th ey w ere soon packed in a special tra in for London, and th ere m et by Rev. E. Berg, J. P ettersen and F. B odtker from Bergen.

E scorted by four policemen they safely reached the boat “ L apland ” at th e E ast India Docks, w here Captain P otts and Dr. S tuart, the ship’s doctor, received them . E ach fam ily w as given a large cabin, w ith sm aller ones for th e single persons and a com m on dining saloon. The ship w as clean and th e food good.

N ext day, 19th July, in th e N orw egian Seam en’s C hurch in London, the ordination of Mr. E. Berg as the em igrants’ church priest took place, Rev. G rondahl officiat­ ing. On the eve of departure, 20th July, Mr. W alter Peace m ade th e follow ing speach : “ N orw egian People, I m ust now bid you farew ell. As th e G overnm ent Official or Agent, m y duties connected w ith your em igration are nearly done. You are aboard a good steam ship, in charge of a good and experienced Captain. F rom him you w ill receive all attention and supervision you need. On m y behalf as well as yours, I w ant to thank Mr. D onald C urrie for his w illing help, his exer­ tions and his thoughtfulness in th e special accom m odations. As far as possible each fam ily can travel together. The prom ises I m ade to you are fulfilled, in fact, som e of th e privileges you have received are better th an w e at first m ade you hope for. I am convinced th a t no previous em igration had better conditions th an yours. The grass huts, your first dw ellings are ready for you. All going well, you w ill reach your lots early in Spring, so you can plough and sow in good time. From friends you corresponded w ith in A lfred County, you w ill see th at descriptions have not been too glowing. I have no m ore to say as an Official in the N atal G overnm ent Service. You will receive all aid, and guidance from the L and and Im m igration Board after your arrival in D urban. T hey will assist in the difficulties to get to your first homes. “ Allow me a few w ords of a personal nature, as to th e relation betw een us and to your future. It w as a great responsibility laid upon m e by the G overnm ent, a tru st of honour to pick people of quality for the founding of a new Settlem ent

Durban Harbour, early picture. By permission O l d Durban Collection

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in N atal. I did th is to th e best of m y ability and w ith courage and I feel now as I look a t you th a t m y w ork has no t been in vain. I have no doubt th a t your em igration to N atal w ill be a blessing to yourselves and th at you w ill fulfil th e G overnm ent’s hopes by y o u r energy and initiative. I shall not easily forget th at afternoon in A alesund, th e sm all island backed by snow decked hills, or th e in ter­ esting festival w ith friends come to honour you and to w ish God’s blessing on yo ur venture. It w ill be happy new s to people in N atal th a t th e new Colonists are G odfearing, and w illing for m utual help in difficulties of early pioneer life.

T hese difficulties w ill not be m inim ised by th e use or m isuse of strong drink. “ Your responsibility begins now — I pray you each not to forget it — not only to prove th e tru st laid on you for a diligent and exem plary m oral life, in building th e new hom es, b u t also m ake faithful use of your possessions and show th e best influence in your w ay of life. H onour your nation, blaze the trail for C hristianity and civilisation for th e heathen folk you get in contact w ith. “ I w ill say a h earty th ank you to M essrs. Berg, A ndersen, M artinsen for th e ir help in ou r consultations. May God bring you safely to your desired haven, both in th is w orld and in the next. F arew ell.”

Sir D onald C urrie, th e ow ner of “ L apland ” spoke a few w ords and Rev. B erg on behalf of th e em igrants conveyed th eir thanks. The “ L apland ” slipped quietly from th e quay, a little early on account of high w ater. Two of the boys got a frig h t as th ey cam e runn in g too late to get a b o a rd ! They w ere pu t on the train for T ilbury, and taken aboard happily. A t D artm outh next day, th e ship obtained orovisions, w ater, live sheep and poultry.

Now the course tu rn ed South and E ngland disappeared. The N orthw ester set in, rain splashed on th e ocean surface and darkness covered th e Lapland. Only the w hite sea-foam round ou r ship w as seen. The L apland m oved on w ith its

First Harbour Works■ Port Shepstone

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precious cargo — 233 persons. All had been com m itted to God’s care. W ithout H is protecting guidance it could have been a dangerous passage. T he rolling of th e boat increased in the Bay of Biscay, and few w ere seen at th e tables. Calm­ ing gradually a t M adeira it w as fine w eather. H ere w e passed a ship on its w ay to E ngland bearing th e rebel Zulu Chief Cetewayo, we w ere told. A t M adeira natives flocked up to our boat w ith fruit, w ine and fancy-w ork for sale. Some youngsters dived for pennies, bringing them up betw een th e ir teeth. O ur ship took in fu rth er supplies and coal. A t th G rand C anary th e w ind blew up sharply — the top sail w as in danger of loosening up — the Captain requested som eone to clim b up to m ake it fast. Two of our boys clim bed up and did it.

Arrival At The N ew Home

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Rev. B erg arran g ed C hristian m eetings, services on Sundays and Sunday School.

M arie D ahle played th e gu itar and Mr. E m blem played th e violin. H e organised a choir am ong th e young. One of th e songs w as “ A frica w ith gold.” Tim e was sp en t in plann ing and ten tativ e com m ittees w ere set up for th e future.

One day th e stew ard opened th e m ustard bottle to show how to use it on salt beef for lunch. Two ladies took a spoonful each to th eir h o rro r and to th e am use­ m en t of th e others. N earing th e equator it becam e w arm er, th e a ir was fine and all th e passengers felt well. Some of th e children had been very ill. T hree had died and w ere buried a t sea — P a h r’s, B jorkelund’s and Joh n Oie’s.

A t th e E qu ator th e boys had fun. T hey fixed a h air across a m an’s glasses and asked if he could see th e line. “ Line, yes, quite c le a rly ” he said. They also had fun w atching flying fish, and caught som e w hich dropped on deck. As the South E aster began blow ing freshly our speed w as m odified bu t w e m oved on and early one m orning w e passed Robben Island, and soon lay anchored outside Cape Tow n. T he C ustom s Officer cam e in a boat row ed by six m en. A fter th e custom s inspection ou r boat w as allow ed to m ove to th e quayside to take in coal and foodstuffs, b u t no one w as allow ed to land ow ing to sm allpox in Cape Town. A policem an stood guard. The m agnificent view of Table M ountain im pressed us.

On th e w ay again P ort E lizabeth w as by-passed bu t we stopped at E ast London.

E xcitem ent grew as N atal w as sighted, but th e straig h t coastline, so unlike the rugged coast of N orw ay disappointed us.

A t dinn er one n ig h t we w ere told th a t the U m zim kulu R iver w as in view.

M any rushed out, b u t it w as too dark to see clearly; th ey did how ever see th e bonfires w hich Mr. Bazley had m ade as a welcome for th e colonists. By m id­ n ig h t our boat arrived in D urban h arb o u r stopping at the outer anchorage.

N ext m orning, A ugust 28, th e m en rose early for the first view of the much-talkedof new country. T hey spied th e Tow n Hall and houses on the Berea in the b rig h t sunshine. A t nine a.m. Mr. B utler, Secretary of the Im m igration Board, together w ith a Custom s Officer and several gentlem en cam e on board. They b rou gh t a m ap of th e S ettlem ent and the farm s w ere allocated by th e draw ing of lots. Rev. B erg w as given a lot in the centre and No. 17 w as chosen for C hurch and school. M essrs. R afteseth, Gorven and Hoidel cam e on board to bid us welcom e and brought bananas, oranges and sw eets for th e children.

The 100 m ile jo u rn ey by land to th e Settlem ent w ould have been hazardous, and expensive so th e authorities offered to let th e L apland take them down. They arriv ed back a t th e U m zim kulu m outh late on th e evening of A ugust 28.

Mr. W illiam Bazley fired five cannon shots as a welcom e and th e Captain sent up coloured rockets in reply, w hich pleased th e people.

Seeing th e E ng­ lish colonists w ere on th e shore to welcom e them , ou r m en gave th ree loud h u rrah s. The choir on board sang som e Sankeys H ym ns in N orw egian, gu itar playing w as heard and the shilp’s crew sang som e of th eir songs. E arly on A ugust 29 a lighter cam e out to convey us to land. Rev. B erg now m ade a speech on behalf of th e im m igrants to th e D onald C urrie Co., th ank ing th e cap­ tain an d crew for th eir care and good attention on th e voyage — th e food had been plentiful and good. In reply th e C aptain said th a t he had transp orted em igrants before, b u t none had given him m ore pleasure th an these N orse ones.

Now began th e landing, the m en used a ladder of rope, w hile th e w om en and children w ere p u t in a basket w ith room for five, having a door at the

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side and low ered into the lighter — 128 persons w ere cram m ed into th e lighter hold. As the w aves splashed over the lighter the hatches had to be clam ped down. A sm all steam er, th e Som tseu, drew the lighter to th e m outh of th e U m zim kulu w here a troop of Zulus pulled it over the sandbank and in through the riv er m outh. The poor tightly packed passengers suffered from heat and lack of air, becam e seasick and som e fainted. T hey had forgotten to bring drinking w ater along. The tow ing of the boat across th e sandbank took tim e, but some of our seam en cam e to th e rescue, opening th e hatches, so th e poor passengers could breathe freely again. T hey w ere relieved to step out on to firm land. The rest of the com pany cam e in th e afternoon.

A num ber of the colonists w ere gathered to welcom e th e arrivals — the E nglish w ere David Aiken, Reid, Sinclair, Brickhill, Pearce, W oolly brothers, Bazley, G eneral B issett and W. Mason. The G erm ans w ere Mr. and Mrs. Sangm eister, Rev. Stoppel, K lusener, Ringo, and K ruger; Swedes O renskjold and George Anderson; N orw egians B. R afteseth, Rasm us N ilsen and H. T. Brudewold w ho was assigned by the G overnm ent to m eet the arriv als and help them w ith guides and transport. Mr. O renskjold w as m ost helpful. Mr. D. Aiken invited Rev. Berg and fam ily to his hom e for three days, w hile th e luggage w as unloaded. Mr. B rickhill gave accom m odation to th irty im m igrants in his new shop on the hill. Mr. Reid gave several lodging in his hotel. T he K jon­ stad fam ily w ere taken to the brothers R afteseth, the H uffts w en t w ith Ringos.

The rest w ere lodged in Mr. Pearce’s large shed. The C aptain sent blankets and ship’s biscuits until supplies could be obtained. Mr. de Beauvais th e H ar­ bour Captain w as helpful and Mrs. de Beauvis sent cakes and sw eets for the children.

Mr. Duka F ynn, son of H enry F yn n, the Zulu chief of th e district had staged a w ar dance by 400 Zulus as a welcome. Dressed in full w ar regalia w ith spears and cow hide shields th ey m ade a terrifying im pression on th e new com ers as th ey cam e down the hill w ith w ar cries, and began stam ping back and forth until sand and dust w e-e blowing in a cloud. The w om en and children fled to th e big shed, som e of the m en entered th e bush nearby, unable to fathom th is strange welcome. Soon, how ever, th ree big oxen w ere driven into the dance and pierced w ith spears. The w arriors drank the blood, th e skins w ere to rn off and th e carcases cut up and grilled on coal fires round about. The im m igrants w ere offered some underdone m eat b u t th ey declined. H ow ever th ey enjoyed th e tea, cakes and fru it brought by the colonists—th ey w ere served w ith m ealie porridge from a large pot and found it quite tasty.

The next day, A ugust 30, Rev. Berg conducted an im pressive service on th e riv er bank w here they thanked the A lm ighty God and F ath er for th e ir safe arrival in sunny South Africa, th e goal of th eir happy dream s. T hey also invoked H is blessing, help and guidance for th e future.

Mr. K lusener, a G erm an w ho stayed w ith Rev. Stoppel at th e M ission Sta­ tion, M arburg, w as given th e contract of carting the luggage of th e im m igrants to th eir respective hom es by ox-wagon. This took tim e and m any w alked on in th e tall grass; fath er carrying provisions, m other carrying the baby w ith clothes parcels, big brothers and sisters helping th e sm aller ones up th e hills in th e sun.

E ach lot had tw o rondavels, the only w indow being th e upper half of th e door.

T hey had been built by the G overnm ent. The num ber of th e lot w as nailed on the door. The hu ts did no t look very inviting, th e th atch ed roofs w ere w ind torn, and inside w eeds and clim bing plants w ere grow ing on th e crude earthen 16

floors. Frogs, w asps nests and snakeskins had to be sw ept out. Soon, how ­ ever, th e coffee kettles w ere boiling in the m iddle of th e floor and the fam ilies w ere refreshed a fter th e strenuous w alk.

W hen th e ox-wagons arrived and the cups and dishes w ere unpacked, they found th a t m uch of th eir crockery had been broken on the way, an ox-wagon having o v erturned on th e steep hill. The em pty cases w ere soon converted into tables, and chairs. A tw o hundred pound bag of m aize m eal w as given to each fam ily.

T hey had arriv ed a t the place of th e ir dream s, and felt the w arm sun on th e hillsides w ith the beginning of sum m er. Trees grew by th e spruits and th e rolling veld gave prom ise of fields of corn, b u t there w as a secret feeling of dism ay as th ey began to see th e difficulties ahead. Still the joy of a successful voyage and safe arriv al w as great, and to build a hom e and m ake a success of th e ir place in th e Colony of N atal w as th e firm decision of one and all.

C ertainly th e G overnm ent had been helpful and generous. W hat th e futu re held eith er of prosperity o r adversity no one could know .

NATAL MERCURY REPORT: Arrival of the “Lapland” yesterday. Norwegian Emigrants “All W ell” “D eparture of th e steam er for the Um zim kulu, the C.H.M.S. ‘L apland,’ w hich w as expected here a day o r tw o since, arrived at th is port early yesterday m orn­ ing. She had on board 36 fam ilies nu m bering 229 persons, who possess be­ tw een them th e capital to th e extent of about £2,400. They are N orw egian em i­ grants, and appear to be a fine and h ard y class of people, w ho w ill m ake first rate colonists. A rrangem ents had been m ade to give up the w hole of the passenger accom m odation on board the ‘L apland’ to them , and to carry them out direct.

“T his concession has been highly appreciated by all concerned, and those gentlem en w ho inspected them yesterday m orning, prior to th eir departure for th e U m zim kulu, found them to be in tip-top condition, and all content and happy.

“Those w ho visited them w ere Mr. B. W. G reenacre (m em ber of the E.L.I.B.), Mr. C. H. B utler (Secretary), Mr. D. C. A ndrew (A gent), Mr. T. P etersen (who acted as in terp reter) and a few N orw egians in th e tow n w ho had som e friends on board. W e hope in th e course of a day or tw o to be able to place before our readers som e in terestin g particulars connected w ith these useful em igrants.”

“The first rom ance” in th e settlem ent, began w hen young Mr. W. Bazley chose his bride-to-be on th e bank of th e river. She w as Miss M argaret M artinsen. T heir courtship w as carried on w ith th e help of a N orw egian-English dictionary, and th eir rendezvous w as Sangm eister’s Store.

Rev. E m il B erg w as delighted to perform the m arriage cerem ony, and Gen­ eral B issett read an address at the w edding. It w as truly a festive gala day.

T he bridal couple w ere tow ed in B azley’s boat by a w haler up th e river, and from th e banks, Bazley’s inevitable dynam ite explosions resounded. The young couple lived in tw o rondavels for m any years. T hey had tw o sons, W illie and H a rry K nut.

On his retirem ent, Bazley built a m agnificent hom e on th e south bank of th e river, overlooking th e riv er and sea. T here he carried on his hobby of collect­ ing fossils and books, u n til his death.

17

Follow ing this early exam ple, scores of rom ances could be chronicled in the history of th e colony.

THE FAM ILIES WHO ARRIVED ON THE LAPLAND LOT 1: R asm us Sandanger, w ife Helene. W ith P eter K notten, wife M aren, child A nders.

LOT 2: M atias Holte, wife K aren, child Konrad. W ith Joh an M yklebust and Ane M uren.

LOT 3: Isak Igesund, wife Dortea, child Anna. W ith Jakob and Olava Ribbestad.

LOT 4: Johan Nero, w ife K aren, children A nna and D orthea.

W ith M artin A m undsen and Ane Sande.

LOT 6: Ole Valdai, wife Beate, children Marie, Lina, Olaf. W ith Regine Johnson and Severin Loken.

LOT 7: K ristian Rodseth, w ife K ristine, children Aage, Anna, Marie, Elisabet.

W ith Johanne Oie and Peder Ertesvaag.

LOT 8: John K ipperberg, w ife Gurine. W ith Em blem , w ife M arit, children T rine, Lauritz.

LOT 9 . Elling Pahr, wife Ane, children, Olava, K ristine, Pernille, Peder, A nna, E ilert and Ole. W ith A. Hansen.

LOT 10: John Lillebo, w ife K anutte, children Peder, Anna, Pernille, A ndreas.

W ith K nut M yklebust and Jorgine Ensti.

LOT 11: K. 0. Standal, wife Johanne. K. E. Standal, w ife Oline.

LOT 12: K. M artinsen, w ife Elisabet, children M argrete, K lara, Elise, M artin.

W ith Kaia and Gudve Rogne and E. Brudevik.

LOT 13: Ole Haajem , w ife H endrikke, children E dvard, Anna, Laura, K arl, Ole, Nora. W ith Petrine, H ans and Nille Haajem .

LOT 14: Em il Berg, wife Kornelia, children Johan, Gusta, M arie, Magda, Alfa, H arald, A rthur. W ith A nna Brungot, J. M elseter.

LOT 15: C. D. Lund, wife Marie, children Sverre, E inar, Ragnhild, A strid. W ith brother T ank Lund.

LOT 16: A. A ndersen, w ife G ertrud, children Johanne, Hilm a, A ndreas, K aren.

W ith E lias Rodseth, Ingebrigt, E dvard Bye, M arie Jorgensen and Vaernes.

LOT 17: Church and School Lot. LOT 18: P eter Brune, son Ole. W ith M arie Moe and R. N ederhus.

LOT 19: O. Vinjevold, w ife Oline, children Oline, Peder, Oluffa, Anna, Josefine, A ndreas. W ith A nders Stigen.

LOT 20: F. H ufft, wife K ristine, children Sofie, Inga. W ith Jorgen Void and G urine Frisvold.

LOT 23: M artinus Gidske, w ife Anna, children Anna, P etter, B ernt, Berte. W ith Johan P etersen and N ikoline Londahl.

LOT 25: G jert Kvalsvig, w ife Marie, child Gustav. W ith J. Johannesen and Sevrine Paulsen.

LOT 29: Nils Oie, wife Malene, children John and G uttorm , K annutte and Ingeborg and K ornelia. W ith J. 0. B rauteseth and K aroline Haajem .

LOT 30: T. O. Dahle, wife, children Anna, Gusta, Thea, Ludvig, Oluff, K ornelius.

W ith Ingeborg Dyb, W. A ndersen and M arie Dahle.

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LOT 31: A. B irkelund, w ife M arta, children L ars and L arsina. W ith Ane V atne and P eder Dahle.

LOT 32: P. H aram , wife Cecilia, six children.

LOT 33: Jo h n Oie, w ife K aren. W ith Olai V atne and M alene E idseth.

LOT 35: B orgensen, w ife M arie, child E ivind. W ith Londahl, w i f e Ragnhild, children M artha, Devoid and D orthea.

LOT 36: P ettersen and J. A ndersen.

LOT 37: K n u t H aggeselle, w ife Johanne, children Sofie and Ida. W ith m other M aren and brother A nders, and A nna K arlsen.

LOT 41: F. B odtker, w ife Cecelie, children F ritz, Paul, Marie, Rebekka. W ith L. B erntsen.

LOT 43: P. T randal, H aakon H jelle and E len Ekornes.

LOT 44: J. K jonstad, child Dina. W ith Ingeborg Valum and Olaus Skjerve.

LOT 45: G. K jonstad, w ife Elise. W ith Dagna and Em il Holte. Zefanias Olsen.

G rim stad, K arl Meeg and L ina P ettersen.

LOT 46: H. A ndreasen and K ristian Olsen.

LOT 50: E. B jorseth, w ife Anne, children Anna, Peder, Alfred, Olivia. W ith Johan V ernes.

229 passengers landed a t U m zim kulu on 29th August, 1882.

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3. THE NEW HOMELAND

Marburg,

Port

Shepstone — Alfred County, Natal

N atal has had the reputation of being a lovely land, ever since th a t C hristm as Day w hen Vasco da Gama sighted it in 1497 and called it after the birthday of Jesus “Dies N atalis”. Over th e D rakensberg M ountains cam e the Cape Boers to take it in 1837, bu t it w as annexed by E ngland in 1843, and m ade a Colony in 1856.

L ater, in 1893, it gained independence, and in 1910 w ith three other provinces—Cape Colony, Orange F ree State, and Transvaal, was form ed the South A frican Union.

Before the em igrants left Norway, th ey had received inform ation of th e n atu ral resources of th e land and its productivity.

N atal lies in 29 L atitude and 30 Longitude. Being so near the E quator it m ight seem very hot for people from the N orth, bu t the long D rakensberg M ountain chain protects from th e hot desert w ind of the K alahari, and the fresh air of the Indian Ocean blows coclingly. The sum m er heat is also cooled by h ard show ers of rain. It thus becomes an ideal clim ate and very healthy.

St.

Helen's Rock

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N atal touches Z ululand in the N orth, and Pondoland in th e South, its slopes dow n from th e D rakensberg to th e sea in th ree terraces, th e H ighveld, M idland P lateau, and a m ore hilly coast belt. All tropical and sub-tropical vegetation flour­ ish, and fru it trees grow well. In th e larg er forests grow m any kinds of trees usuable fo r tim ber—im buia, w alnut, and iron woods. V arious kinds of palm s and plants and flow ers belong to th e flora of Natal, but very few edible berries.

Fauna: T he last elephant w as shot a t E speranza in 1860, and G eneral B isset is said to have shot th e last lion by th e U m zim kulu R iver in 1865. T he extinct croco­ dile and hippo w ere seen in th e U m zim kulu River, but the large baboons still live in caves and come out to feed in cultivated lands, while the sm aller m onkeys jum p in th e trees, as seen from railw ay tra in w indow s. W ild buck are now protected by th e G overnm ent as th ey w ere fast decreasing and national parks are set up for big anim als.

Of poisonous snakes, the green and black m am bas are th e m ost dangerous, and puffadders are deadly. M ost have fled populated places, b u t still live in bush and outskirts. T here are m any kinds of birds: swallows, sparrow s etc., and of th e big­ ger ones; guinea fowls, partridges, haw ks and ravens, bu t not m any singing birds.

D urban w as N atal’s first harbour, and in the process of developm ent dredging th e bay from sand to get a deeper entrance, th ey built m oles both no rth and south, costing already half a m illion sterling. A fter several years, a sum of £4,000,000 w as used. No w onder th a t P ort Shepstone’s £37,000 used on dredging, w ere lost in the ocean! P ort Shepstone w ith its favourable conditions had to take second place T he population of N atal w as now 25,000 W hites, 35,000 Zulus and 20,000 Indians.

T he la tte r had been brought from C alcutta and M adras as w orkers in th e grow ing sugar cane industry. Owing to th e few farm ers products w ere very high, bu t the natives w ere friendly and w ould becom e labour on th e farm s.

Shaka's Rocks

21

Railw ay construction and buildings offered w ork to good artisans.

In 1882 N atal w as a Crown Colony un d er B ritain. It had a P arliam ent to direct affairs and m agistrates and a police force to keep th e peace. T he natives had petty chiefs for each tribe—these m anaged fairly well, referring the difficult cases to th e w hite m agistrates. The nearest m agistrates for th e Settlers w as at H arding, 60 m iles aw ay until one w as placed at M urchison 10 m iles away. L ater, one w as placed at P ort Shepstone. The nearest native tribe was Zulu under Duka F ynn, son of H enry F ynn, an early settler.

The Zulu king, Shaka, had overrun even this southern p art of Natal. It w as re­ ported th a t a battle w as fought on a M arburg plain, “Shaka’s B ush”, shortly before th e w hite people came. Shaka’s court m artials w ere held on th e rocks called “Shaka’s Rocks” a t P ort Shepstone. H ere, rebels w ere tried and throw n over th e rocks to be drow ned in th e waves lashing the steep cliffs. A fter gruesom e m urders by Shaka and his men, th e natives welcom ed the w hite m en for protection and help. Five m iles from the U m zim kulu m outh, we find a steep cliff “St. H elen’s Rock”, supposed to be a place of gun-running, guns w ere hidden and sold to the natives for ten head of cattle for each gun. A w hite flag from th e cliff indic­ ated th a t the guns w ere safely hidden.

Tropical bush on both sides of the riv er proved the richness of th e soil, but 3,000 acres of this land had been allotted to G eneral Bissett as com pensation for his ser­ vices in th e Zulu W ar of 1879.

A t P ort Shepstone, called after a noble colonist, Sir Theophilus Shepstone, a small tow nship w as laid out, but had only a prim itive hotel, a couple of rondavels and a new ly built store. A t the bottom of th e hill, a large packing shed existed —otherw ise ju st bare bush and hills.

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4. SHATTERED HOPES

It w as not long before difficulties w ere encountered. The glow ing pictures of grapes and oranges picked through w indow s, faded in th e face of grim reality. Of a fishing h arb o u r as good as A alesund th ere w as not th e slightest prospect, and fish­ ing w ith out a h arbo ur on th is straig h t coastline w as out of th e question. B ut a harbour w as prom ised by the G overnm ent: an am ount of £2,000 (R4,000) w as voted, and w ork on a pier w as started a t th e m outh of th e Um zim kulu. It w as essential th a t th ere should be regular contact w ith D urban by sea for th e purpose of obtaining foodstuffs and disposing of local produce. A sm all steam er, the Som tseu (nam ed after th e highly honoured Sir Theophilus Shepstone, G overnor of N atal) began plying betw een P ort Shepstone and D urban, w ith Captain K ristensen in command.

T he Som tseu called only during spring tides, nam ely fortnightly. The £2,000 (R4,000) voted for th e h arbo ur w orks, obviously, w ould not go very far. F u rth e r am ounts we w ere prom ised, but of th is th ere is no record. Mr. W illiam Bazley, who w as

" Somtseu" — Earliest Route Boat appointed head of the Public W orks D epartm ent, w ith an assistant, and tw enty natives, had constructed a pier a t th e m ou th of th e riv er to scour th e sand bank at the entrance, th ereb y deeping th e channel. W hen, in 1895, Mr. Bazley w as re­ lieved of the h arb o u r w orks, and a civil engineer, w ith experience in harbo ur con-

23

sruction, becam e necessary, Mr. W. Barnes K insey w as appointed engineer in charge.

He proceeded to engage m ore w hite m en and a bigger gang of natives. The w ork speeded up considerably and the Som tseu becam e a m ore regular caller. A small sailing ship, th e Pioneer, w ith C aptain Jakobsen in com m and, and later, also the Penguin, ru n by C aptain Jakobsen, plied betw een D urban and P ort Shepstone.

Several engineers followed up Mr. K insey’s w ork. The Som tseu w as w ithdraw n from service and replaced by a bigger steam er, the Um zimvubu.

A nother pier w as planned in th e hope th a t a deeper channel would be created.

A sm all dredger, “Snipe” w as sent to deepen th e river. T hen the Um zim vubu, captained by M ullergren in 1897, m ade a trip up to B atstone’s Drift, w here M essrs.

Mills and R ethm an’s wholesale and retail business w as situated, to offload cargo for this concern, and take on hides and other produce. To everyone’s dism ay the G overnm ent decided to abandon th e harbo ur w orks. W ork actually stopped in 1906.

The new pier had proved a com plete failure—the depth at the entrance being no greater th an previously. The Snipe in leaving for D urban becam e stuck on th e sand bar, and had to w ait for the next hightide before steam ing away. T hat w as the end of the prom ised harbour. An approxim ate am ount of £100,000 (R200,000) had been spent on the harbo ur w orks, all to no purpose except th at over the years, w ork had been provided for a num ber of the Settlers, and a large group of natives.

The reason suspected for th e closing of th e harbour w orks w as the fact th a t th e railw ay line had gradually been extended down the coast from D urban. By 1901, the term inus w as established on the no rth bank of the Um zim kulu River, w here it rem ained until 1905, w hen th e final term inus on the south bank of th e river, its present site, w as reached.

As the railw ay w as m ore th an able to serve the needs of the sparse population, it was obviously uneconom ic to continue spending m oney on the harbour.

In 1890 Captain Ben Jakobsen w as transferred to the “H arry M undel”, w hich w as bigger th an th e Pioneer and could not en ter the harbour. Cargo w as therefore tra n ­ shipped by a lighter hauled out to the anchorage and draw n in by a haw ser. The

O ld Umzimkulu Bridge 1901 24

H arry M undell did not last long, on a re tu rn trip to D urban, she w as blow n ashore ju st beyond S haka’s Rocks (N orth Shepstone) and becam e a total w reck, though fo rtu n ately no lives w ere lost.

A fter th e Boer W ar, a m eeting attended by th e Settlers and E nglish and G erm an neighbours, w as held w ith view to appealing to th e G overnm ent for th e speeding up of th e harbour. T he Settlers w ere outvoted by th e English and G er­ m ans, w ho m aintained th a t a railw ay service w as preferable. The railw ay line had, by th is tim e, reached th e no rth bank of th e U m zim kulu—19 years after th e arrival of th e Settlers, and w ork w as begun on th e final term inu s on th e south bank of the river. In 1905, train s began running into P ort Shepstone. No few er th an 23 rivers had been bridged from P ark Rynie, totalling not less th an 6780 feet, w ith th e U m zim kulu R iver bridge, the longest in N atal, accounting for 1050 feet of this total.

O ur sea w as virtually teem ing w ith fish, but th e Settlers w ere deprived of th e occupation to w hich they had looked forw ard. F rom Durban, fishing boats w ere regularly seen off our foreshore—and it w as galling to see them re tu rn to D urban w ith full loads—the only fish th e Settlers got w as brought from D urban a t a high cost!

The Dredger "Snipe" 1904

In 1890 Mr. W alter Peace visited th e settlem ent, and the following address w as read to him by Mr. G ustav Kjonstad: “Mr. Peace, On behalf of the Settlers, I extend to you a w arm welcome to our settlem ent in th is corner of th e Colony of Natal.

W e are ever thankful for th e assistance you rendered us, and th e advice you gave us in London, on th e eve of our departure for Natal. W e hope th at your visit be a pleasure and satisfaction to you; we assure you it w ill be an encouragem ent to us to carry on w ith our task.

T he lack of reg u lar contact w ith D urban, as a m arket for our produce, has handicapped th e S ettlers’ progress. It is now over a year since a ship called here. W e have considered building a boat ourselves, but our financial resources have long since been used up in establishing ourselves on our farm s. W e have, nevertheless.

25

m anaged to build up a sm all fund of approxim ately £200 (R400) tow ards th e build­ ing of a suitable boat to ply betw een here and D urban, and w hich could also be used for fishing, bu t such a craft would cost at least £500 (R1,000), and w e have no m eans of raising th e difference. W e are anxious to ow n a boat of our own, as one belonging to a com pany outside our circle would be of little advantage, as it w ould m ostly be concerned w ith its ow n success. Our cost of living here is very high, and w hatever produce w e have, cannot be disposed of to any advantage since w e are so far aw ay from a m arket. W e have am ongst us m en who are boat-builders, other­ wise the cost of building a boat such as we have in m ind, would be far in excess of the figure quoted above. Our coast abounds w ith fish of various kinds w hich, if fishing could be carried out, would considerably augm ent our food supplies.

It is difficult to eke out a living from the poor soil of th e land allotted to us.

The road as far as Um zinto is very bad, and m akes the journey hazardous and slow; through the bad condition of the road m uch dam age is done to our vehicles and goods. The journey to D urban by road takes up to th ree w eeks, w hereas by sea it would only be three or four days, if th e G overnm ent would give financial aid it w ould hasten the building of a suitable boat.

If our settlem ent to th e north-w est could be extended on the sam e term s as th e farm s allotted to us, it would brighten o u r outlook.

Your help in these m atters would be greatly appreciated.

On behalf of th e com m ittee and th e Settlers, I am, Your faithful servant, G. Kjonstad.

C hairm an”.

Rising, am id applause, Mr. Peace expressed grateful thanks for the w arm w el­ come.

He said, “I have often thought of you since th a t day I w atched you sail aw ay in th e Lapland, and I rem em ber well th e farew ell party in Aalesund. It is a great pleasure to see you again—content and full of hope. Your pleasant hom es are a w itness of your progress in this picturesque p art of Natal.

You have had difficulties, bu t I am glad to know th a t you m anaged to m eet th e instalm ents on your farm s. I w an t to pay trib u te to the m en folk for th e progress made, but no less do I congratulate the w om en w ho are here w ith th eir children, for the p a rt they have played in th is progress.

Y our idea of ow ning a boat of your own, is excellent and m ust be highly com­ m ended. It is a pity th a t you are so isolated from D urban—th e L and and Im ­ m igration Board should go into th is m atter to alleviate th e difficulty. The road to U m zinto is in a shocking state, and a disgrace to Natal; those in autho rity should be compelled to use it—it would open th eir eyes!

F or produce transported by sea, th e G overnm ent grants a rebate of 10/- (R l) per ton, up to th e value of £1,000 (R2,000) an d w ould be a great help, especially if your contem plated boatbuilding idea came to fruition.

I urge you, N orw egian settlers, to co-operate w ith your E nglish and G erm an neighbours. This, I am certain w ould be fo r your m utual and lasting benefit. I am proud of m y association w ith this im m igration scheme!”

26

Mr. Peace’s reply w as received w ith acclam ation. Mr. Berg thanked Mr. Peace, saying th a t th e settlers w ere not disappointed for com ing to Natal; they realised th a t th e re w as a fu tu re for th e ir children in th is colony. Mr. Peace th en presented Mr. K jonstad w ith £10 (R20) to purchase suitable books for th e establishm ent of a library. Rev. B erg thanked Mr. Peace for this acceptable and m uch appreciated gift. H e w ished our friend God’s blessing.

A ccom panying Mr. Peace w ere Mr. Sim pson, Secretary of th e Im m igration Board and Mr. J. B. A iken of Ruthville, B atstone’s Drift, who also addressed th e m eeting and rem inded th e settlers to regard them selves as N atal Colonists ra th e r than N orw egian Settlers.

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5. CHURCH LIFE

Marburg Church

The N orse im m igrants w ere m ostly Godfearing people, and cam e out as an organised congregation w ith a m inister and an executive com m ittee from A ale­ sund. The m inister, Mr. E. Berg, joined them in London, w here he had served as assistant in the Seam en’s Church. The com m ittee included M essrs. A. A nderson, C. F. Rodseth, K. M artinsen, T. O. Dahle and E. B jorseth. The nam e, M arburg Church, seem ed appropriate, being nex t to th e M arburg G erm an M ission of historical origin. (M artin L u th er’s tow n).

Mr. G. K jonstad w as elected secretary, know ing E nglish for com m unicating w ith the G overnm ent. The com m ittee acted in a double capacity for both the church and settlem ent in the early years.

On th e first Sunday m orning, a service w as held on th e hillside by th e parsonage. Rev. Berg chose his tex t from Luke 12.32. “F ear not, little flock, for it is your F a th e r’s good pleasure to give you th e K ingdom .” Later, Rev. Stoppel gave his perm ission to hold aftern oo n services in th e M arburg M ission Church. B ut soon the settlers began planning th eir ow n church building on Lot 17 w hich w as specially allotted for church and school. T hey chose th e highest point, from w here a good view of th e sea and around th e settlem ent is en­ joyed. F o r the m any school-going children, th e church w ould also be used as a school.

Most of the m en gave a hand in digging the ground and m aking m ud bricks, dried in the sun. Soon th e w alls w ere up, and carpenters had beam s, rafters 28

and corrugated iron sheets on th e roof.

T he church w as dedicated on th e first anniversary of th e landing, 29th A ugust, 1883. T his old church still stands w ith some renovations. It m ust be appre­ ciated th at these colonists, so early, built God’s House, even before th eir own dwellings. Israel, th e people of God, left th e tem ple in ruins, w hile they m ade panelled houses for them selves, w hich was bew ailed by th e prophet, Haggai.

Rev. B erg’s salary had been con­ sidered at the tim e of th is call, bu t w hen the settlers’ supplies ran out, they w ere not able to fulfill th eir ob­ ligations. The m inister had a large family, and they could not m anage on the p a rt salary obtainable from th e congregation, so that, at the end of 1884, Rev. Berg sent in his resignation, and Rev. Berg w as forced to seek a paying position. In 1892 he w as able to sell his farm , and left by ox-wagon w ith his large family, for Johannesburg.

Rev. E. Berg

An Early Photo

29

Rev. B. Raffteseth

Rev. A. Halland

By this tim e, th e teacher, Mr. G. K jonstad, had been asked to lead th e church services, and Rev. Stoppel of th e M arburg G erm an M ission cam e to officiate at com m union, and other m inisterial occas­ ions. Mr. K jonstad had, besides English, also m astered the G erm an language, and acted as in terp reter to Rev. Stoppel, w ho w as already beloved am ong th e settlers for his helpful advice in illness and hom oaepathic medicines. In th e m eantim e, Rev. B. R affteseth had arrived from th e B rethern M ission at th e Cape. He had been trained in Germ any, bu t found later th at th eir confession w as not in agreem ent w ith th e L uth­ erans. P art of th e congregation now called Rev. R afft­ eseth to take Rev. B erg’s place in Novem ber, 1890. In December, 1892, th e sudden death of Mr. K jonstad brought great grief to th e congregation, th e school and his fam ily and friends. Now, Rev. R affteseth w as called as both m inister and teacher in January, 1893.

He kept th is dual position for 10 years w hen he re­ signed from the school in M arch, 1903, but continued as pastor till December, 1903, as th e salary becam e inadequate. Later, he w ent to Am erica as pastor in Verm ont w here he died in 1912.

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Leader O. V alda i

By negotiations w ith A ugsberg Sem inary, U .SA . for an E nglish speaking m inister, Rev. A. W . H alland cam e out and w as inducted by Rev. E riksen on N ew Y ear’s day 1905. Some fam ilies had m oved into P o rt Shepstone by now, and th e congregation w as m ore united, so m eetings and visiting could take place. B ut in 1910 th e m em bership w as dow n as m any of th e young people had sought em ploym ent in D urban and Johannesburg, so to save the church th e bu rd en of his salary, Rev. H alland resigned. F rom now on, the N orw egian M ission agreed to let Rev. E riksen of D urban, or any other available m inister serve th e church once a m onth for m inisterial services. Mr. O. V aldai took over as lay preacher in 1911, and served the church faithfully for 20 years. He died in P o rt Shepstone in 1931.

Special Church Inventory

The large church bell cam e from G erm any in 1902. The beautiful altar picture cam e from A m erica in 1905—its fine fram e w as handcarved by K. M artinsen —also th e m agnificen baptism al font. T he first organ w as played in church by Mr. Isak R affteseth. W hen th e new stron ger organ arrived, Miss Olivia B jorseth w as th e organist. The special church pew s w ere m ade by A nton Hojem and E. B jorseth w ho also m ade th e com m union rail. Mr. J. Lillebo m ade th e first pulpit, th e presen t one w as m ade and donated by R. Kjode of D urban.

T he M arburg congregation w as ru n by an Executive, self-supported on a sm all ann ual contribution. L ater, a collection on Sundays w as taken as a sup­ plem ent. Those w ho bore th e burden of the church down the years w e re : G. K jonstad, K. M artinsen, F. Hufft, J. Nero, J. Lillebo, E. Bjorseth, O. Valdai and G. K valsvig. In 1932, the E xecutive w as com posed of th e younger m em bers or

Interior Of The Church

31

Festive Gathering At Church, 1894

sons of th e settlers: E. Haajem , 0. Nero, R. Nilsen, S. M elsater, K. H aajem and O. B. Kvalsvig.

.

Organist:

, Miss O. Biorseth

Th e Ladies’ A id Society The L adies’ Aid Society w as first begun by Elise K jonstad, as a m ission aid. Mrs. R affteseth w ith th e ladies w orked for th e church organ. Miss R agna H ojem ’s w ish to w ork for the m ission in Zululand w as only realised after h er death. In 1893 Mrs. N ederhus w as elected leader. The other m em bers w ere Mesdames Hufft, Nero, Lillebo, Kvalsig, M artinsen, B jorseth and B rauteseth. L ater, younger ones joined them . W hen the needs of th e church w ere urgent, th e results of the yearly sale w ere divided betw een the Mission and the Church.

Sunday School The Sunday School was commenced by Miss Ragna Hojem and Miss M arie Rodseth. How happily the younger children w ent along, th eir Bibles tucked

Miss B. M. Rodseth a n d Miss R. Hojem, Sunday School Leaders

33

Ladies' Aid, 19

32

Earliest Photo

34

The "Fram" Choir

un d er th e ir arm s, on Sunday afternoons. T hey did enjoy th e inform al talks of God’s love and th e sw eet S ankey’s hym ns. V erses from th e Gospels w ere easily le a rn t and recited. L ater teachers w ere Miss Dina K jonstad, Mr. J. Lillebo, Miss O. B jorseth, Miss B. Nero and Mrs. A. H alland. Of inestim able value w as th is personal contact and in ter­ est of the devoted teachers on th e young hearts, th eir faith and love to Gol. Th e Choir T he choir “F ra m ” w as the w ork of P eder Lillebo, a lover of m usic and young people. H aajem ’s, Lillebo’s, P ah r’s Rodseth ’s, Oie’s, N ero’s, K valsvig’s and Bjorseth ’s enjoyed m any a Sunday afternoon singing a t Lillebo’s home.

In 1907 Lillebo organised a Brass Band w hich played at th e 20th and 25th A nni­ versaries, and w ere m uch enjoyed. T his w as th e heigh t of the singing and playing in our settlem ent life. As the young people m oved out to seek b etter jobs, Peder Lil­ lebo, too, left for Rhodesia in 1909. W hat sorrow it w as w hen he succum bed to black w ater fever early in 1910, not only to his fam ily, bu t the whole com m unity.

No one has really been able to replace P eder Lillebo as leader in singing and playing.

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P. Lillebo, Leader Of The Choir A n d Band

In 1928, Oscar Nero started an orchestra consisting of th ree violins, tw o cellos, two b r.s s instrum ents and a pianist. The orchestra played at concerts and gatherings, and also at church services w here they played th e lovely N or足 w egian chorales.

L udvig H aajem helped to lead the choir, also Oscar N ero and Inga H aajem .

Rev. E riksen of D urban w ho often took services and had a big in terest in M arburg and th e young people, organised a Tem perance Society in th e Church.

This became an influence for good for our grow ing young. M eetings w ere held on altern ate Sunday afternoons. L ater on, it w as am algam ated w ith the South A frican Tem perance Union in Cape Town.

The Fram Band

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6. EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES F or th e m any children of school-going age, it w as essential th a t a school be or­ ganised, and Mr. G. K jonstad, w ho had a N orm al School Diploma, and a fair know ­ ledge of E nglish, w as appointed Schoolm aster. Classes in the new ly com pleted church building and school opened in 1884 w ith 40 pupils.

E ducation w as held in high regard in N orw ay, and religious instruction and th e preserving of th e N orse language w ere felt to be tw o im p ortant aim s of th e new school, but, being an English colony, it w as im perative for our child­ ren to becom e as proficient as possible in th e E nglish language. An appeal for financial aid to th e N atal Education B oard w as sym pathically received, and an annual g ran t w as given.

T he school progressed reasonably well. Mr. K jonstad gave faithful service, and as a teacher and leader, he w as beloved by his pupils as w ell as the parents. W hen he died he w as succeeded in 1893 by Rev. B enjam in R affteseth.

W hen th e num ber of pupils increased to 60, it becam e necessary to provide an assistan t teacher, and Miss Olive B jorseth w as duly appointed, her duties being confined to th e younger pupils.

Soon th e E ducational D epartm ent proposed tha at special school-building be provided and offered to contribute £200 (R400) tow ards th e erection, if th e settlers contributed £100 (R200). This offer w as accepted and in due course the build­ ing w as erected by those of the settlers w h ow ere tradesm en. They also m ade desks and benches. The schoolroom w as larger th a n originally planned, and th e extra cost caused som e em barrassm ent, bu t th is w as eventually overcome. The schoolroom or hall as it w as referred to, has served a useful purpose for choir practices and social events. T he school played its im p o rtan t function over th e years, and th e relig­ ious aspect and the N orw egian language w ere never neglected. A fter 10 strenuous years, Mr. R affteseth resigned in 1903. T he com m ittee had to look round for a suc­ cessor, and Miss Mabel M cA rthur, who had run th e R uthville School at B atsone’s D rift, w as approached. She accepted the appointm ent as schoolm istress in April 1903.

W hen th e new m in ister from A m erica arrived, he becam e responsible for teaching N orw egian, and fu rth erin g th e religious aspect. On th e m arriage of Miss 37

The Marburg School Building

Marburg Government-aided School, 1908

38

M cA rthur, Miss A nna N ero took over in 1907. She, in turn, resigned in 1910, and w as succeeded by Mrs. G utridge, and after h e r Miss Marie H ufft took over.

Subsequently, Miss Inga N ero w as appointed, but in 1912, th e num ber of scholars had dw indled so m uch th a t th e authorites felt th at its annual subsidy w as no longer justified. R eluctantly, The Board decided to close perm anently th e school w hich had functioned so successfully over the years since its establishm ent on 22nd Jan u ary , 1884. A fter this, the N orw egian scholars attended th e Governm entaided school at Izotsha, w hich m ainly catered for the G erm an children. Later, a new school building w as erected near th e Izotsha Railw ay Station on land donated by th e N orw egian Settlersâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;a m ore central and convenient locality.

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7. FARMING AND ITS PROBLEMS One of the first things th e pioneers h ad to attend to, w as th e re-thatching of th eir huts to keep out th e rain. D uring a down-pour it often becam e necessary to resort to um brellas, and even creep u n d er tables, to avoid getting a soaking.

Small kitchens w ere built, m ainly of sods, and thatched w ith grass. T he poor housew ife often had to contend w ith rain, wind and smoke. Cooking under such conditions w as far from pleasant, and presented a new problem . Mealie porridge w as tasty, though som ew hat dry, w ithout m ilk and sugar.

The few stores in the neighbourhood Sangm eister’s at M arburg; Cam p’s at Umbango, and fu rth er afield, Mills and R ethm an’s at B atsone’s Drift, (Mr. B atstone w as the m anager of one of th e store’s departm ents) w ere well partronised, bu t prices of such item s as flour, sugar etc. soared w ith continued dem and.

L and cultivation commenced, but th e long grass w as a problem and had to be burned before w ork could proceed to plough. G reat care had to be exercised to prevent the buildings from catching fire, but nevertheless some dam age to property w as inevitable.

An Al Fresco meal outside the first dwelling

The ground w as hard, stony and poor; fertilizers w ere unobtainable. Mealies w ere planted, also sw eet potatoes w hich w ere supposed to do well in h a rd ground; ■they w ere raised by planting suckers and not the potatoes them selves, as w ith round potatoes. E verything seem ed back to front. M any of th e settlers w ere farm ers, bu t th eir exeprience appeared to be of no use and everything had to be learned afresh, under difficult conditions. H ousew ives busied them selves w ith cooking; bread, m ade from m ealie meal, w as a dism al failure, despite th e addition of flour—it ju st w ould not “hang together”. E ventually, som eone discovered th a t cooking th e meal first into porridge, and then adding the yeast and flour, w as the answ er. The dough, 40

a fte r a thorough kneading, w as baked in flat bottom ed iron pots. The resu lt was: tasty m ealie bread. The children w ere delighted w hen treacle could be obtained, and spread on both porridge and bread. (Treacle w as bought from a sm all sugar m ill run by a Mr. J. B. Aiken, near B atsone’s D rift). Pancakes w ere m ade from sweet potatoes, baked on a iron slab (grid iron) and w ere regarded as a special treat, In addition to m ealies and potatoes, beans and various kinds of vegetables w ere planted, likew ise pineapples, bananas and oranges; th e latter had to be grow n from pips.

N eighbouring colonists w ere helpful w ith advice on farm ing m ethods, and often shared w ith th e settlers such produce as they could spare. The first m ealie crop w as a failure, m ainly for the lack of fertilizer.

M ore oxen and cows w ere bought, fairly cheaply, from farm ers and natives fu rth e r inland. It w as not long before Red W ater Fever, Gallsickness and R inder­ p est attacked th e cattle from tim e to tim e and m any died. Some of th e few th at survived, decam ped and w ere never recovered. Ploughing w as a difficult u n dertak­ ing, as th e oxen w ere in m ost cases, wild,, and not properly broken-in; also th ey w ere accustom ed to being handled by natives; they often broke aw ay before they could be inspanned, and took to th e bush.

W hen m ilking had to be done, th e cow’s hind legs had to be tied together, and th e ir heads fastened to a pole, as a safety m easure; th e calf w as allowed to have th e first “pull”, as a prelim inary, before th e cow w ould yield any m ilk. This, of course, reduced th e quantity, which, in any case, was sm all enough, even before the calf had its share.

As th e years w ent by, so th e cattle herds increased in num bers, and m ilk became m ore plentiful; it is estim ated th a t after a few years, the settlers ow ned over 100 head of cattle.

L earning the native language w as a slow process; the few w ords th a t w ere picked up w ere pieced together, resulting in a queer language, referred to as “K itchen K affir”. As farm ing results w ere far from satisfactory or profitable, young men, w ho did not have farm s of th eir own, w ent in search of em ploym ent to distant tow ns, or w here rail-road construction w as in progress. Spinsters also left to seek dom estic w ork, w herever they could secure it.

Food stuffs, and other requirem ents, had to be brought from D urban—100 m iles aw ay, by ox-waggons; swollen rivers w ere often encountered, and goods w ere eith er lost or dam aged, w hen negotiating these rivers, resulting in considerable fin­ ancial loss. One of th e young m en, Paul B odtker—w hile engaged on th e transp ort of goods, w as drow ned at Um zinto, w hen fording the swollen riv er there.

T he m ealies th a t w ere bought w ere often full of w eavils or weavil-eaten, and the porridge m ade from them w as dark and unappetising. A t tim es, only potatoes w ere served at meals.

Inadequate com m unication w ith D urban was a great handicap; and the locality of th e S ettlem ent in th is m ost southern p art of th e province— (100 miles from D urban) m ade m atters worse. The farm s w ere sm all (100 acres) and on m any the soil w as very poor, m aking it difficult to eke ou t a living. Those w ho w ere fortunate enough to have good farm s, often had difficulty in disposing of th eir produce. The m en-folk, m ost of them tradesm en, and qualified in building operations, set about im proving th e ir hom es, erecting m ore substantial houses, in place of th e grass huts; som e used earth-sods, others sun-baked bricks; w hilst some built w attle and daub houses. Doors and w indow fram es w ere m ade from wood (trees) cut in nearby forests. W agons, carts and sledges w ere m ade, and harnesses w ere of leather—m ade from hom e-cured hides.

41

W hen the earliest fru it ripened, one farm er borrow ed an ox-waggon, loaded it w ith pineapples, bananas and oranges, and trekked to H arding, and on to Kokstad, w here there w as a ready dem and for coastal fruit.

Some of the farm ers obtained em ploym ent on the harbour w orks, som e w ent further afield, to earn m oney for their fam ilies’ livelihood, and to m eet th e instal­ m ents due on th eir farm s.

Mr. Bjorseth, who w as a cabinet-m aker, m ade furniture, and for a tim e w orked w ith Mr. Reim in his cabinet-m akers w orks, in P ieterm aritzburg. A fter som e years, m any of the settlers began to plant coffee; good crops w ere reaped, bu t th e project was short-lived as the trees w ere attacked by a distructive insect, and th e G overn­ m ent instructed the farm ers to cut down th e trees—another w asted effort. One far­ m er did retain a few trees, however, and still reaps enough coffee berries for his own use.

Tea planting did not fare m uch better; but this w as m ainly due through ig­ norance in processing the leaves. L ater a tea estate was established at B arrow Green on th e north side of the Um zim kulu, by a Durban Syndicate. A fter a few years the venture w as abandoned, probably because of transp ort costs, but not be­ fore some excellent tea had been produced and m arketed.

Mr. J. Kjonstad's Boat "Nokken"

A t yet another stage a m arm alade factory w as established by G eneral Bissett, and a ready m arket w as created for the farm ers’ citrus crop; the venture w as sho rt­ lived, however, and any benefit th at m ight have accrued to the Settlers, w as lost.

The S ettlers’ hopes were raised w hen it was heard th at a hem p (Fibre industry) would be established in th e neighbourhood. A com pany w as form ed, and aloe 42

planting began at U vungu—low er down th e coast. This venture did not get very far as th e Com pany becam e bankrupt, and w ork w as abandoned.

Johannes K jonstad, one of th e settlers m ost able farm ers who w as unfortunate enough to be allotted a very poor farm , therefore bought a better and bigger farm on th e bank of th e U m zim kulu, approxim ately 6 m iles inland. The land w as m ostly covered by bush and tropical vegetation, which had to be cleared before any planting could be carried out. The land w as fertile and good crops w ere pro­ duced. Mr. K jonstad w as am ong th e first to plant sugar cane; he also experim ented w ith C astor oil trees, bu t as neith er of these w as a profitable proposition, he pro­ ceeded to establish a fairly large orchard, on the low-lying land, w hich he irrig ­ ated by pum ping w ater from the river. In order to dispose of his fruit, Mr. K jon­ stad bought a sm all boat, th e “N okken”, by which he transported hundreds of cases of fru it to th e railw ay station, for transh ipm en t to D urban, and up-country tow ns. The rich soil produced good, large oranges, also grapes, from w hich he tried—not very successfully, to m ake wine. The river frequently cam e down in flood, rising up to 20-30 feet, and th e “N okken” w as often in danger of being w ashed away. One night, a neighbour found Mr. K jonstad up to his arm pits in w ater, battling to save his boat. A fter some years, Mr. K jonstad took a trip to Norway; he brought back w ith him tw o Swiss goats; these goats produced very rich milk, but they eventually succum bed to the tropical heat.

A few of th e Settlers bought farm s in the Paddock area, and planted wattles.

T his proved a profitable venture. The w attle bark was shipped overseas; the stripped w attle poles w ere sold as firewood. Those who m igrated to this area were: Igesund, K notten and E rtresvaag.

At a later stage, some of the younger m en also bought farm s in the Paddock area, and fu rth e r inland tow ards H arding, and did very well for them selves. Those who took this plunge were: G ustav K jonstad and M artin Kvalsvig at Ihluku; A lfred A nderson (Vinjevold) at Izingolweni; N oralf Nero at Paddock. L ater, P eter Skorpen and Sigurd Johannesen chose Oribi Flats, as did A nders Lind. These m en w ent in for w attles, m ealies, cattle and poultry. Large quantites of eggs w ere sent overseas through the Egg Circle in Durban.

The first incubator was bought by Johan Nero.

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8. DIFFICULTIES ARISE D isappointm ents and difficulties in a new land w ere so keenly felt by som e fam ilies, th a t they very soon decided to re tu rn to Norw ay. T hey w ere far足 sighted enough to realise th a t only frustration, and struggling faced them as new com ers. Those who took the plunge w ere: Borgesens, H aram s, Schonings, Trandal and Pettersen. L ater, some m ore le f t: Em blem s, Lunds and Dahles. The following w ent to D u rb a n : nam ely B rudeviks, Standals, Sandangers and RQdseths. Some years later, the Nils Oies, Hagesellas, Ribbestads, Gidske and E. P ahr also returned to Norw ay. The other Gidskes, Birkelunds, H ans H aajem s, and the tw o A nderson boys, A ndreas and Olaf, w en t to Johannesburg. To fu rth er

GoId Mine deplete th e num ber of Settlers, E rtresvaags, K nottens and Igesunds, after a few years of struggling, left for the Paddock area, w here th ey bought bigger and better farm s. Most of the unm arried m en and w om en also departed, to seek em ploym ent in distant tow ns, w hile some w ent to A ustralia. In consequence of these departures, th e size of th e com m unity dw indled quite considerably. The F. Hufft At The "Simmer an d Jack"

44

outlook w as grim , and it w as especially h ard on town-folk, unaccustom ed to farm ­ ing operations. One job th a t w as heart-breaking and back-breaking, w as the carry in g of buckets of w ater from th e rivers, up long steep hills. Clothing and shoes w ore out, and at tim es w om en w ere forced to go barefoot — a hith erto unheard-of disgrace.

A fter struggling for som e years to cultivate the land, w ith no m arket, and very poor com m unications, the Settlers found th e position really hopeless. The goods th a t had to be bought w ere expensive; m ealies cost 35/- (R3.50) per bag, and these w ere freq uently of poor quality; flour cost 30/- (R3) per 100 pound bag. It w as very w ell nigh im possible to convert into cash any of th eir jw n produce in order to purchase foodstuffs and other requirem ents. B utter, for in­ stance, fetched only 6 pence (5 cents) per pound, and eggs w ere as low as 3 pence (2icents) p er dozen. T he cry became, “Oh, w hy didn’t we also re tu rn to N orw ay?” But, now, it w as too late. The m oney w as no longer available to un dertak e the journey.

In th e ir darkest hours, how ever, a change in th eir fortunes w as brought about by th e discovery of gold in th e T ransvaal in 1884. The city of Johannesburg w as born, and grew apace, follow ing the activities on the new ly-found gold-field.

E arly in 1886 th e first of th e m en-folk in th e S ettlem ent began to gravitate to the new gold-diggings. T hey travelled on foot as far as Isipingo (the railw ay ter­ m inus a t th e tim e) from th ere by tra in to D urban, and on to L adysm ith — the m ost n o rth ern term inus. H orse-draw n postcarts operated betw een Ladysm ith and Johannesburg, b u t as these w ere invariably booked-up, the in trepid band of S ettlers had no option bu t to “foot-slog” it to Johannesburg — a tiresom e journey w hich took m any days. T here w as no difficulty in obtaining em ploym ent on the m ines. Am ong those w ho w ent on th is ven tu re were: P eder Vinjevold, O. Skjaerve, H olte, Kvalsvig, J. Lillebo, J. K jonstad and H ufft. They w ere later followed by others. Am ong them w ere H. A ndreasen, J. Johannesen, M elsater and J. Nero. These m en w orked on various m ines including Sim m er and Jack and S tan­ hope. W ith so m any m en aw ay earning m oney hope retu rn ed to the com m unity.

Diamond Digging On The Vaal River—Windsorton

45

The m en w ere com paratively young and strong, and w illing to risk th e hazards of m ining, to earn m oney for th eir families. W ork on th e m ines w as both stren u ­ ous and frau ght w ith danger, and th ree lost th eir lives due to accidents — they were : P edar Dahle, R. N ederhus and A. Birkelund. Several of those w ho w ent to th e m ines, stayed on indefinitely, and sad to say, eventually contracted M iners’ Phthisis — a lung condition, caused through inhaling dust w hen drilling holes for blasting; th is dust settled, and solidified on the lungs; it w as a new and incurable disease, but sufferers from it could survive for m any years. Those w ho even t­ ually died w e re : Johan M yklebust, K. E. Standal, Johan Pettersen, Ingeb rikt Jo r­ gensen, Peder Vinjevold, A ndreas A ndersen and John Berg. Most of these m en died after retu rn in g to th eir homes. The wom en and children w en t through diffi­ cult tim es w hen th e m en w ere away, but in 1889 the m ajority of th e m iners had returned, and set about farm ing operations w ith renew ed vigour, regardless of the various difficulties th a t confronted them . Round about th is tim e a cattle disease “R inderpest” began to spread in the district; vaccination of all th e cattle was undertaken, bu t w ith very disappointing results. Most of th e settlers had built up herds of from 30 to 70 head, but after the ravages of the disease, these w ere reduced to the odd beast here and there, w hile m any lost all th eir cattle. As soon

Umzimkulu River

as it w as considered safe, re-stocking w as begun, but prices w ere very high, w hich was only natural. The next pest w as the locust invasion; crops w ere totally destroyed; not a blade of grass could be seen anyw here, and the lands w ere virtually bared to th e ground. By 1905, m ost Settlers had m anaged to build up th eir cattle herds to round 20 or 30 head, b u t now rum ours cam e to th e effect th at ano th er cattle disease w as spreading southw ards from the N orth eastern hinterland. It w as know n as “E ast Coast F ev er” or “Tick F ever,” and w hich w as feared to be even w orse than “ R inderpest.”

46

T he A uthorities im m ediately introduced strict m easures to com bat th e disease and p rev en t it from spreading southw ards into Natal; it had already m ade its appearance in N o rthern Zululand. M ounted guards w ere placed along th e no rth bank of th e Tugela R iver, to p reven t cattle from crossing over into Natal; cattle found to have crossed th e Tugela, w ere prom ptly killed. On th e other hand, an y th a t had crossed from N atal into Zululand, w ere sold to butchers and others w ho m ight be prepared to buy them . Despite the strin g en t precautions th a t w ere taken, th e diease appeared in Natal, and guards w ere stationed along th e banks of th e U m zim kulu R iver, b u t this also proved futile. The disease spread into th e M arburg and adjacent areas, and it w as heart-breaking to see the anim als die after only a few days’ illness. Once again th e S ettlers’ herds w ere reduced to the odd beast, here and there. Those whose farm s w ere n ear th e sea, drove th eir cattle into th e breakers; it had been discovered th a t ticks w ere th e cause of the infection; and it w as thought th a t sea-water m ight help tow ards ridding th e cattle of the parasites. The farm ers who resorted to this “treatm en t” m anaged to save som e of th e ir cattle, b u t it w as obvious th a t m ore drastic m easures w ere necessary. T he A uthorities, on advice of veterinarians, decided th a t dipping tan k s should be constructed at various convenient points. C onstruction w as m ade

!

w

The Early Harbour At Port Shepstone

com pulsory, and th e G overnm ent granted interest-free loans to enable farm ers to carry ou t th e w ork and buy arsenic. The dipping tan ks w ere filled w ith w ater, to w hich arsenic w as added, and it w as considered th a t th is solution w ould eradi­ cate th e ticks. The experim ent w as successful, up to a point, in th a t it saved 47

cattle th a t w ere no t already affected by th e disease. S trict control m easures w ere introduced, and dipping inspectors attended all dipping tan ks regularly, to ensure th a t every beast w as dipped. It should be m entioned th a t th e introduction of dipping tanks applied to v ast areas, even w here the diease had no t broken out, and th e m ovem ent of cattle w as strictly prohibited. The m easures taken, how ever, did prove to be the answ er, and tick infestation w as reduced to a m inim um .

H orse-sickness w as another plague th at confronted th e Settlers, at certain tim es of th e year, usually in th e sum m er m onths. T his disease w as th ou ght to be caused by m oquito bites, and horses th at w ere stabled day and n ig h t and rubbed down w ith paraffin w ere often saved.

W hat w ith cattle disease, horse-sickness and locust invasions, th e farm ersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; problem s can w ell be im agined. V ery few oxen w ere available for ploughing and transport, and m ilk and b u tter w ere alm ost non-existent for long periods.

Finally, m ules and donkeys w ere bougnt by those settlers w ho w ere fortunate enough to possess the necessary capital.

48

9. SNAKE STORIES

On asking our agent about the snakes in N atal, th e Settlers received the joking reply th a t they w ould have to be imported! W e found th em already im ­ ported, and soon encountered these poisonous reptiles—black m am bas, green m am ­ bas and puff-adders. T he m iraculous p a rt is th a t in these fifty years very few of th e settlers have been bitten, and n o t a single case of death has occurred— surely the unseen H and of Providence. Snakes of various kinds w ere seen in th e w oods b u t also found in our hom es and under beds, on pillows, in baby’s cra­ dles and in h en ’s nests. It w as evident th a t snakes w ere ju st as afraid of people as people w ere of them . T hey only attacked in self-defence or w hen teased. Older snakes w ere know n to have attacked people and anim als, and dogs tackling snakes w ere often bitten, and soon died.

In th e early years, rem edies against th e deadly m am bas and puff-adders w ere unknow n, b u t th e natives knew of antidotes, and in at least one case, a m an w as saved from death by th e native antidote. Now, of course, we alw ays have per­ m anganate of potash on hand. Im m ediately on being bitten, suck th e poison out, apply a strictu re above the w ound to p reven t the poison from spreading, m ake an incision round th e w ound and in sert th e perm anganate. If procurable in tim e, F itzsim m ons’ injection against m am ba and puff-adder bite is a sure cure.

Stories

A dangerous looking snake appeared at the window during a church service.

F ortu nately the w indow w as closed! By the tim e we came out the snake had disappeared.

The one lying on top of the door and puffing at m other had to lose its life from fath er’s heavy stick.

A native w as bitten by a m am ba, and died very soon afterw ards. M any have suffered a sim ilar violent death from th e lack of im m ediate medicine.

Black m a m b a - N a t a l ' s most dangerous snake, a n d puff a d d e r

(7) Poison fangs

of mamba

49

( 2 ) Ringhals cobra

Ole and C hristian heard of a m am ba near by. They soon saw it in a little bush.

Ole picked up a stone to h it it from above, and C hristian w as ready to m eet- it w ith a stick. Ole threw th e stone; as quick as lightning th e snake w as as C h rist­ ians feet. H e felt a knock on his leg, b u t the leather trou sers saved him from a dangerous bite. The snake succum bed to a death-dealing blow from C hristian’s stick. It w as th ree feet long, and fat.

W illie w ent buck hunting; suddenly he saw a big snake betw een his feet.

H e jum ped away, the snake faced him —his loaded gun w ent off rig h t at the snake—his life w as saved.

On a path to th e wood, a black m am ba had often been seen; natives had been bitten and died. W illie and a native spied it on a bush, approaching th em w ith raised head. W illie had th e gun poised, aim ed and shot a death-knell. T his one w as four yards long.

A python (boa constrictor) slid into th e w ater. The dogs followed it. F earing for his dogs, W illie jum ped in too, caught th e snake by th e neck and th rew it on land w here the natives killed it—Three and a half yards long.

A large python, eighteen feet long, had swallowed a buck. It w as found w ith th e buck’s horns sticking through the snake’s side. It was killed and skinned. Mr. J. K jonstad took th e huge skin to Norway.

Two black m am bas lay across the road as a car came along. The driver backed his car to safety, but w hen a gun w as obtained, th e reptiles w ere gone.

Mrs. Johannesen had a shock, seeing her little son, sitting in th e back yard, a snake facing him w ith head up. Innocently the boy spoke to th e snake, “Nkonka, w ena?” (Are you a buck?). T he m other ju st m anaged to pull h er child to safety.

Sitting down to lunch, a boy felt a knock on his head, and a sm all snake from th e roof fell into th e soup for lunch. It had to suffer death for spoiling th e soup.

G uttorm w as lying in bed w ith his concertina. H is feet w ere bare as it w as a hot evening. He w as playing tunes. Suddenly he felt som ething cold slither over his legs—a m usical snake? He lay perfectly still until th e snake m oved off.

Mr. Olsen heard a noise. On lighting his candle he w as ju st in tim e to see a black m am ba disappearing into the adjoining room. H e shut th e door securely and slept till m orning. A t dawn, w ith a gun, he opened th e w indow outside—th e h u n t had to come from the outside. He got a good shot through th e snake’s head, b u t also a big hole in the wall.

Mrs. A nderson took a w alk a t dusk. She picked up a stick as she thought, bu t it slithered out of h er hand. To h er h o rro r she had picked up a snake!

One of our ladies killed tw o snakes w ith one shot—this had also been done by th e boys.

A snake w as know n to be visiting th e hen coop—several chickens w ere gone.

Its trail in th e sand led up to th e house. T hat night one of th e girls felt a rep ­ tile craw ling from h e r shoulder across h e r chest—it felt big and heavy. Im agine h er feelings ! She rem ained m otion less! If it was a m am ba, and if it had bitten her, she w ould be dead before m orning. H er ability to lie still saved her, as th e snake soon cam e back the sam e way, evidently stalkin g a frog from un der the door. N ext m orning it w as found to be an “Im fezi”, a spitting snake. It spits poison into th e eyes of people and anim als.

50

A m an felt a lum p in his boot as he pulled it on. Off cam e th e boot in a h u rry , and out fell a puff-adder!

Boys often encountered snakes in fields and bushes, even m am bas, b u t cam e aw ay unscathed, w ith a dead reptile h u n g on a stick, or strun g on th e bicycle.

L anguage difficulties caused both em barrassm ent and hum orous episodes in th e shops—bu t th e children soon learnt new w ords in Zulu and English, and w ere able to help th e ir parents.

The p rettiest hu nting story is of th e boy who sat in a tree w aiting for som e­ th in g to shoot. H e w as ju st giving up, w hen a tiny peti (bluebuck) cam e hopping. “ Oh, how sw eet you a r e ! ” exclaim ed th e boy. He had not th e h eart to shoot. To th is day th e little buck, destructive though it is in our gardens, is too attractive to be killed.

Harbour workers —Port Shepstone

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10. WARS 1899-1901 AND 1914-1919 In 1883, Mr. H. T. Bru-de-wold w as requested by th e G overnm ent to form a troop of volunteers from th e ranks of th e Settlers and th e response w as good— about 30 m en joined.

The idea w as to have in readiness, a troop of train ed m en in case of an up­ rising; there w as already u n rest am ong th e natives on th e Pondoland border 40 m iles south of the Settlem ent. The regim ent to w hich this troop was attached w as th e U m zim kulu M ounted Rifles, one troop being in H arding. Those w ho joined had to provide th eir own horses, saddlery, and uniform s, tow ards w hich th e G overn­ m ent paid £10 (R20) annually to each m em ber, for upkeep, and replacem ent of uniform s and saddlery. The horses w ere insured, w hich m eant m oney w ould be available to buy another horse in case of death. Rifles and am m unition w ere pro­ vided by the G overnm ent. Those who first joined the troop were:- J. K jonstad F. H ufft, M. Holte, G. Kvalsvig, P. E rtresvaag, H. A ndreasen, J. A ndersen, O. Valdai, J. Johannesen, K. E. Standal, K. O. Standal, P. Brune, O. Hojem, K. Hojem , O. Vinjevold, R. Nilsen, M. Gidske, E. Pahr, P. Trandal, K. Olsen, O. Skjaerve, F. Bodtker, P. Bodtker, H. Haajem , O. Haajem , R. N ederhus, W. A ndersen, J. Kipperberg.

Mr. Bru-de-wold became Captain of th e troop, H arry Lugg, L ieutenant, and W. Sangm eister, Q uarterm aster. (In the years to come, these th ree m en attained th e rank of L ieutenant Colonel.) Q uarterly parades w ere held, and instruction given in drill and m usketry. Once a year th e troop w ent into camp, and w ere billeted in tents, and underw ent intensive train in g and rifle-shooting for 10 days. The cam ping site w as near the m outh of the Boyiboyi River, and the iron targ et is still there, though no longer in use. A fter a few years, th e M arburg troop and th e

Umzimkulu Mounted Rifles—1883

52

H arding troop w ere am algam ated, and th e regim ent’s nam e w as changed to: B order M ounted Rifles, w ith C aptain Bru-de-wold in command.

Observations by E. Haajem

In 1899, w hen the Boer W ar broke out, our troop, together w ith others from adjacent areas had by th is tim e extended its m em bership to troops in the Um zinto and Ixopo districts. The streng th of the Border M ounted Rifles was now 370 odd. The P ort Shepstone troop, as it w as now called, num bered 40 m en, of w hom 24 w ere Norw egians. O rders to m obilise for active service w ere received, and one day latae in Septem ber, we fell-in at the C ourt House, before leaving by road to P ark R ynie —the rail term inus at the tim e, half w ay to D urban.

Our relatives and friends cam e to bid us God speed; and, obviously, th ere w ere m any sad hearts, w hen saying fare­ w ell to th eir loved ones. A t P ark R ynie th ere was a great com m otion trying to pursuade our horses to enter th e trucks, this w as a strange Captain. Hans Andreasen experience for th e horses, and w e had to use force — both pushing and pulling them in. A train w as diverted to Pieterm aritzburg. On arrival th ere we w ere sent on to L ady­ sm ith w here all troops had to be centred. About 3,000 troops, m ade up of various volu nteer regim ents and a contingent of N atal Police, m ade Ladysm ith th eir head­ qu arters. T he Boers w ere already m assing in N orthern Natal. England still hoped th e dispute could be settled w ithout fighting, bu t th is w as not to be. On th e 9th of October, 1899, th e Boers declared w ar. A few troops w ere ordered to proceed to “Action H om es” w ith a view to arrestin g any advance th e Boers m ight m ake from th e F ree State side. It appeared th e Boers had already arrived at Van R eenen’s Pass—a sh o rt distance w est of Action Homes. Our instruction was: “Do not shoot, even if th e enem y shoots a t you”. Our patrols, w ho w ere out scouting, cam e in and reported th a t th e Boer forces w ere increasing in num bers. W e had settled dow n as com fortably as possible a t Action Homes, w hen our patrols cam e galloping in, shouting: “The Boers are encircling u s”. In great haste, we packed up, and retreated. I t w as tow ards evening, and we m anaged to escape under the cover of darkness. In our h u rried get-away, w e had to leave th e good m eal we had prepared for supper, w hich th e Boers no doubt enjoyed.

T his w as our first encounter w ith th e enem y, bu t m ore serious encounters w ere to follow. Boer reinforcem ents arriv ed from the F ree State and the Transvaal, obviously w ith th e object of encircling and capturing L adysm ith w hich w as an im ­ p o rtan t railw ay centre, bu t in th is th ey w ere frustrated. Encouraging new s w as received to th e effect th a t 14,000 troops w ere en route from India. In th e m eantim e we w ere besieged, and th e com paratively small force in Ladysm ith had to w ith­ stand th e onslaughts of th e enem y as best it could. A fter several brushes w ith the enem y, over a period, w e w ere given a m uch needed rest. W e w ere able to have a m eal in peace, and a bath in th e river, w hich w as a great treat, as we w ere grim y, and our clothes w ere sticking to ou r bodies, after w eeks w ithout change.

It w as not long, how ever, before we w ere called out to support troops in the direction of Dundee, w hich w ere in re tre at and hard pressed. O ur first m ajor battle w as a t “T intw a N yoni”. G eneral W hite, w ho w as Officer Com m anding all troops in L adysm ith, w as in com m and. T he Boers had a severe repulse and suffered m any casualties. W hen firing ceased th ey sent m en over to our lines, and asked 53

for doctors and am bulances to deal w ith th eir wounded. It w as in this battle th a t w e lost our com rade Nikolai Nilsen; he w as killed w hile bringing up am ­ m unition for th e Maxim gun, from the rear. E ncounters w ith the enem y becam e alm ost a daily occurance, and on one occasion we w ere ordered to storm “Lom ­ bard’s Kop” and “U m bulw ana” w here “Long Tom ”, an 18 inch gun, w as located.

B ut this proved im possible—the enem y’s cannon w ere well-placed and effective—and w e w ere com pelled to w ithdraw . “L om bard’s Kop” and “U m bulw ana” w ere not far from our positions. Incensed by having to retreat, some of our m en volun­ teered to storm the hill, under the cover of darkness and blow up “Long Tom ”, bu t perm ission w as refused. A t a later stage, our troop, together w ith detachm ents from th e N atal C arbineers and the Im perial L ight H orse, under cover of darkness, surprised th e enem y, blew-up “Long Tom ”, and several sm aller cannon. W e took a num ber of prisoners, bu t during our m opping-up operations, th ey m anaged to escape. In a way, th is w as fortunate, as our rations w ere very low, w ith nothing to spare for feeding prisoners. W e w ere equipped w ith tw o m achine guns, w hich we used to put “Long Tom ” out of action. The Boers did not dare to replace “Long Tom ”. W e w ere especially thanked by G eneral W hite for our achievem ent.

Maxim Detachment, Port Shepstone Troop of Border Mounted Rifles—Boer W ar 1899-1901

The Boers continued to bom bard us, day and night in an attem pt to w eaken our defences. They even blocked up th e river, south of the tow n, hoping it w ould over-flow its banks and force us to evacuate the tow n, and surrender. O ur food supplies w ere very low, and by Jan u ary 1900, we w ere compelled to fall back on horse-flesh. On th e 6th January, the B oers m ade a desperate attem p t to capture th e town; bom bardm ent began a t 2 a.m. and kep t up incessantly until 8 o’clock in th e evening. This w as a very bad day for both sides, but w as the enem y’s last attem p t to bring us to subm ission. Our troop lost 4 m en killed and several w ounded in this stiff action. The tow n w as infested w ith flies, and th ere w as m uch sickness, m ainly fever and dysentry, am ong all troops, and there w ere m any deaths. The hospital (the “N tom bi”) w as severely taxed, w ith its lim ited accom m odation. O ur food supplies w ere reduced to a m inim um , and by F ebruary, our only m eal com­ prised of 2 large spoons of porridge and som e horse-m eat. Tow ards th e la tte r p art of F ebruary, we could h ear th e guns of th e Relief Column, under G eneral Bnller, w hich w as fighting its w ay up from Colenso against heavy odds. G radually, day 54

John, an d Arthur Berg —Methunes Force-Boer War

Three from one home—Edward, Karl a n d Ole Haajem

55

by day, the roar of th e guns cam e nearer, and, eventually on 28th, th e Colum n broke through and th e troops galloped into th e town. The siege of Ladysm ith w as over!

The joy w as indescribable—cheering and shouting re n t th e air. T he rem n ants of our regim ent w ere th e first to m eet th e relieving troops and G eneral B uller w as anxious to know how m any m en w ere fit for duty; of th e original 370 m en, only 26 w ere fit, and of these, 8 w ere Norw egians, so we had stood up to th e hardships of th e siege very well.

A fter a m onth’s rest, w e w ere granted 10 days home-leave. On ou r retu rn , we took p art in th e form idable task of driving the enem y out of Natal. The follow­ ing N orw egians served in the war:- Col. H. T. Bru-de-Wold, Capt. H. B. A ndreasen, Sergts. E. H aajem and G. Oie, Corporals P. Lillebo, R. M. Nilsen, P. B jorseth and J. A ndersen; Troopers: E. Pahr, F. H ufft, E. Holte, A. A ndersen, G. Ingebriktsen, T. Bru-de-Wold, A. Lillebo, A. Hojem, A. Bjorseth, F. B odtker (killed) N. Nilsen (killed) O. Vinjevold, M. M artinusen, K. Haajem , O. Haajem , N. Brudevik, w hile John and A rth ur Berg served w ith th e M ethuens Regim ent and later w ith L oxton’s Horse. Our lads w ere disciplined, brave, and of good character, and perform ed th eir duties well under great stress and gruelling conditions. H ardships suffered during th e siege, underm ined th e health of several of our boys, and th ey nev er com­ pletely recovered.

Roll of Honour—Boer War Anton Hojem, Eilert Pahr, Emil Holte, Nikalai Nilsen a n d Fritz Richard Bodtker

Our Com m anding Officer, Col. H. T. Bru-de-Wold, C.M.G., D.S.O., V.D., J.P. hailed from Trondhjem . He grew up w ith his uncle, Nils, on his farm “Bru-deW old” in Orsta. He cam e to N atal in 1862, at th e age of 20, and started sugar cane and coffee planting at Ifafa, near Um zinto. He m arried the daughter of John Bazley, of Ifafa and they had th ree children. By 1882 he had m oved fu rth er south, and settled on his farm “Eidsw old” on th e north bank of th e U m zim kulu R iver about 3 m iles up. Col. Bru-de-Wold had a distinguished m ilitary career, and w as aw arded several decorations. H is only son, Thorkild, w as killed in th e battle of 56

Boer War Monument in Marburg Cemetry

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Delville Wood, in F rance in 1916 — in th e first W orld W ar. Col. Brude-W ald died on his farm in 1912; he w as buried at Umzinto, and w as given a m ilitary funeral, in which m em bers of the P ort Shepstone troop of the B order M ounted Rifles took part.

Dr. T horvald H augen cam e from H am m erfest, Norw ay, during the Boer W ar of 1899—1901, and w as at­ tached to the Red Cross, w ith w hich u n it he served until hostilities ceased. A fter the w ar, Dr. H augen w ent to th e U niversity of E din­ burgh, w here he took his M.D. degree in English. He returned to South Africa, and set up a m edical practice in P ort Shepstone. A t th e outbreak of the 1914—1918 w ar, Dr. H augen enlisted in the Medical Forces, and w as stationed a t the W ynberg H ospital in Cape Town; his application to join the forces in

Colonel Bru-de-Vold

F rance w as refused — possibly due to the age-lim it th at w as im posed.

Dr. H augan m arried Johanna Eloff, a grand-daughter of Paul K ruger; she was very anxious to learn th e N or­ wegian language and w ent to N orw ay for th a t purpose. She cam e back fairly fluent in the language. The H augens had three children—H arold, Rolf and Thordis. H arold and Rolf w ere con­ firm ed in th e N orw egian L utheran C hurch in D urban. Thordis is still at school. A fter th e 1914—1918 w ar, Dr. H augen set up practice in D urban. H e died in 1929.

Dr. Thorvald Haugen

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Bambata (Zulu) Rebellion— 1906

Follow ing on th e levy by th e G overnm ent of a Poll-Tax in 1906, th ere w as general resen tm en t am ong th e natives, w ho refused to pay; th e tax w as to be £ 1 (R2) p er m ale adult—18 years and over. T he first brush w ith a sm all section of natives occurred a t Richm ond, w hen Lieut. H unt, of th e N atal Police, w as m urdered. T his isolated incident appears to have grow n in to a state of rebellion, and tribes in the areas of Um zinto, and R ichm ond began m obilising, but nothing of a serious nature happened. In th e vicinity of M twalum e, in the U m zinto district, th ere w ere rum ours th a t Chief C harlie F yn n and h is tribesm en intended to raise a rebellion.

In M arch, 1906, th e P ort Shepstone troop w as rushed to M twalume; Chief Charlie F y n n w as arrested and a num ber of his m en w ere tried and given lashes on th e spot for inciting to rebellion. Chief F y n n ’s tribe w as fined approxim ately 1000 head of cattle and a large num ber of sm all stock.

L ater in 1906, a petty chief in Zululand, nam ed Bam bata, began to cause trouble; it w as suspected th a t Dinizulu, P aram ount Chief of th e Zulus of Nongom a, w as behind the scenes, encouraging and assisting Bam bata, w ho w as a tru cu lan t individual. All th e N atal V olunteer regim ents w ere mobilised, also th e F ield F orce u n it of th e N atal Police, and F irst Reserves (ex-Volunteers) w hile th e Second R eserve w ere on stand-by duty, at home. Col. Bru-de-Wold w as in full com m and of all operations. As th ere w ere rum ours th at Chief M atomela of the M ehlom nyam a area, 15 m iles no rth of P o rt Shepstone, intended m arching on P ort Shepstone, th e P ort Shepstone troop w as not sent to Zululand, bu t held in readi­ ness in case M atom ela’s th re a t cam e to anything—M atomela w as banished for in­ citing to rebellion and th e anticipated trouble fizzled out. In th e m eantim e there w as m uch fighting in Zululand, particularly in th e N kandhla area; th e Zulus took refuge in th e forest, and had to be h u n ted out. The fighting at Mome Gorge w as very fierce, and m any Zulus w ere killed. Our troops did not suffer any casualties.

Due to th e possibility of trouble w ith C hief M atom ela’s tribe, and the necessity for th e P o rt Shepstone troop to be on hand, and in readiness, none of th e m em ­ bers took p a rt in th e rebellion in Zululand, w ith th e exception of W. H ufft and K nud Gidske—th ere m ight have been a few others.

In D ecem ber of 1907 rum our had it th a t trouble was again brew ing in Zululand.

All N atal V olunteer Corps, th e N atal Police Field Force and some R eservists w ere m obilised, and sent to Nongoma, not far from Chief D inizulu’s kraal. M obilisation w as carried out in strict secrecy, w ith th e resu lt th at th e arrival of approxim ately 10,000 troops, w as a great surprise to D inizulu and his tribe. He sent his headm en in to N ongom a w ith th e message: “W h at has gone wrong? If I am w anted, come and fetch m e”.

It should be m entioned here, th a t B am bata, who w as thought killed at Mome Gorge, w as th e in stig ato r of th is new trouble, and although th ere w as an extensive search for him , he w as not found. As requested, Dinizulu w as duly fetched, w ith­ out incident; he w as brought in to Nongom a by a detachm ent of th e N atal N aval V olunteers. A fter questioning, he w as taken, by th e N atal N aval volunteers to Greytow n, w here, in due course, he w as tried, found guilty, and banished from Natal. He w as sent to th e E astern Transvaal, w h ere he stayed, in exile, u n til he died some y ears later.

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In centre: Those who gave their lives in World War I: Archie Morrison, Thorkel Bru-de-Wold, Willie Minot, Oluf Dahle.

Above: John Raffteseth, Carl Carlsen, Ingram Raffteseth, Kristian Hojem, Ole Brauteseth.

Bottom: Gustav Valdai, Cecil Raffteseth, Lawrence Valdai, Willie Hufft, Olaf Olsen.

Three to left: Peder Goshen, Emil Kvalsvig, Andrew Kjoae.

Three to right: Gustav Bergesen, Carl Lilliebo, Otto Brauteseth.

Of the following, pictures were unobtainable: Alfred Andreassen, Ole Olsen, Paul Kvalsvig, Daniel Igesund, Ludvig Larsen, Martin Olsen, Bernt Gidske, F r a n z Nyman, Gustav Sandanger and Sigvald Melseter.

4

Boer Uprising-World War 1-1914-1918 A section of th e B oers in th e F ree State, apparently, still sm arting over th eir defeat in th e 1899-1900 w ar, and being in sym pathy w ith Germ any, took up arm s, w ith th e in ten tio n of invading Natal. Again, all N atal regim ents w ere called out, and w ith o th er forces, proceeded into th e F ree State; th ere w ere several skirm ishes w ith th e Boers, but as th ey w ere hopelessly out-num bered, th ey retreated, and th e trouble W3s over. In th e m eantim e, trouble w as brew ing in G erm an W est Africa, and our troops w ere sent there; after a few encounters w ith th e com paratively sm all enem y force, th e up-rising w as quelled fairly easily. F rom W est Africa, our troops w ere sent to G erm an E ast Africa. H ere th e resistance w as m uch greater and fighting continued for m any m onths, w ith the ultim ate defeat of th e enemy, w ho had carried ou t “hit-and-run” tactics, once it w as realised th ey could not w ithstand our forces’ onslaught. Am ong our m en w ho took p art in th e tw o foregoing operations were:- W. H ufft, A. A ndersen, P. Goschen, the tw o Bergesen boys, S. M elsater, K. Hojem , Olaf Olsen, L. Valdai, P. Kvalsvig, E. Kvalsvig, D. Igesund, L. Larsen, A lfred A ndreasen, C. R affteseth, K. Lillebo, I. R affteseth, Ole Olsen, 0. B rauteseth, M artin Olsen, A ndrew Kjode, F. N ym an and O. Dahle the last m entioned died in th e M ilitary H ospital in Pretoria; th e rem ainder returned safely, w ith the exception of F ran s N ym an, w ho suffered from shell-shock, and has never com pletely recovered.

A rth u r H arris, w ho w as m arried to a local girl, Gertie Jacobson, served in the E ast A frican cam paign, w ith !the Corps of) Signals, from D urban, died in the A ddington H ospital, from an ailm ent contracted w hile serving his country. Several of ou r boys enlisted for service overseas. Am ong them w ere T. Bru-de-W old (killed in Delville W ood), H en ry K arlson (w ounded and lost a leg), John R affteseth (w ounded in th e knee), A rchie M orrison, a grandson of E. P ahr (killed in Delville W ood), W illie M inot (killed), G. Sandanger and A nton Hojem—Royal A ir Force (killed).

Our boys, w ho w ere still young, suffered severe hardships in th e trenches in Flanders, and during the “G reat P ush”,w ith intensive bom bing and gas w arfare.

W e th an k God for those who w ere spared, and m ay He save us from fu rth er w ars.

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11. THE VIKING BOATS AND FISHING ATTEMPTS Zefanius Olsen and the â&#x20AC;&#x153; Homeward Bound " Zefanius Olsen cam e out w ith the K jonstad family. A fter a sh o rt period spent at M arburg he left for inland, and arrived at W itzies Hoek in the F ree State, w here he obtained w ork. He w as later joined by two other young m en from the Settlem entIngvald and B ernard Nilsen, w ho hailed from Bodo, in N orthern Norw ay. These tw o brothers also obtained w ork a t W itzies Hoek. The th ree m en w ere hom esick, and decided to build a boat and sail back to Norway; they cut tim ber in a nearby forest, and set about th eir task. W hen th e boat was com pleted it w as transp orted

Zafanias Olsen, a n d the "Homeward Bound" at C ape Town

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to D urban, by ox-waggon. It w as 20 feet long, w ith a 7 foot beam; a depth of 31 feet and 18 inches above w ater line; it had one m ast. The final touches w ere done in D urban, w here th e necessary sails w ere purchased, likew ise provisions for th e long journey. On th e 2nd of May, 1886, th e p a rty set sail for “Hom e”.

T hey had to contend w ith adverse w inds, and strong gales, w hich prolonged th e voyage, resu lting in th e ir provisions ru n n in g out; and th ey w ere on th e point of starvation, w hen th ey eventually arrived at Dover, in E ngland on th e 28th of

"Homeward Bound" on d isplay at Crystal Palace, London

During a storm

M arch, 1887. E n route, th e “H om ew ard B ound” first called at Cape Town, w here it appears people had heard of h e r coming. In the local new spaper th e following verse appeared:— “W elcom e tiny craft to Table Bay, “W e have looked for you m any a day; “Now you have come, we say all round: M ay God w atch over you, “H om ew ard Bound”.

On th e w ay up the A tlantic, th e “H om ew ard B ound” called, first at St. Helena, th en Ponta Delgada and St. Miguel, in th e Azores. The brothers Nilsen proceeded to N orw ay, w hile Zefanius Olsen rem ained in England, w here he m arried, and lived th e rest of his life. W hat w as eventually done w ith th e “H om ew ard B ound” is not on record, bu t th e authorities m u st have regarded h er achievem ent as som e­ th in g spectacular, and she w as exhibited in the C rystal Palace in London.

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I

The Building of the 44 Norman

Observations by E. Haajem

In 1893, m y fath er and I decided to build a boat for th e purpose of operating betw een P o rt Shepstone and D urban, and also for fishing. As a pier w as in th e course of construction at th e U m zim kulu R iver m outh, it w as anticipated th a t w hen it w as extended, the entrance w ould be navigable, and conditions reasonably good; we therefore proceeded w ith our job, w ith confidence. The boat w as to be 58 feet long, w ith a 14 foot beam, and a draft of 4 to 4 i feet; th e estim ated to n ­ nage w as 34 tons.

My father w as a shipbuilder in N orw ay and we m anaged to do the job very well. All the m aterial (wood) w as cut in th e forest, on our farm at M arburg. N aturally, such item s as nuts and bolts, and other ironw are, rope, sails and anchor and chain had to be bought. W e m ade ta r and varnish, from various trees, w ith w hich we painted the boat. It took us a year to com plete th e boat, ready for launching. It w as taken down to th e Um zim kulu by ox-waggon, and w as duly launched in traditional m anner, and christened the “N orm an”, by Mrs. Beachcroft, wife of our m agistrate.

A fter th e ceremony, and th e necessary preparations, we set sail, crossed the bar safely, and headed for Durban. The “N orm an” w as the first sailing boat to leave P ort Shepstone. She proved a good sailer and the next day we arrived off the D urban Bluff. A strong south-w ester was blowing, and th e w arning signal on the Bluff said: “B ar D angerous”. However, w e decided to take a chance, and by dodging the breakers as m uch as possible, we negotiated the bar w ithout any m ishap—w ith a dry deck. We tacked up th e channel, and soon reached the w harf, and tied up. The H arbour M aster and his officials w ere surprised to see us and we had to explain who we were, and from w here we had come. In Durban, even in those days, it was a strange sight to see so sm all a sailing boat enter the harbour under such bad con­ ditions.

''Norman” transported by

ox wagon

The “N orm an” w as duly registered as a cargo and fishing boat, and the H arbour M aster gave us perm ission to come and go as we liked. Norm ally, no sailing boat w as perm itted to enter, or leave th e harb o u r w ithout the assistance of a tug. W ith a full cargo, we w ere soon able to leave fo r P ort Shepstone; th e journey th ere w as uneventful. W e w ere alw ays assured of full cargoes, and the rem uneration w as good.

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A t tim es w e w ere able to m ake tw o trip s to D urban, in a week, provided the w inds w ere favourable. A part- from cargo, we carried passengers, and on one occasion, w e had th ree w om en passengers.

W e took to fishing, and had good catches of various kinds of fish, but there w as no ready m arket. As we did not have ice-boxes or a refrigeration plant, we w ere com pelled to salt-down som e of our catches, bu t salted fish did not appeal to th e E nglish com m unity, and w e w ere, eventually, com pelled to abandon our fishing activities. Before we gave up fishing, a D urban concern, w hich considered we w ere m aking good m oney, selling our fish a t £ 3 (R6)per ton, decided to go into com­ petition w ith us, and fitted out 2 boats fo r the purpose; the result w as th a t the m ark et w as glutted and the price fell by half, w hich m ade the business unprofit­ able, and w e w ent back to running cargo. On one trip to P ort Shepstone, am ongst

Norman" in

th e cargo, w as a case m arked: “plough shares”. W hen th is w as being hoisted out of the hold, th e rope broke, and th e case fell heavily and disintergrated, exposing the contents—they w ere M artini H enry rifles! The Custom s Official asked: “W hat sort of plough shares are these?” T hen told us to re-pack th e case im m ediately. A w agon w as standing in readiness to convey the supposed “plough shares” to Pondoland.

W e wTere lucky w ith the w eather on all our trips, except one, w hen w e ran into very storm y w eather and high seas, ju st as we cam e in sight of P ort Shepstone. W e let out a sheet-anchor, and drifted eastw ards all night, w ith seas breaking over 65

us all the time; it w as fortunate th at th ere w ere no passengers on th is occasion. My father and I, and a native cook, w ere th e only people aboard; th e cook had to be locked up. for fear he m ight be w ashed over-board. I shall never forget th a t night!

The N orm an proved to be com pletely w ater-tight, and she w ithstood th e heavy pounding of the seas th at broke over her. The next day, the w eather w as fine, and the w ind favourable; we sailed back to P o rt Shepstone, thankful th a t we had come safely through th is frightening experience.

Back in D urban, we w ere offered a good price for th e “N orm an” and she w as sold to a com pany th at traded betw een D urban and E ast A frican ports. W e w ere asked to run th e boat for th is com pany, but refused—m ainly because we suspected th a t it trafficked in weapons and prohibited goods.

The <4 Dolphin ” The low er Um zim kulu area w as noted for its boat-building activities. Ships w ere w recked in the neighbourhood as fa r back as the 17th century. The Portuguese crew of a ship w recked hereabouts, built tw o sm all boats w ith th e intention of sail­ ing home. One reached Angola, on th e W est African coast, but the other w as never heard of again.

One George Andersen, was ship-w recked near the Um bango m outh, round about 1880(?), in th e ship “Farew ell”. A ndersen settled on th e north bank of th e Um ­ zim kulu River, approxim ately 11 m iles inland. He m arried M arie Moe, one of the young wom en who came out w ith th e Settlers. In association w ith W illiam Bazley,

"Dolphin" —Built at the Umzimkulu River

A ndersen built a fishing boat, and once sailed it to D urban. A t a later stage, one H. H. M anning, who had settled on the south bank of the river, in proxim ity to th e harbour w orks built the sailing ship “Sobantu”, w hich plied betw een P ort Shep­ stone for a time.

In 1904—1905, the “D olphin” w as b u ilt for the purpose of carrying out fishing operations. The Syndicate interested in th is project were: Abel A ndreasen (shoe66

m aker), P. A arhus (engineer), Ivor C arlsen (builder) and Peder Pedersen (ship­ builder). T he “D olphin” w as built as a sailing boat, but due to unrealiable w inds, it w as decided, th at, as a precautionary m easure, she should be fitted w ith a powerengine;; th e extra capital required w as subscribed by P. Skorpen and R. M. Nilsen.

T he “D olphin” w as 50 feet long, w ith a beam of 12 feet. She w as 10 feet high and had a draft of 3J to 4 feet. On com pletion, she w as prepared for trial run, b u t the bar had partly silted up, and she w as unable to go out to sea. The “D olphin” re­ m ained at h e r m oorings for a tim e, bu t she eventually m anaged to cross th e bar at a springtide, and sailed to D urban. She w as sold to a D urban com pany, and fished off D urban, w ith C aptain K risten sen in charge.

“

The Southern Cross ”

On behalf of M. Holte, Peder P edersen built a sm all boat, engine-driven, w hich w as intended for fishing outside P o rt Shepstone. She w as nam ed the “Southern

The fishing Boat "Scuthern Cross" C ross”. A fter operating for about a m onth it becam e apparent th a t the under­ taking on th is ra th e r treacherous coast w as doomed to failure—this, after she had capsized w hen approaching th e entrance. No lives w ere lost, but the native fisher­ m en refused to carry on, and the “Southern Cross” was sold.

The 44 Enterprise ” T he only successful fishing venture to be inaugurated in P ort Shepstone, w as th e form ation of a com pany nam ed the P o rt Shepstone F ishing Syndicate, in 1898.

T he prim e m over w as C aptain John A ndersen. A fter the adequate am ount of capital required w as assured, a steam er w as ordered from th e K ristiansund Ship­ 67

building Y ards in Norway. The steam er,w hich was nam ed the “E nterp rise” w as com pleted tow ards the end of 1899, and Captain John A ndersen w ent over to fetch her. It was intended th a t the “E n terp rise” should operate from D urban. The shareholders in this venture were: John Andersen, F. H ufft, Isak R affteseth, H ans A ndreasen, R. M. Nilsen, Peder Vinjevold, Peder Bjorseth, G ustav Kvalsvig, W. A ndersen, E. K. Andreasen. G. 0. Kvalsvig, and K ristian Olsen. O ther shareholders w ere domiciled in D urban and N orw ay, bu t th ere is no record of th eir nam es. This w as essentially a N orw egian concern. The “ E nterp rise ” fished off D urban, bu t also frequently operated off P ort Shepstone, and th e vicinity. The ven t­ ure proved to be a financial success, and paid handsom e dividends. Captain A ndersen rem ained in charge until th e “E nterp rise” w as sold in 1919, after being in service for nearly 20 years. She was sold for £4,200 (R8,400) and th e shareholders w ere repaid their capital investm ent, on w hich they had m ade a good profit.

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12. THE BANTU Our black neighbours—th e so called “W ild” elem ent—greeted us by staging a w ar-dance, on our landing day, the 29th of A ugust, 1882. They presented a fearsom e spectacle in th e ir ow n type of regalia and carrying assegais, sticks and shields. W e had never before seen a black person bu t we soon becam e reconciled to the sight of th e 400—500 “W arriors” as th ey proved them selves to be am iable and friendly, jovial folk.

The area laid out as farm s for the settlers partly oncroached on land occupied

by B antu and m any of them had to m ove th eir kraals and live-stock to the n o rth ­ w estern hillsides, bu t they neith er com plained nor resented the G overnm ent’s orders. The vacated area proved a boon to those settlers whose farm s w ere located there, as th ere w as an abundance of m anure in the cattle kraals and m any fields w ere planted w ith sw eet potatoes.

The B antu housing conditions w ere very prim itive, w ith grasshuts predom inating, w hile som e w ere built of sods. As the B antu practised polygam y, a m an built as

Ceremonial dress

m any huts as he had wives—each wife runn in g h er own household. A thorn-bush hedge, or fence, w as planted round the h u ts and cattle kraals, by w ay of protection against m arauding anim als. T he h u ts had only one low doorway, bu t no windows; a shallow excavation in th e m iddle of th e h u t served as a fire-place. M arried wom en w ore short skirts m ade from goat skins, while the “m aidens” covering com ­ prised a light-w eight piece of m aterial fastened at the w aist—it w as decidedly short, being several inches above th e knees A part from these “sk irts”, th e w om en’s bodies w ere com pletely bare, but some did throw a shawl, decorated w ith coloured beads, over th eir shoulders w hen th ey w ent visiting th eir neighbours.

By w ay of decoration, the w om en w ore attractive bead necklaces, and arm lets m ade of brass or copper wire. The m en-folks’ “sk irts” (“B heshu”) w ere m ade of strips of skin, about an inch wide, and th e tips occasionally trim m ed w ith coloured beads, these skirts w ere fairly short and covered only the front and rear—the hips and thighs, likewise, the upper p a rt of the body w as bare.

W hen the m en w ent visiting they invariably w ent as th ey w ere except th a t they carried a stick or two, bu t w hen they w ent courting they attem pted to get into som e sort of “finery”, they w ore a shaw l or light blanket cast over th e shoulders —the shawl was alm ost invariably trim m ed w ith coloured beads, and they alw ays carried a couple of sticks and a shield. None of the B antu w ore shoes. On festive occasions, such as weddings the m en would decorate them selves w ith feathers, brass or copper bands on th eir arm s and trin kets to create an im pression.

The B antu’s food w as of a lim ited variety, and com prised m ilk, soured in a calabash (“Am asi”), the calabash container w as never em pty as fresh m ilk w as continuously added, after a repast of its contents; boiled m ealies (“inkobe”) w as another item of food, eaten whole; for porridge, half-cooked m ealies w ere ground on a stone slab w ith a round cobblestone (“im bokodo”); kaffir corn (“A m abele”) w as m ainly produced for m aking kaffir beer (“U tshw ala” ), th e grain w as soaked in w ater, th en allowed to dry and sprout after w hich it w as ground to a pulp—this provided the m alt required for brew ing beer. W hen kaffir corn w as in sho rt supply, m ealies w ere treated in th e sam e w ay as the k affir corn, and added to such kaffir corn as was available. K affir beer is th e native’s traditional beverage and can become fairly potent if left longer to m ature. Sw eet potatoes, porridge and sour m ilk, and pum pkins w hen available, form ed th eir staple diet. A nother m inor food item w as spinach—th e young tips of the pum pkin vine—called “Im fino”. The B antu norm ally have two m eals a day—one in the late forenoon, and ithe other in the evening— usually the “left-overs” from the earlier meal.

Only on a special occasion, particularly a wedding, is a beast slaughtered.

M em bers of the clan foregathered to m ake m erry on m eat and beer, th e latter being a “m ust”. The party lasted as long as the m eat and beer lasted—very often tw o to th ree days.

The B antus pray to N kulunkulu as th eir good spirit; they are also steeped in w itch-craft and im bued w ith th e fear of “evil spirits”, o r w hat m ight be called ghosts.

T hese “ghosts” w ere feared m ost after d ark and w hen near a forest or river-crossing.

The w itch doctors, both m ale and female, w ere held in awe and “respected” for th eir cunning devices, one of them being “ throw ing the b o n es” (“ Uka Bhula ” ); th is “ cerem ony ” was supposed to trace or identify the individual who had com m itted a crim e — a pure fallacy of course but nevertheless believed in. As often as not a com pletely innocent person w as declared the perpetrator. Some w itch-doctors pose as m edicine m en—“Inyanga”—and m aintain th ey are capable of curing illnesses Not infrequently, they are called into adm inister to the sick — th e fee is usually a

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beast and as th ey have no t had any m edical train in g w hatsoever they are quite in­ capable of effecting any cures a t all, in fact m ay be regarded as im posters. T heir " m edicines ” are usually a m ixture of roots of shrubs and the bark of certain trees, crushed into a pow der to w hich w ater is added coloured w ith a dye of sorts — and m ore likely to do m ore harm th an good.

T he price a young m an has to pay to th e parents of the bride-to-be w hen he m arries, is 10 head of cattle plus one for the mother-in-law; this beast is usually slaughtered a t th e m arriage celebrations. The sam e price has to be paid for any successive w ife o r wives, this paym ent is called “Lobola”. A t some tim e unknow n, th e G overnm ent im posed a itax of 10/- (R l) on every m ale adult 18 years and over.

A m arried m an had to pay an additional sum of 5/- (50 cents) for each wife above th e original. T his tax has since been am ended and now stands at 35/- (R3.50) plus 10/- (R l) for m arried men.

T he young m en scarcely ever assist w ith th e w ork on the lands and spend their tim e h u n tin g and courting—unless th ey are aw ay at w ork. The head of the kraal does a certain am ount of w ork b u t th e m ain w ork falls on the w om en folk —in addition to th e ir household chores.

The B antu w ho lived in the vicinity of our farm s w ere friendly and welldisposed tow ards us and we could sleep w ithout fear of being m olested—we did not even have to lock our doors. The only B antu to be feared w ere young loafers or delinquents w ho resorted to thieving and housebreaking bu t these w ere few and far betw een and w hen caught they w ere sum m arily dealt w ith by th eir fathers, who w ere strict disciplinarians.

T he Bantu, generally, became w illing w orkers on our farm s and w ere a great help to th e settlers, jn th a t they undertook th e heavier m anual w ork on th e lands, th u s easing th e lot of the farm er during difficult tim es. T hey w ere not overenergetic and inclined to be lazy, th ey w ere housed and fed and th eir pay ranged from 5/- (50 cents) for a youth to 10/- (R l) and 15/- (R1.50) for an adult, per m onth. T hese rates of pay only applied to the early days of the settlers.

T he language w as a problem th e settlers had to overcome; th e younger people, how ever, picked it up fairly easily as they had m ore contact w ith th e labourers w orking on th e farm s th an th e older folk.

The G erm an M issionaries in th e vicinity of th e M arburg Settlem ent called the B antu in th e area together, at intervals, in an endeavour to teach them God’s W ord and instil religion into them , as th ey w ere out and out heathens. The Norw egian settlers encouraged th eir servants, and others, to attend the Church services and schools th a t had been started by .these M issionaries. As the N orw egians attended th eir ow n C hurch services regularly th ey th ereb y set the B antu a good exam ple w hich encouraged them to become not only religious bu t also m ore industrious.

A few N orw egians called th eir serv ants together at intervals, during th e even­ ings, and spoke to them about religion, and also tried to iteach them to read. Dina a n d ' Ingeborg K jonstad and Rebekka and M arie B odtker w ere th e m ost enthusi­ astic in th is connection and m et w ith considerable success. The B odtkers still con­ tinu e w ith th e ir self-imposed task and som e of our young m en from the Oribi F lats cam e dow n on Sundays as Evangelists inprom oting th e good w ork th a t had been started.

We, as settlers, alw ays had the w elfare and upliftm ent of th e B antu at heart. W e are th an k fu l th a t som e have em braced religion and have lived C hristian lives. W e have done our best by setting them a good exam ple and encouraging them to lead decent lives.

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AN

E X P E R IE N C E FR O M T H E

P IO N E E R IN G

Contributed by Ingeborg Meydell

DAYS

I w as a 16 year old girl w hen one of m y brothers took over a larger farm ap­ proxim ately 20 m iles from M arburg; later m y sister and I joined him to give him a helping hand in startin g his farm ing activities. Our accom m odation w as a grass h u t w ith 2 room s and a sm all kitchen, b u ilt of sods, situated a few yards from the “m ain building”, It w as not a congenial set-up, but youth being youth, we accepted th e position and thought it great fun. W e often w ent hunting; th e area abounded in game—buck, partridges, doves and hares etc. My brother, who belonged to the local V olunteer Corps—The B order M ounted Rifles, had to attend a 10 days’ train ing course every year and m y sisters having left, it w as m y lot to rem ain on th e farm on th is particular occasion. My only com paions w ere tw o 9 year old B antu lads who pottered about w ith odd light w ork and occasionally w ent to th eir kraal to sleep; it did n o t occur to me to be afraid of being alone and all w ent well until the 5th day. It was a Sunday and I happened to be having m y breakfast w hen tw o B antu m en ap­ peared at the door; they w ere decorated w ith feathers, pearls, strips of skin etc., they carried knob-kerries, assegais and shields, and a dog accom panied them . I asked them w hat they w anted and th ey said w ork (“Um sebenzi”) but I knew th ey would n o t go out in search of work, dressed in th a t fashion and I suspected th ey w ere up to som ething evil. I told them I had no w ork for them and expected them to leave but instead they rem ained sitting—entirely blocking the doorway. I told th em (to go b u t they took no notice. Pretending I w as not concerned I w alked slowly into the o th er room and came back w ith m y shotgun w hich w as loaded. I told them th at if they did not leave I would shoot; they m erely burst out laughing loudly and said “W e would like to see a girl shoot”. By th is tim e I m ust adm it th a t I felt afraid and it w as not easy to show a brave front, but I rem ained calm, as if ignoring them . I w en t back into the other room w here I w as fortunate enough to m anage to push som e grass in th e wall aside, m aking an opening sufficiently big to enable me to slip out through it. I slipped out un-noticed and w ent over to th e kitchen, w hich w as at the back of the house; through an opening in the w all I could see w hat w as happening. The two m en wenit over to th e h u t w here m y two 9 y ear old lads w ere and began knocking fiercely at the door. This, I decided, w as th e itime to act; I raised m y gun and took aim, intending to shoot over th eir heads and thereby frig hten th em bu t I w as shaking so m uch th at I shot them in th e legs and hind quarters, even th eir dog stopped a few pellets. They then ran aw ay followed by th e ir dog how ling m adly as if the evil spirits w ere after them . Bad as (the situation w as, I could not help laughing. On the follow ing day these tw o m en cam e back accom panied by a G erm an M issionary—they w ere apparently afraid to come alone; th ey com plained about the pellet w ounds on th eir legs and hind quartersr, although th e pellets had m erely broken th e skin. T hey said they w ere Chief’s sons and accused me of spilling “Royal Blood”, for w hich th ey claimed com pensation to the value of 12/- (R1.20) each. I explained th e position to th e M issionary and he told th e two m en they w ere lucky I had no t reported them to the police, adding th at It w as unlaw ful to go to a w hite m an’s hom e arm ed w ith weapons. T hey left, saying th ey would speak to m y brother on his retu rn . W hen evening came, I felt nervous, fearing the tw o m en m ight come under th e cover of darkness and seek revenge by setting fire to the h u t or even som ething w orse. W hether it w as m y im agination or not, I thought I could see figures m oving about in the distance—it was a m oon­ lit night—but nothing happened. F or safety’s sake, I took m y gun and some am m unition, also a blanket and m y clock, having decided to go and hide in the cattle kraal. Before I left the h u t I fired a shot through th e window. At the 72

cattle k raal I settled down alongside an old cow! It w as not at all com fortable, but I felt safe, and th e cow w as quite docile and com pany for me, even though it w as only a cow. I spent th e next four nights in the cattle kraal and m y brother arriv ed back on th e 5th evening and w as am azed to find me in the cattle kraal at th a t tim e of th e day. The nex t day I accom panied m y brother to M arburg. My fath er w as alarm ed w hen I told him of th e experience I had had and refused to allow m e to re tu rn to th e farm . He w as afraid th ere m ight be a court case and he did not like to appear in Court. The tw o Chiefâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sons apparently intended to re­ p o rt th e shooting to the police. My b ro th er spoke to them and to avoid a Court case he bargained w ith them and settled for ÂŁ 2 (R4) com pensation for each one, w hich th ey now claimed. If the case had gone to C ourt I m ight have been found guilty and sentenced to pay a heavy fine.

73

13. SHORT FAMILY BIOGRAPHIES

The reasons for em igrating as expressed by th e various fam ilies were:— (a) The urge to search for new pastures. (b) Small holdings of land coupled with bad tim es in Norway. (c) Favourable reports of conditions elsewhere. (d) E ncouraging offer by th e N atal G overnm ent. (e) Among (those who had a high regard for religion, there w as a desire to introduce C hristianity to the heathen population.

Note: W here possible the nam es of th e S ettlers’ grandchildren have been brought, up to date for th is translation of the original book.

Lot 1. R asm us Sandanger, wife Helena.

Potter K notten, wife Maren, 1 son, Anders.

(All deceased.)

Rasmus Sandanger and Family The Sandangers w ere deeply religious. They moved to D urban w here Sand­ anger built houses and churches. H e paid for a native evangelist to teach the Zulus about C hristianity. He helped at th e Sailor’s R est w here he conducted prayers and talked to ithe sailors w hen ships w ere in port.

Lot 2. M athias Holte, wife K aren. 3 children.

(1) M onrad, m arried M arion P rocter-Parker—3 children—M onrad, Gloria, A rthur.

(2) Edw in, m arried Gloria Allen—5 children—Rosmena, Irene, Thelm a, A nthony (died) and Quinton.

(3) K edar m arried Phillipa Allen—3 children—Daphne, Sylvia and Priscilla.

H olte’s took over L ot 1 w hen Sandanger left for D urban.

74

L ot 3. Isak Igesund, w ife D orethea—5 children.

(1) Anna, m arried A nders Lind—12 children—Andrew, Annie, Edw ard, Isak, Oscar R uth, P eter, Paul, Inga, Jenn y and Daniel. One of w hom w as Ester. A lovely girl w ho w as devoted to God. She tau gh t th e natives on th eir farm at Oribi Flats, but died a t an early age. A trib u te w as w ritten to h er by Iv ar Carlsen.

“Queen E sth er stood before th e King Clad in h er royal robes and beauty, W ith intercession did she bring H er m ighty Lord to do H is duty.

H er people did she save and free F rom crafty H am an’s foul decree.

H er nam esake stood but yesterday W ith us in body strong and healthy, So like a no rthern spring in May, W ith sunshine bright to poor and w ealthy.

Rem em b’ring often eyes grow dim Because we shared our joy in Him. W e m iss our E sth er as w e come Together in our little m eeting.

A nother tie to draw us home, A nother face next joyous m eeting W hen our Redeem er com eth down In the air to fetch H is own.

Our Sister bade us all ‘Good-night’ B ut we shall see h er in the m orning W ith fairer face, so heavenly bright, A crow n of life h er brow adorning, Till then w e’ll m iss her, pray and sing, F or E sth er stands before th e K ing”.

E sth er 8,4.

Ester Lind

(2) Ida, m arried H ans H ansen—8 children—John, Ivan, Dorothy, W alter, Ruby.

Hilda, Olga and David.

(3) Isak m arried Lizzie Lloyd—1 son—Sankey.

(4) Sigvald m arried Nora Lloyd—7 children—John, D errick, M ervyn, Rhoda, Clifford, Dane and Leonard.

(5) Daniel m arried E llenor G etkate—3 children—Daphne, E rrol and M aureen.

L ot 4. Johan Olaf Nero, wife K aren,—7 children.

(1) A nna m arried A. W. H alland—4 children—Karl, Aagot, Rolf and Bernice.

(2) D orthea m arried John T vedt w ho died in N orw ay— (no children.)

(3) N oralf m arried Lena Johnson—6 children—Sidney, Ralph, Doris, Natalie, Ken and Cynthia.

(4) Joh ann es m arried G ustava P aulsen—4 children—Solveig, E rn st, C harlotte and Em ily.

(5) Inga m arried Ole H aajem —2 ch ildren—A nton (died) and Borghild A fter Ole H aajem ’s death, Inga m arried P eter Skorpen. <6) B ertha, unm arried, teacher.

75

Karen and Johan Nero

(7) Oscar m arried Maria H ufft—1 daughter—Merle.

Dorthea, B ertha and Johannes all served in the N orw egian Mission.

Johan and K aren Nero w ere faithful m em bers of the church. He served as both Chairm an and Secretary.

Lot 5. w as vacant and is now sold to English people.

Lot 6. K ristian Hojem, wife Lisbeth—5 children.

(1) G ustav m arried M arie Oftebro—3 children—Raghild and tw ins K ris­ tian and K atrine.

(2) K arl unm arried. He was a w agon builder in Durban.

(3) Johannes m arried Alice Mills—3 children—Carol, A nton and Harold.

(4) Ragna m arried Olaus Skjerve, bu t died soon afterw ards.

(5) A nton fell in the Boer W ar.

K ristian and Lisbeth w ere good C hrist­ ian people and lived to a good age.

Kristian Hojem and Family 76

Christianne and Chr. F. Rodseth L ot 7. K ristian Rodseth wife K ristiane—4 children.

(1) Peder Aage, m arried R agnhild H arem —9 children—F redrik, Peter, R agnar, Aage, Klaus, Haakon, E sther, Helga and M argrethe.

L ater m arried M arit Sodahl—6 children—Eliff, Ingeboig, Liv, K irsten, Nils and Lars.

Peder left M arburg as a young m an to study in N orw ay intending to retu rn as a m issionary to the Bantu.

Our Artist — Olsen-Reitan Many of his pictures are to be found in the settler's homes

77

(2) A nna m arried A nton H oyer—1 son Anton.

L ater m arried F riis Nilsen—3 children—F redrik, Randi and Leif.

(3) M arie unm arried. She was a com fort to h er parents until th eir deaths.

(4) Elizabeth m arried J. Phillipson—4 children—Ella, Thelm a, V ictor and E rnst.

T hey later settled in Copenhagen.

Rev. and Mrs. Benjamin Rafftesath and Family Rodseths later left for D urban and th eir L ot w as purchased in 1892 by Rev. B. R affteseth w hen he was inaugurated p riest for M arburg. He m arried M arie Gnoth from Germ any, but unfortunately she died soon after the birth of th eir son Paul.

He th en m arried Clara Dehmel also from G erm any and th ey had three children.

F ritz and two who died in infancy.

In 1904 Rev. Raffteseth em igrated to Am erica.

Lot 8. John K ipperberg wife Gurine—5 children.

(1) H anna m arried John Kvalsvig—died early.

(2) Olga m arried A lfred A nderson—2 children—Clifford and Iris.

(3) Jenny m arried Jack Boswell—1 son—M ervyn.

(4) D orothy m arried G. W ebber—2 children—E dgar and Colin (5) John m arried Phyllis W illiam s—3 children—John, Joan and Jill.

K ipperberg shared this lot w ith Ole E m blem and his wife M arit who found th e ground stony and hilly. T hey m oved to D urban w ith th eir th ree children Trine, L auritz (died) and Sara. T rine m arried Mr. Proud and they had 3 sons Cyril, K en­ neth, Ivor. Sara m arried Mr. Cam eron—no children.

M arit later m arried Nils O hlsson—established “Sailors’ R est” in D urban.

78

John and Gurine Kipperberg

Marit and Ole Emblem.

Lot 9. E lling P ahr, w ife A nna—7 children.

(1) Olava m arried Capt. Jacobsen—6 children—Gertie, Alma, Jessie, Oswald, A nnie and Violet.

L ater m arried K arl B utgereit—2 children— L ottie and Philip.

(2) Pernille m arried R asm us N ilsen—1 daughter— A ndrea.

(3) C hristine m arried John M orrison—5 children— A rchie, Edw in, Jessie, John and Lily.

(4) A nna m arried J. Lind—1 daughter—Agnes.

(5) M arie m arried A rth u r A ndreasen—2 sons— G ilbert and Roy. (6 and 7) P eder and E ilert died early. Eling P ahr left a good teach er’s position in N orw ay to seek a better fu tu re for his children. He w as helpful in th e early years wilth church w ork and correspondence as he understood English. A fter his w ife’s death he retu rn ed to N orw ay w here he died.

79

Elling Pahr

John. Lillebo's, Joe Sarsons and Peder Lillebo's families Lot 10 John Lillebo, wife K anutte—5 children.

(1) P eder m arried L aura H aajem —4 children— tw ins K arl and A If, Hilda and Jorgen.

(2) A nna m arried Joseph Sarsons—2 children—Mabel and Albert.

(3) P ernille m arried George Boyd—2 children — Phyllis and George.

(4) A ndreas m arried M arie B orchard —3 children—Sylvia, Eileen and Erik.

(5) Louise unm arried. She cared for h er parents in th eir old age and later w ent to Rhodesia.

Lillebos w ere a kind and helpful couple. They kept ‘open house’ and m any happy Sunday afternoon w ere spent in th eir house w here Peder train ed th e young people’s choir.

Peder left during th e depression to seek better living conditions in R ho­ desia but in 1910 died of ‘blackw aterfever’. H is widow later m arried W. A ndersen and th ey had one child Willie.

Peder Lillebo and Family 80

K. E. Standal with wife and adopted daughter. Ruby 81

Lot 11. Knut 0. Standal wife Johanne—3 children.

T hey soon moved to D urban, but did not live long. T heir th ree orphans Inga, Jenny and Edvin w ere cared for by th eir aunt, Mrs. Kjode.

L ot 11 w as taken over by 0. J. B rauteseth, wife Johanne who w ere m arried in 1891. T hey had 4 children.

(1) Ole m arried Elizabeth Viljoen—2 children—John and K athleen.

(2) K ristian m arried R uth L arsen—8 sons—E rnst, Ludwig, Rolf, Viktor, Nils, Ronald, T rygvar and Arne.

(3) Otine m arried Clarence Riggen—5 children—Doris, Leonard, Clarice, E nid and George.

(4) Otto m arried Inga Sivertson—2 children—A rth u r and B ernhard.

Lot 12 K nut M artinsen, wife Elizabeth—4 children.

(1) M argrete m arried W illiam Bazley—2 children—W illie and K nut.

(This w as th e first rom ance)

Knut a n d Elizabeth Martinsen

(2) K lara m arried E m il Berg Junior—6 children—Lisabeth, Emil, K nut, Gudve M argrethe (Tibby), Erling.

(3) Elise m arried E dw ard Haajem .

(4) M artin m arried in Johannesburg—7 children. They em igrated to A ustralia.

Lot 12 w as bought by J. N ero w hen th e M artinsens moved to another lot.

82

Lot 13. Ole Haajem, wife Hendrikke—8 children.

G ranny Nille cam e w ith th em and at 66 years old w as the oldest im m igrant.

(1) E dw ard m arried Elise M artinsen, after h er death he m arried M arguthe Bazley w hen she died he m arried Mrs. Egholm .

(2) A nna m arried H ans L arsen—2 sons—Ludwig and A rthur.

L ater m arried Mr. Tuckell—3 children—Thelm a, R uth and Stanley. They acquired Lot 48.

(3) L aura m arried P eder Lillebo 4 children—tw ins K arl and Alf, Hilda and Jorgen.

L ater m arried W. A ndersen—one child—Wilhe.

(4) K arl, unm arried. He stayed on L o t 13.

(5) Ole m arried Inga N ero—2 children—Anton (died) and Borghild.

(6) Nora m arried Ted Sm ithers—2 children—Philip and Thora.

(7) Regine m arried A. B rant—2 children, Percy and Alf. They later em igrated to New Zealand.

(8) L udvig m arried Am elia Rathbone.

N ille Haajem, the oldest emigrant -

66

years o ld

83

Ole Haajem an d Family

Lot 14. Rev. Emil Berg, wife Cornelia—10 children.

(1) Em il m arried K lara M artinsen—6 children—Lisabeth, Em il, K nut, Gudve, M argrethe (Tibby), Erling.

(2) Gusta m arried W illie Minot in V ryheid—6 children—W illie, Edgar, Alpha, Oliver, N orm an and Nellie.

(3) M arie m arried H. Ash in Johannesburg—2 children—V iktor and H arry.

(4) Magda m arried A. L andm ark—3 children—Ellen, Alf and Kate.

L ater m arried Mr. Jacobs—2 children—Florence and Lewis.

Rev. Emil Berg and Family (5) Alfa m arried S. L andm ark—4 children.—G erhard, Alpha, Alice and Hlide.

They lived in Johannesburg.

(6) F ran k m arried Lina H ufft—1 daughter—Frances.

L ater m arried Marie Kvalsvig—4 daughters—Audrey, M aureen, O rris and Nola.

(7) John m arried Inga H ufft—3 children—Alicia, Ralph and Dennis.

(8, 9 and 10) Harold, A rth ur and W alter all died at an early age.

Lot 15 Carl Lund, wife M arie—4 children.

(1) R agnhild m arried Godtfred U ltsch—3 children—Dora, Frida, Erna.

(2) A strid m arried J. B. Johnsen in Eshow e—6 children—Sara, Randolf, Sverre, Harold, Norm an, Valborg.

(3 and 4) Sverre and E in ar died at an early age.

The Lunds soon m oved to D urban.

Lund later m arried M ary P ark Callen—1 daughter Agnes Alvilda.

84

C. D. Lund and Family L ot 16 A. A ndersen, wife G ertrude—5 children.

(1) Johanne m arried Johan A ndersen—7 children—Anders, John, G ertrud, Ruby, L aw rence, Elen or and M artha.

(2) H ilm a m arried John Johnson—5 children—Gertie, John, Alec, Freddie and Sylvia.

Mr. and Mrs. A. Anderson 85

(3) Andreas married in Johannesburg—6 children.

(4) K aren m arried F ran k M olyneux—2 children—H enry and Nora.

(5) Olaf unm arried lived in Johannesburg.

Mr. A ndersen w as a very efficient C hairm an of the Com m ittee dealing w ith the im m igration. A fter being in South Africa for a very short tim e his health deteriorated and he died in 1885. H is widow later m arried R. N ederhus, w ho was subsequently killed in a mine. Mrs. N ederhus w as of help and com fort to the m others and sick in the Settlem ent.

Lot 17. Church and School property.

Lot 18 Probably Ole B rune’s. Sold to Vinjevold.

Lot 19 O. Vinjevold, wife Oline—7 children. ( 1 ) Peder unm arried. Died in 1918. ( 2 ) Oluffa m arried W illiam M unger—3 children—H arry, A rth ur and Percy.

(3) Anna m arried E. Standal in D urban.

(4) Olaf m arried Maggie Steensm a—5 children—John, Victor, Stanley, Oscar and Olaf.

(5) Josephine died in Durban.

(6) A ndrew m arried Sarah M elsater—1 son—Roy. (7) Alfred m arried Olga K ipperberg—2 children—Clifford and Iris.

L.

-

M

O/e and Oline Vinjevold 86

Frederick and Christine Hufft L ot 20. F red erik H ufft, w ife C hristine—5 children.

(1) Sophie m arried Peder B jorseth—1 son-—Franz.

(2) Inga m arried John Berg—3 children—Alicia, Ralph and Dennis.

(3) Lina m arried F ran k Berg—1 daughter—Frances. Lina died at an early age.

(4) W ilhelm unm arried.

(5) M aria m arried Oscar Nero—1 daughter—Merle.

H ufft took a keen in terest in the Church. He died in 1916. Many rem em ber C hristine H ufft as a nurse to m others w ith babies and elderly people in th eir last days.

L ots 21 and 22 w ere vacated early an d sold.

L ot 23. M artinus Gidske wife A nna—7 children.

(1) P eter m arried M archie de V illiers—2 children.

(2) B erthe m arried K n ut M artinuessen—2 children—Aksel and Oskar.

(3) A nna m arried Johan de Beer. T hey live in Johannesburg.

(4) P etrine m arried G ustav Forstad. W en t to America.

(5) B ernt unm arried.

(6) B enoni unm arried.

(7) One child died.

Gidskes left for Johannesburg in 1894.

87

Lot 24 E rik Brudevik, wife K ristine—3 children.

(1) Jens.

(2) Nils m arried and lived in D urban.—1 child Alf. (3) Helga m arried Mr. George A rnold—2 sons—C hristian and Edw ard.

L ater m arried Mr. David B eattie—3 children—Helen, Sarah and W illiam .

Lot 25 G jert Kvalsvig, wife M arie—9 children.

(1) G ustav died.

(2) Oscar m arried Rachel B jorseth—1 daughter—Mavis.

(3) M artin m arried P etra Dahle—2 children—Cedric and Denzil.

(4) John m arried Inga L arsen—1 son—Gilmour.

(5) M arie m arried F ran k Berg—4 children—Audrey, M aureen, O rris and Nola.

(6) Paul m arried Trixie F inlay—3 children—Pauline, George and Anne.

(7) Em il m arried Ida Daddy—1 son—Craig.

(8) R ichard m arried K athleen Ellis—6 children—Lois, Joan, Michael, Rosem ary, Leslie and Daphne.

(9) Annie died.

G jert Kvalsvig was alw ays interested in th e Church and served as an efficient C hair­ m an and T reasurer. He was one of the directors of the “E nterprise” fishing scheme.

He twice visited Norway.

Gjert Kvalsig and Family 88

Lot 26 W. Andersen, wife Marie—3 children.

(1) Elise m arried M. Von Drom in D urban.

(2) M innie m arried W. M iller in D urban.

(3) B ennie m arried N atalie M undy—2 children—Rita and Colin.

A fter M arie’s death W illie m arried L aura, Peder Lillebo’s widow and they had 1 son—W illie.

Lot 27 H ans Haajem , wife Caroline—4 children.

(1) P etra m arried A nders M artinussen—3 children—Bertha, H arold and Carm en.

(2) E m m a m arried and lives in Am erica.

(3) M argaret m arried L auritz M artinussen—2 sons—E rling and Erik.

(4) P eder m arried Maud Sm ith—6 children.

Ole Olson is C aroline’s son from her second m arriage w ith K ristian Olsen. T hey live in Johannesburg. He m arried May B rand and w ith th eir 2 children they later em igrated to A ustralia.

itnit Caroline Haajem W. Andersen and Family

89

L ot 28 R asm us Nilsen, wife Pernille—1 daughter.

(1) A ndrea m arried J. W ade—4 children—Joe, Gwen, Alice and Inga.

N ilsen’s parents, Steffen and B erte N ilsen lived w ith him also his brother and sister Nikolai and Elise. Elise m arried H. B arnes and they had 4 children—Molly, Sigvald, Petra, Ellen. A fter his death she m arried M. Ogilvie and they had 1 child.

Rasmus and Pernille Nilsen

Lot 29 Nils Oie, wife Malene—5 children.

(1) John m arried Josefine A arsaether—3 children—Nils, Anne and Kari.

He returned to N orw ay for his education and gained a first class degree and rem ained there.

(2) G uttorm m arried Phyllis O’B rien—2 children—Louise and Phyllis.

He left for Rhodesia.

(3) K anutte trained in N orw ay and becam e a nurse. She attained th e position of M atron a t Skien Hospital.

(4) Ingeborg m arried Thom as M eydell—4 children—H jordis, G undrun, Borghild and Erling.

(5) Cornelia m arried Sigurd G ulbrandsen—2 children—Casper and Ingrid.

The Oie couple w ere deeply religious an d th ey paid for Zulu evangelists and built churches in Zululand. L ater they retu rn ed to Norway.

90

Mr. and Mrs. Thomas O. Dahle 91

Lot 30 Thomas Dahle, wife Ane—8 children.

(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8)

A nna m arried 0. Sigurdsen in D urban—No children.

Gusta m arried Em il L arsen—4 children—Dora, Alvilde, Thelm a and Gustav.

Thea m arried Mr. N ym an—3 children—A lexandra, Algot and Franz.

Ludvig fought in W orld W ar 1 and then later em igrated to A ustralia.

Oluff m arried Effie Clark—6 children.

K ornelius unm arried becam e a builder in D urban.

Julius m arried A nnie Chester—1 son—Richard.

T. O. Dahles’ sister m arried A nders Olsen—4 children—Inga, Rebekka, M artin and Gustav.

Thom as Dahle w as a m echanic and farm ­ ing did not suit him so th e fam ily moved to D urban. L ot 30 w as sold to J. Johannesen and his w ife Anna. F our of th eir nine children are still alive.

(1) Sigurd has a farm a t Oribi F lats, m arried N an Eve. (2) Law rence m arried Alicia Berg— 6 children—M ervyn, T hurl, Lorna Fay, Valmia and Cheryl.

(3) E rn est m arried Isobel van Tonder.

(4) Madge m arried A lbert Staley— 6 children—Albert, Ruth, Sylvia, Eric, Milton and Rodney.

Jakob and Anna Johannesen with son, Lawrence Lot 31 A nders B jorklund, wife M artha—3 children.

(1) L ars m arried K ate F isher—3 children—Doreen, A ndrew and K enneth.

(2) L arsine m arried W. Stevenson—2 children—Alan and Ethel.

(3) A lfred w orked on the E ast Rand.

Mr. B jorklund and his fam ily left early for Johannesburg.

He died in a m ine accident, bu t his w idow lived to a great age.

92

Mr. and Mrs. Anders Bjorkelund

Lot 32 w as allotted to H arem , but he soon returned to N orw ay and it w as sold.

Lots 33 and 34 ohn Oie, wife K arn—2 children—Ludvig and Anna.

K arn Oie died in 1889, and John and his son in 1891. T heir daugh­ te r A nna w as adopted by the Rev. Stavem. Olai and Malene V atne came w ith Oies. Olai w ent to Pondoland w here he died.

M alene m arried in M aritzburg and later w ent to England.

Rev. and Mrs. Stavem with Anna Ole

93

Lots 33 and 34 w ere sold to English Settlers.

Lot 35 Borgesens who returned to N orw ay. It was taken over by Johannes Londal and his wife R agnhild—2 daughters.

(1) M artha m arried Iver Carlsen—8 children—Carl, Jessie, M argit, Paul, N orm an, Oscar, Ivy and Alan.

(2) Madga m arried Carl Buller—3 children—H enry E dith and Victor.

Follow ing Londal’ early death his widow m arried Johan M yklebust. They had th ree sets of tw ins, K arine and Johanne K n ut and Nils, John and Amalie.

(1) K arine m arried P. A. Pedersen—3 children—Oscar, K athleen and E sther.

(2) Johanne m arried A. Morck — 1 children—Reginald, Judith, R uth and K ristian.

(3) K nut m arried Ida Cooper—3 children Pearl, Horace and Phyllis.

(4) Nils—unm arried.

(5) John m arried K itty Doig—6 children—H endrina, John, Edw ard, Robert, Norm an and Sylvia.

(6) Amalie—died in infancy.

Johan also died early and the widow struggled to feed and bring up h er large family. She w as a tru e C hristian whose faith did not fail and all th eir needs w ere supplied.

John Myklebust and Family 94

Lot 36 Hans Andreasen, wife Gurine—5 children.

(1) (2) (3) (4) (5)

A rth u r m arried M arie P ahr—2 children—G ilbert and Roy. Edw in m arried A nne Rozitsky—4 children—Violet, Joy Daphne and Thea.

A gnes m arried Mr. D uriex—2 children—Edna and Jean.

Inga m arried K en Kilby—no children.

H ans died from Spanish Influenza.

Hans Andreasen and Family L ot 37 K nut Hageselle, wife Johanne—4 children.

A fter a few years, th is fam ily returned to Norw ay and the Lot was sold to English people.

Lot 38 Peder E rtresvaag, wife P etrine—F irst couple to be m arried in th e M ar­ burg N orw egian C hurch—3 foster children.

(1) P eder Goshen m arried M argaret A nnette F erreira—10 children—Esme, Glen, Owen (died), Lynette, Joan, P eterbryn (died), Stenning, Oscar, June and D uncan.

(2) B ertie Bergesen m arried Em m a G etgate—4 children—Adam, Iris, Violet, L orraine. T heir m other stayed w ith E rtresvaags.

(3) G ustav m arried Cecelia Seagreen— 1 child—Sonja.

L ot 39 Jakob Ribbestad, wife Olave.

T hey w ere good farm ers. T heir cattle w ere well looked after and th e couple w as honoured by th eir neighbours. L ater they sold th eir farm and returned to Norw ay.

95

Lot 40 Isaac R affteseth, wife Ingeborg—10 children.

(1) Ella m arried Th. Nielsen in Johannesburg.

(2) Kezia was a teacher in G overnm ent and Mission schools.

(3) Cecil is m arried and lives in Pretoria.

(4) Josepha m arried Mr. Counihan—3 children—Zenetta, Patrick and Elsa.

(5) Ingram m arried Jill Baker—2 children—John and Gerald.

(6) Gusta m arried L. M artinussen—2 children—Law rence (died) and Mary.

(7) P etra has been a teacher for m any years.

(8) John m arried—1 son—Jam es. He becam e an engineer and lives in Scotland.

(9) M argit m arried John Brow n—3 children—Nesta, Beryl and John.

(10) Josephine died early.

Isak Raffteseth and Family Lots 41 and 42 F rederic Bodtker, w ife Cecilia— 4 children.

(1) F ritz w as a builder. He w as killed in th e Boer W ar.

(2) Paul w as drow ned in a flood at Um zinto.

(3 and 4) Rebecca and M arie rem ained at the farm . They helped sick B antu and ran a school for them.

96

Lot 43 P eder Dahle, w ife Ane—1 daughter.

(1) P etra m arried M artin Kvalsvig—2 sons—Cedric and Denzil.

A fter Mr. D ahle’s death in a m ine in Johannesburg, Ane m arried J. M elsater and they had 4 children.

(1) B ertha m arried C ourtney Neal.

(2) Sigvald m arried Svenborg V anvig—2 children—Ingrid and M aurice (died) (3) Sara m arried A ndrew Vinjevold—1 son—Roy. (4) C hristine m arried St. John Gilbert.

Peder and Ane Dahle Lot 44 Johannes K jon­ stad, w ife Ane—1 daugh­ ter.

(1) D ina m arried P eter Skorpen—4 children — H jalm ar, E rling (died), M ilton and Evangeline.

Johannes K jonstad w as a good C hristian be­ loved by all. H is farm w as by th e U m zim kulu R iver and he ow ned a sm all boat in w hich he tran sp o rted fru it to the railw ay in P ort Shep­ stone and in w hich he often took visitors for

a row.

Johannes Kjonstad and Family 97

Olaus Skjerve and his second wife Louise w ith th eir one surviving daughter (R uth and R obert died early) farm ed w ith K jonstads. T hey m oved to D urban w here th ere w ere better prospects in the building trade. T heir daughter H anna m arried Leif Stabell and th ey have 4 children. Elsa, Astrid, Olaf and Solveig.

Olaus Skjerve and Family

Gustav Kjonstad and Family

98

Lots 45 and 46 Gustav Kjonstad, wife Elise—4 children.

(1) Ingeborg unm arried. Besides teaching she helped young and old, and also th e Bantu.

(2) T hom ine unm arried. She w orked hard and well as a teacher.

(3) G ustav m arried Elsie M allett—3 children—Victor, Douglas and Joyce.

(4) Elise m arried H erbert F uller a chem ist—2 daughters—Carm en (died) and Gloria.

K jonstad w as th e first teacher at th e M arburg School. He w as of great assistance w ith E nglish correspondence during the first years.

W ith Kjonsitad cam e Em il and Dagm a Holte. Em il died in th e Boer W ar, bu t Dagma m arried Sven Olsen in Johannesburg and they have 4 children.

(1) Olaf took p art in the w ar in W est Africa and died soon after.

(2) Jen n y lives w ith h e r parents a t Z eerust in the Transvaal.

(3) D agm ar m arried Mr. Botha a t Zeerust—9 children—Roderick, Dagmar, Jaco­ bus (died), Elizabeth (died), M argaret, W innie, Thenius, Helga and Olaf.

(4) H ilda m arried Mr.Geyser—5 children— Thelm a, K urt, Rudolf, Doreen and Ingrid.

L ina P ettersen also came w ith th e K jonstads. She m arried a cabinet m aker C hris­ tian Reim in M aritzburg and th ey have 2 sons.

Sven Olsen and Family

99

Lina and Christian Reim and Family (1) F erdinand m arried Geraldine Saunders—2 children—M ervin and Hazel.

He is a m ining engineer in Johannesburg.

(2) E rnest m arried Phyllis Roland—3 children—Linda, Ingrid and C hristopher.

He is a lecturer at H ow ard College in Durban.

Lot 48 w as taken over by Mr. Tuckel. He built a beautiful hom e but died soon afterw ards.

Lot 49 Ole Valdai, wife Beate—8 children.

(1) Marie m arried F. W. E vans and lived ni D urban—1 child—Florence.

(2) Olaf unm arried. He w as the youngest passenger on board the “L apland” being only 7 weeks old.

100

(3) G ustav m arried D orothy Jucks in Rhodesia—3 children—Stanley, P eter and Joan.

(4) Oscar unm arried.

(5) Em il m arried Doris E vans in D urban—2 children—Gillian and Iver.

(6) Law rence m arried Nellie Bea­ ton in D urban—no children.

(7) M argit m arried H arry Tayfield —2 children—Lois and Glen.

(8) Theolina died early.

W ith the Yaldals came Regine John­ son. She m arried R. A. Kjode in D urban and th ey had 4 children: (1) John m arried E sth er N egaard —4 children—Aileen, Mavis, Ronald and Eric.

(2) Malla m arried Melton Schiever —4 children—-Raymond, D errick, Rene and Anor.

(3) Ellen m arried R obert Fell—2 children — N orm an (died) and A rthur.

(4) A ndrew unm arried.

O. Valdai and Family

Regina and R. A. Kjode 101

Lot 50 Endre Bjorseth, wife Anne— 8 children.

(1) A nna m arried F ran k P ugh—7 children—Petrine, Cyril, F rances, Ivy, Thelma, L orraine and Iris.

(2) Peder m arried Sophie H ufft—1 son—Franz.

(3) Alfred unm arried. He died in Pondoland.

(4) Olivia m arried K nut Gidske—1 daughter—Myrtle.

(5) Alida m arried W. M oorcroft in Durban. L ater they returned to M ar­ burg.

(6) Olaf m arried D orothy Maple-—7 children — Edw ard, Thelm a, Alec, Lulu, Qlive, Dorothea and Loraine.

(7) Em m a m arried Alex A nderson—2 children—E rn est and Edna.

(8) Rachel m arried Oscar Kvalsvig—1 daughter—Mavis.

Entire Bjorseth and Family

W ith the B jorseths cam e Ellen Ekornes. She m arried John Johnson a Swede and they had 8 children.

(1) George m arried Amy Macdonald—• 1 daughter—Gladys.

L ater re-m arried—1 daughter—Inez.

(2) Em il m arried May H arte—2 child­ ren—Mavis and Gertie.

(3) Lena m arried N oralf Nero—6 children — Sidney, Ralph, Doris, N atalie K enneth and Cynthia.

(4) Jenn y m arried O. Pow drell—3 chi’dren—Phyllis. Eileen and Daphne.

(5) H anna m arried F red C hristison— 2 children—M arjorie (died) and Alan.

(6) Alice unm arried.

(7) G ertie m arried C. S. Neve.

(8) Ella m arried S. H arber—2 child­ ren—E ric and Ellenor.

Both George and Em il w ere overseers for th e Tongaat Sugar Co.

f//eii an d 102

John

Jo/mson

L ot 35 w as sub-divided and Elias A ndreasen settled on one of the lots in 1890, wife E line—4 children.

(1) B orghild unm arried.

(2) H jalm a m arried H ardy Daddy—1 son—Colin.

(3) A lfred m arried M arjorie H arris—1 child—Elvin.

(4) E rn est m arried M yra Adams—2 children—B ryan and Leslie.

Elias A ndreasen w as th e signaller a t P o rt Shepstone lighthouse for 32 years. Both A lfred and E rn est becam e signallers a t D urban lighthouse.

Abel A ndreasen and his w ife H anna cam e out in 1891. They had 4 children. They m oved to Oribi F lats and later to D urban.

(1) M arie m arried Axel F rykberg—1 son—Theodor.

(2) A rth u r m arried Elizabeth D eyerm ond—no children.

(3) K atrine m arried C ourtney A vent—3 children—Brian, Eric and Colin.

(4) H arriet m arried Reg. E theridge—3—children—Dennis, Joan and Audrey.

Sven W anvig his wife and 6 children cam e out later. He and his tw o sons Sigurd w ho m arried Tosca and Joakim who m arried Petronella Strudgen w orked at the W haling Station in D urban.

E. Andreassen and Family 103

(3) L ars w as building in P ort Shepstone.

(4) Svenborg m arried S. M elsater—2 children—Ingrid and M aurice (died).

(5) Lily cared for th eir m other at hom e.

(6) Bergliot m arried H arold Edw ards. L ater m arried Jack W atson.

L ars, Lily and th eir m other retu rn ed to N orway.

H arlaug H aarvei, his wife Dina and th e ir 3 children—Johanne, E rling and H ans w ere the last arrivals. L ater they left for D urban w here th eir children m arried.

Jacob H ide m arried Olga H um len a t M arburg. A fter 6 years th ey m oved to Joh an­ nesburg w here th eir 3 children all m arried—Borghild Alf and Agnes.

Abel Andreassen and Family

104

Jakob and Olga Hide

Mathias and Karn Holte Only surviving couple, 7932

The first two born in Marburg Oscar Kvalsig, Ingeborg Kjonstad

105

14. A TRIBUTE BY RUTH BRAUTESETH If first im pressions of people and places are good, it is better still if they continue.

My first visit <to M arburg is one of m y happiest m em ories. N estling in this naturally beautiful “little N orw ay”, lay peaceful, hospitable hom es, behind trees, hedges and flowers.

On th e hill, stands the church, in open view both to ithe sea and to the inland hills, a fitting place for m eeting w ith God—the peaceful graveyard behind th e church under tall trees.

The Norse fam ilies’ welcom e to me, a com­ plete stranger, is unforgettable.

Memories crowd in—a long and happy vacation in Mr. J. N ero’s home, w ith every­ one showing me kindness. N ot long since, a loving m other had been present there. H er C hristian influence and refinem ents w ere reflected in th e young people. Mr. N ero could tell of early days and discuss topical questions. Being on vacation, the young people played and sang, picnicked and vis­ ited. C h rstm as Day in Church—w as m y first Christm as in a foreign land. In th e evening in the Kvalsvig hom e w here fa­ th er and m other enjoyed th e young peo­ ples m usic and song. On Boxing Day, at th e C hristm as festivities in th e church—I forgot to be hom esick—it seem ed so like home.

At the H uffts I found the sam e sp irit of welcome and loving kindness. The recently widowed m other cared not only for h er own, but for anyone in sickness or in need. F or me, she filled m y m other’s place.

And who could forget the w arm handshake of kind old Mr. and Mrs. Lillebo, and th eir genuine smile?

Equally sincere w as the welcome and greeting of Mrs. Valdai, a good house­ wife, and Mr. Valdai, a tru e gentlem an, alw ays bidding: “Come again soon”.

W hen I called on m y neighbour, Mrs. O. Haajem , old and frail, she said, “T hank you for com ing”, and on m y last visit, she said, “I am w aiting to go”.

To m y dear m other-in-law, Johanna B rauteseth, I have a special w ord of praise.

Though th in and frail, alw ays ailing, she w as alw ays bright, w ith a w arm test­ im ony of God’s love and grace. She p ray ed m uch for h er children, h er friends, and God’s work. F or Mission work, she had a real regard.

106

In th e hom es of Mrs. Bjorseth, Mrs. M elsater and Mrs. K jonstad, we still m eet fo r m ission sewing, S cripture reading an d prayer.

W e do revere all these old faithful fam ily fathers and m others w hose faith in God, has kept them through hardships and trials. W e love ito come back for festivals an d re-unions, and never tire of hearing of the early adventures at M arburg.

Oribi Flats â&#x20AC;&#x201D;Giant's Castle

107

15. THE YOUNG GENERATION: ATTAINMENTS A problem w hich soon becam e app aren t to th e new ly-arrived settlers, w as th e som ew hat bleak outlook for the advancem ent of th eir up-growing children, nam ely: the lack of facilities for higher education, and learning of trades. T he school th a t had been established a t M arburg (w ith Mr. G usav K jonstad, as H eadm aster and later, succeeded by Rev. Benjam in Raffteseth) w hile providing pupils w ith a fairly sound foundation in English, it w as obvious th a t those who desired to advance beyond w hat m ight be regarded as the elem entary stage, w ould have to go elsew here in search of higher education. This necessitated th e sending of such pupils to E ng­ lish schools in o th er areas, such as Pieterm aritzburg, D urban and even Cape Town, and th e cost involved w as beyond the m eans of th e ordinary folk in the Settlem ent.

The first young m an to feel the urge for higher education was John Oie, who in 1885, w ent to Norway, w ith th e intention of enrolling as a student in a Mission School, but th is institution w as filled to capacity, and he had to look elsew here; he eventually enrolled in th e “Paul B erg School” in Voss. A fter passing his in ter­ m ediary exam ination in A rts, he came back to South A frica to w ork and earn enough m oney to enable him to fu rth er his studies at U niversity; he w orked in the gold m ines, in Johannesburg, and after 7 years, w hen he had saved enough, he re­ turned to N orw ay and entered a university in Oslo. A fter taking his B.A. w ith distinction, and his M.A. w ith honours Joh n Oie obtained a post as a lecturer at the Moss High School, w here he w orked u n til his death in 1918. John Oie w as a brilliant scholar; he published books, som e of w hich are still used as tex t books in Norw egian schools in Norway; he also contributed articles (to various new spapers, and th e new spaper “M ore” gave a glow ing report of his contributions, w ith special reference to one entitled “17th May, 1900—Boer and E nglishm en”. John Oie w as th e founder, and the first chairm an of th e “C ountry Youth Society” in Oslo, and he frequently acted m oderator a t M athem atics exam inations. As one of our own, w e rem em ber John Oie w ith m uch pride for his outstanding achievem ents.

The next m em ber of the settlem ent to retu rn to Norway, w ith a view to taking Holy O rders w as Peder Aage Rodseth. H e enrolled in th e Mission School in Stavan­ ger, and after he w as ordained, he retu rn ed to South Africa, and settled in Zululand.

F or the last 7 years he has been Superintendent of th e Mission and th eir activi­ ties in Zululand and Natal. In th is capacity Rev. Rodseth travelled a great deal, visiting m ission stations, m any of w hich w ere in rem ote areas, in addition to attend­ ing m any Executive and Com m ittee m eetings.

The th ird to abandon th e “Plough fo r th e book”, w as Johannes Nero, w ho in 1909 left for Norw ay, and entered the M ission School in Stavanger, w here he w as ordained. He cam e back to South Africa in 1915, and settled in Zululand; his first appointm ent w as at th e Mbonambi M ission Station, and later he w as tran sferred to Em pangeni. A fter a few years, Johannes Nero visited Norw ay, and on his retu rn he w as posted to th e K angelani Mission Station, w here he is a t present carrying out his arduous duties.

Dorothea T vedt (born Nero) w as appointed M atron of the G irls’ H ostel of th e N orw egian M ission at Eshowe, in Zululand, after Rev. T vedt’s death in 1910.

108

*

Peder Aage Rodseth

Dorthea Tvedt

Johannes C. Ners

W e th an k God for having guided th e foregoing m em bers of our com m unity into H is w ork, and m ay they long be spared to serve Him. TO OUR MISSIONARIES In answ er to the call of God, And to H is prom ise true, You seek to build the Church of C hrist Ju st w here the L ord sends you.

Am ong the dusky Zulu folk A re precious souls to win; T heir blindness tu rn s to Gospel L ight, As God’s love daw ns w ithin.

‘Tis sw eet the Good News to proclaim , A nd lead th em to th e Light, T hat through th e dear L ord’s precious Name T hey share the Kingdom bright.

No g reater w ork on earth is given U nto th e sons of men; A nd blest is your rew ard in H eaven, W hen C hrist shall come again.

L ater the following young m en qualified in various spheres:— (1) John Kjode—A m em ber of the In stitu te of M arine Engineers. F or some y ears he w as a lecturer a t th e U niversity of Pieterm aritzburg; at present he is in a sim ilar position at the D urban Technical High School.

(2) Oscar Nero—Qualified as a teacher, and has for some years been H ead­ m aster of th e Izotsha G overnm ent School near M arburg.

(3) F erdinand Reim —Took his B.Sc. in M echanical Engineering, and is pre­ sently em ployed on the M odder B Gold Mine, in Johannesburg, as Chief Surveyor.

(4) E rn est Reim —Also took his B. Sc. in M echanical E ngineering and is a lecturer at H ow ard U niversity College in Durban.

109

TEAC H ER S

First row: John Kjode, John Oie, Oscar Nero, Ernest Reim, Ludvig Larsen.

Second row: Kezia Raffteseth, Thomine Kjonstad, Gertie Johnson, Ragnhild Hojem, Margit Carlsen.

Third row: Alicia Berg, Dina Kjonstad, Alida Bjorseth, Louise Oie, Myrtle Gidske.

Fourth row: Marie Rodseth, Petra Raffteseth, Anna Nero, Marie Hufft, Bertha Nero.

Fifth row: Elsie Kjonstad, Ellen Kjode, Malla Kjode, Katrine Hojem, Ptra Dahle.

Sixth row: Lina Hufft, Ingeborg Kjonstad, Sara Melseter, Gusta Raffteseth, Rachel Bjorseth.

Photos missing of the following: Sara Bsattie, Helene Ask, Ella Johnson, Judith Morck, Lovise Lillebo, G udrun Meydel and Valborg Johnson.

(5) Ludvig L arsen—Qualified in Johannesburg, but w ent to th e U.S.A. for further, studies, and is now a lecturer in electrotechnics at a university in New York.

(6) F rederick R odseth—Joined the G overnm ent service and through his intim ate know ledge of th e B antu and th eir language, he eventually becam e U nder S ecretary for N ative (Bantu) A ffairs in Pretoria.

(7) W illie Bazley—Joined the N atal Public W orks D epartm ent and attained the position of Roads Inspector in N o rthern Natal.

(8) K ristian B rauteseth— Also joined the Public W orks D epartm ent, func­ tioned as a Road O verseer un til h e retired.

Several of our girls w ere desirous of entering the teaching profession. The follow­ ing w en t to the G reytow n (N atal) T raining College. In 1898, A nna Nero and Ingeborg K jonstad w ent to the College and qualified as teachers. They w ere later followed by:— Ella and Josepha R affteseth; Lina H ufft; G ertie Jacobson; P etra Dahle; Malla Kjode; B ertha Nero; M immie and Elise K jonstad.

Several of th e foregoing later took U niversity degrees at Pieterm aritzburg, w hile Ingeborg K jonstad took h ers at P retoria U niversity.

W hen a T eachers’ T raining College w as established in P ieterm aritzburg the follow ing enrolled there:— Oscar and B ertha Nero; M arie H ufft; R aghild and K athrine Hojem; G ertie Jacobson; Kezia, Gusta and P etra R affteseth; M argit Carlsen; Alicia Berg and Sara Beattie.

M yrtle Gidske qualified as a teacher at th e Girls Collegiate in Pieterm aritzburg; Ella Johnson qualified at th e Technical College in Durban; Ellen Kjode qualified as a pupil teach er in Durban; and Lovise Oie passed h er Teachers’ exam ination a t Eveline H igh School in Bulaw ayo in Rhodesia. Judith Morck took Arts, in Durban. O thers to qualify as teachers are:— Alida and Rachel Bjorseth; Lovise Lillebo; Dina Kjonstad; Valborg Johnsen; E rling Meydell.

Malla Kjode w as supervisor in Scientific Dress-m aking at th e Technical College in Pieterm aritzburg. H elene Ask is a teacher in Norway.

Am ong others to qualify in higher education, at various centres were:— S tanley Vinjevold; F ran z Bjorseth; John R uby and Olga H ansen; E rling Skorpen; Inga Lind; M avis Kvalsvig; Sidney and Leslie Nero; Edna Andersen; K arl and Aagot H alland; Solveig Nero; and Milton Skorpen.

K ristian H ojem qualified in Mechanics; and Peder Johannesen obtained a M erit C ertificate in M echanics. K enneth P roud passed his Science exam ination in C hem istry and Physics. Olaf, Jonas and Teis Ask are students in Norway.

The following qualified as nursing sisters at th e various centres indicated after th eir nam es:— A ndrea Nilsen; E m m a Bjorseth; Inga and Jenny Standal; Josepha Raffteseth; H jordis Meydell and R andi Nilsen at A ddington H ospital in Durban.

Jen n y K ipperberg; Rebekka Olsen; Ivy and L orraine Pugh at th e G eneral H ospital, Johannesburg; w hile D orethea K ipperberg did h er train ing at th e M essina H ospital in th e N orthern T ransvaal. M argrethe R odseth trained in England and Norway, and is n u rsin g at a N orw egian M ission in Zululand.

B ertha M elsater; A gnes Lind; Alfa Minot; and Inga H aajem qualified as nursing sisters including m id-wifery, and some as T heatre (operating) sisters.

B ertha and C arm en M arthinusen took up Physical C ulture train ing and directed their w ork especially tow ards disabled or physically unfit persons.

111

NURSES

First row: Randl Nilsen, Emma Bjorseth, Hjordis Meydell, Inga Hajem.

Second row: Jenny and Inga Standahl, Margrete Rodseth, Jenny Kipperberg, K anutte Oie. Third row: Andrea Nilsen, Thelma and Lorraine Pugh, Kornelia Oie. Fourth row: Thea Kipperberg, Bertha and Kitty Melseter, Josepha Raffteseth.

Photos missing of the following: Rebekka Olsen, Agnes Lind, Kaia and Gudve Rogne, Alfa Minot, Carmen and Bertha Martinussen, Ivy Pugh.

All the girls who qualified in th e N ursing profession have acquitted them selves well. T hey w ere held in high regard for th eir efficiency and loyalty to th e cause, and several obtained high positions in th e nursing field.

A num ber of our young men w ent into the building trade as bricklayers, carpenters, plasterers, painters, etc. and have acquitted them selves well, and w orked in various areas.

112

T he follow ing took up farm ing:— R asm us Nilsen, K arl H aajem and John K valsvig at M arburg.

N oralf N ero and A nders K notten (W attle cattle and poultry) at M urchison Flats.

M artin Kvalsvig, A lfred A nderson and G ustav K jonstad (cattle and maize) near H arding.

Isaac L ind and Isaac Sigvald and D aniel Igesund, Sigurd, Law rence and E rn est Johannesen (Cattle and maize) on Oribi F lats.

O thers w ho carried ou t farm ing operations at M arburg were:— Edw in and K edar H olte (Maize, cattle a n d fruit) W illie H ufft sugar cane (near the sugar Mill) Olaf V injevold (sugar cane and dairy) A ndreas V injevold (mixed farm ing) G ustav and G uttorm Oie w ent fu rth er afield and are farm ing in Rhodesia.

A part from th e foregoing, several of ou r young m en w ent to w ork on the Gold M ines and engineering concerns etc. in Johannesburg, and rem ained for varying periods, before com ing back to M arburg. These were:— Peder, Olaf, A ndreas and A lfred Vinjevold; Edw ard, K arl and Lugvig Haajem ; K ristian B rauteseth and G ustav K jonstad.

The following rem ained perm anently on th e m ines and other industrial concerns:— L ars and A lfred Birkelund; Peter, B ernt and Benoni Gidske: A ndreas and Olaf A ndersen; A nders and John A ndersen; H arry, A rth u r and Percy Munger; John Johnson; Alf H ide and G ilbert A ndreasen.

Peder Johannesen w as em ployed by a D urban firm w hich installed lifts in build­ ings, his duties being the inspection and m aintenance of lifts. (He w as accidentlly killed, w hen a lift fell on him w hile w orking at th e bottom of th e lift-shaft.)

The following are m otor m echanics:— F ran k Berg; Stanley Tuckell; George Boyd; H enry Molyneux; Axel and Oscar M arthinusen and G ustav Larsen, w hile P eder H aajem and Ole Olsen are electricians, and Oscar V injevold is a hoist driver on a gold mine.

Em ployed in th e Railw ays A dm inistration are:— A ndrew Kjode; Joh n K ipperberg an d Em il Valdai (in a clerical capacity), and th e follow ing are engine drivers:— L aw rence Valdai and Oswald Jacobson.

E lectricians:— Nils Brudevig; L udvig Dahle; Algot Nym an; Bennie Andersen; W alter and H arry Berg; Ole B rauteseth; F rederik Nilsen; V ictor Vinjevold; N orm an Carlsen; H arry B uller and Eddie M orrison w hile Oscar Carlsen and E rn est A nder­ sen are telegraph technicians.

Those engaged in com m ercial, in du strial and other occupations are:— Oscar K valsvig—storekeeper a t Izingolw eni; Edw in A ndreasen—storekeeper at Pun zi Drift; A rth u r A ndreasen—clerical—P ort Shepstone; Olaf B jorseth—storekeeper at Isipingo; Ingram R affteseth—banking in E ast Africa; E dw ard H aajem —lim e w orks P ort Shepstone; H arold M arthinusen has h is own electrical business in Johannesburg; E rn st Phillipsen—factory m anager in D enm ark; Edw in Standal—com m ercial travel­ er—D urban; P aul K valsvig n atu ral gas w o rk s n ear Harding.

A m ong th e young w om en em ployed in stores and offices are:— Agnes and Inga A ndreasen; F rances Berg; Phyllis Boyd; Sylvia Johnsen; Gudve and M argrethe Berg; and Alm a Jacobsen (N ative A ffairs D epartm ent—Johannesburg.

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Chemists:— John Vinjevold—P ort Sheptsone; Anton and H arold Hojem —P ieter­ m aritzburg Dentist:— Victor Ash—Johannesburg.

Lighthouse Keepers:— E. K. A ndreasen—P ort Shepstone; A lfred A ndreasen— Durban; E rn est Andreasen-—Cape Town.

Police:— G ustav Valdai (Sergt.); Ole B rauteseth and Carl Lillebo.

Blacksm iths:— M onrad Holte—M arburg; John M yklebust—P ieterm aritzburg.

Photography:— V ictor Phillipsen in D enm ark.

W atch Maker:— Leif N ilsen—D urban Shoem akers:— Theodor F rykberg—D urban; Alan Stevenson.

Comm ercial Travellers:— Freddie Johnson; Cecil R affteseth—Johannesburg.

P ainters (House):—Philip B uttgereit.

Sugar field overseers:— George and Em il Johnson—Tongaat; Sigvald M elsater— La Mercy; H arry Bazley—Ifafa; Peder Goschen------P ort Shepstone.

D ressm akers:— R agna Hojem; M arie Berg; Anna Lillebo; M arie Valdai; Sophie Hufft; Elise Andersen; Mimmie Andersen; Jenny Johnson; H annah and Olga K ipperberg. Ingeborg Oie and Nora H aajem are m angeresses in dress-m aking estab­ lishm ents in Durban. Olivia Bjorseth - had h er own dress-m aking business in Pieterm aritzburg. «, Tailoring:—Phyllis and Gwen T restrail, and Lillian M orrison.

M illinery:— M argit Valdai; Dora L arsen and H arriet A ndreasen.

M unicipal B ath Superintendent:— G ertie H arris—Durban.

Music (Advanced Piano):— Ellen Kjode—Durban; H annah Skjerve—Durban; Joseph W ade-Dundee (piano and violin); Elsa Counihan—violin; Sidney Nero—violin.

Singing:— Agnes Lind—operatic—Norw ay.

Sport:— M any of the young m en took an active p art in various branches of sport and acquitted them selves well.

Rifle shooting:— G uttorm Oie; Edw ard, Karl, Ole and Ludvig Haajem , and A rth u r A ndreasen.

H orse Riding:— Olivia B jorseth w as an accom plished equestrienne.

The following N orw egians pictured overleaf w ere m em bers of the P ort Shepstone Row ing Club—founded in 1905.

Oscar Kvalsvig; H ans G. A ndreasen; K nut Bazley; Elias Andreasen; K n ut Gidske; Edw in A ndreasen; A rth ur A ndreasen; Nor alf Nero; Jacob Hide; Dr. T. M. H augen.

T he P ort Shepstone Rowing Club w as affiliated to the South A frican Rowing Assoc­ iation w hich enabled crews to com pete against clubs throughout South Africa.

In 1907 P ort Shepstone sent a crew to D urban and raced against D urban and E ast London Clubs. (The racing boats w ere out-rigged fours). The P o rt Shepstone crew consisted of K nut Bazley; Edw in Andreasen; A rth u r A ndreasen and Lionel Taylor w ith Stanley B atstone as cox. The race w as won by E ast London w ith P ort Shep­ stone second.

In 1908 a P ort Shepstone crew took p a rt in a race on the Zam besi River, at Livingstone—they row ed in a boat th a t w as lent to them , w hich w as in poor shape in th at it leaked badly w ith the result th a t it failed to finish the course.

P rio r to the form ation of the Rowing Club, races w ere occasionally held or. th e U m zim kulu R iver w hen ordinary row ing boats w ere used. Some of those who 114

Norwegian members of the "Port Shepstone Rowing Clubâ&#x20AC;?

Above: Oscar Kvalsvig, Hans G. Andreassen, H. K nut Bazley, Elias Andreassen.

Below: K nut R. Gidske, Edvin -T. Andreassen, Arthur H. E. Andreassen, Noralf O. Naero.

During a regatta â&#x20AC;&#x201D;Port Shepstone Rowing Club 115

participated in these races were:— Elias A ndreasen, K nut Gidske, Jacob Hide and Dr. Haugen.

In 1914, w hen the first W orld W ar broke out, the Row ing Club becam e defunct, and several attem pts to resuscitate it a fter the w ar proved unsuccessful, and thait w as the end of the P ort Shepstone Row ing Club, after a very successful period of approxim ately 10 years.

Tennis:— M arie A ndreasen did particularly well in tennis. She played in th e Southern D istricts first team , in league m atches, in both w om en’s and Mixed doubles and won m any prizes.

Oscar Nero and Oscar Kvalsvig also took an active p art in tennis and won prizes in tournam ents.

A lbert Sarson, who w as domiciled in Bulawayo, Rhodesia, w as a top-grade player, and played against a visiting team from England.

General:— Several of the younger generation have done well in various spheres, especially in the academic field, and we have good reason to be proud of th eir achievem ents, and th an k God for having blessed them w ith th e ability to attain these achievem ents. Despite high academic qualifications none of the N orw egian young m en becam e doctors, advocates o r m agistrates but we look forw ard to the next generation to attain these high offices— there is plenty of room at th e top.

Original Settlers at the 49th Anniversary 116

S o m e of our boys in W o r l d W a r I

Top row: H. Anton Hoyer, Lieut, in Air Force (Egypt and Palestine); Emil B. Berg (East Africa), K nut Myklebust (West Africa), Alfred Andreasen (West Africa, Anton Hojem, Air Force (France).

Second row: Eddie Beattie, Frank Berg (West Africa, Daniel Igesund West Africa), Paul Kvalsvig (West Africa).

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16. SOCIAL LIFE Landing D ay Celebrations — 20th Anniversary—18 8 2 —19 0 2

by K. M arthinusen

The 29th August, 1902 was a typical South A frican sum m ers day—fine and sunny; th e church and schoolroom w ere beautifully decorated w ith flow ers and greenery, giving the occasion a tru ly festive atm osphere.

Between the two large window s at th e back of the schoolroom, a large flag had been placed bearing th e inscription: “W elcom e” and “How good it is th a t breth ern live together”, on a red background and fine gold lettering. Below th is flag w as ano th er flag bearing th e inscription: “A ugust 1882—1902”, which, w ith the floral decorations m ade an im pressive picture.

Picnic at Umzimkulu. 20th Anniversary 1902 Among those who attended the festivities, special m ention m ust be m ade of th e following: M issionaries S. Eriksen, N. B raatvedt and Aage Rodseth, w ith th eir wives; the R everends H. A strup and E. Berg, also accompanied by th e ir wives; E. Berg being th e settlem ent’s first parson.

The festivities on this day, the 29th of A ugust 1902, began w ith a service con­ ducted by P astor Eriksen; his tex t being: “Jesus’ T ransfiguration on th e M ount” a tru ly blessed occasion. A fter th e m ain program m e, th ere w ere several speeches, and songs by th e choir.

The day after these festivities a large party w ent by boat for a picnic, 7 m iles up th e U m zim kulu River, and thoroughly enjoyed the day.

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La n d in g D a y Celebrations—25th Anniversary—18 8 2 —1 9 0 7 Contributed by 0. Valdai

Tw enty-five years have elapsed since w e arrived in N atal, and we look back w ith th a n k s to God for H is guidance during all those years; during good and bad tim es H e has guided us in a w onderful w ay, and His patience has been great.

T he festivities w ere opened w ith a service conducted by Rev. Halland, the new ly appointed settlem ent’s parson. H is tex t was: This is th e day created by th e Lord—let us rejoice and be glad”. T hese w ords and the address w ere a great inspiration, for both young and old. The B rass band u n d er th e leadership of Peder Lillebo, played m usic, th eir item s being interspersed w ith songs by the choir.

Picnic —25th Anniversary 1907

A fter th e church service, the gathering assem bled in th e graveyard, w here Col. J. F. R ethm an unveiled a m onum ent erected in m em ory of the boys w ho fell in the Boer W ar of 1899—1900. In his address, Colonel R ethm an referred to th e loyalty, and w illm gness to serve, of those w ho paid th e suprem e sacrifice. P astor Rodseth also addressed th e gathering. He referred, w ith grief, to those “who did not come back”, and th e serious aspect of life and death. T he local troop of th e B order M ounted Rifles and th e P ort Shepstone School Cadets w ere in attendance. The buglers sounded th e “L ast P ost”, w hile th e “F ra m ” choir rendered several appropriate num bers w hich high-lighted th e proceedings.

Am ong th e personalities w ho attended the A nniversary celebrations were: Rev. and Mrs. E riksen, Rev. Rodseth, Mr. and Mrs. K ristian Rodseth, Mr. and Mrs. F riis N ilsen, and Mr. and Mrs. Kjode.

T he after-lunch speeches, m usic and songs, w ere a feature of th e proceedings, and enjoyed by all. It w as a great pleasure to m eet old freinds, and have a chat about olden days. T he following day th e re w as a picnic up the river w ith m ore m usic from th e band.

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Committee and Helpers â&#x20AC;&#x201D;25th Anniversary 1907

Home of Mr. and Mrs. E. K. Andreassen

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M arburg Settlement’ s Firs t 1 7 th M ay Festival—1 9 1 4 Contributed by J. Nero (Snr.)

The settlers of M arburg celebrated th e 17th of May for the first tim e in 1914, and as th e occasion co-incided w ith N orw ay’s 100th A nniversary celebrations of th a t historical day, it w as only rig h t an d fitting th a t reference should be m ade to th e historical aspect of N orw ay’s independence day. It should also serve as a hope and w ish, th a t th e younger generation of the M arburg Com m unity should b ear in m ind th e older folk and rejoice w ith them , and N orw egians w herever th ey m ay b e 'in th e w orld, on th is occasion.

The w eather w as fine and sunny, an d as it happened to be a Sunday, ithe festivities w ere preceeded by a church service, attended by a large num ber.

A fter th e service, greetings w ere exchanged w ith friends and relations, some of w hom had come from distant places.

Home of Mr. and Mrs. Tuckell on Lot 48

40th Anniversary 121

The N orw egian flag fluttered in th e gentle breeze on the flag-pole at th e en­ trance to th e building. It w as rightly said in the m ain address, th a t it w as our Lord, and not m an, w ho had w atched over our folk up north, and saved th eir hom elands from being overrun. He had led th e country and its people to freedom .

Lunch w as served at 2 o’clock; th e hall w as beautifully decorated w ith bunting and flowers, and also palm s. A large flag, bearing the, im print: “W elcom e”, to­ gether w ith th e well-known Norw egian words: “God is present” in w hite lettering.

N earby hung N orw ay’s beautiful em broidered Coat-of-Arms.

A fter lunch, congratulatory telegram s from various persons w ere read, likew ise a copy of a cable sent to K ing Haakon, w hich read: “M arburg Com m unity, Natal, send congratulations on th e occasion of your Jubilee—God’s blessing on the people of our F ath erland”. A reply from King H aakon w as also read, saying: “H aakon 17th May. I th an k M arburg Com m unity for friendly cable and good w ishes”.

A telegram from Consul Egeland, in D urban, read: “N orw egians in D urban send greetings and w ish you all an enjoyable festival. God protect old N orw ay”. The gathering stood w hile its sentim ents w ere expressed in these words: “H ealth and H appiness for N orw ay’s King, Land and Folk”. Music and songs w ere rendered during the afternoon, and th e successful proceedings term inated in an atm osphere of enjoym ent.

A 1 7 th May Celebration at M arburg—1 9 2 1 Contributed by Ruth Brauteseth

On the 17th May, 1921, practically all the N orw egians in M arburg and P ort Shepstone foregathered in the M arburg School H all for an evening’s entertainm ent.

One sensed the festive atm osphere as soon as one entered the hall, w hich was tastefully decorated w ith bunting and greenery for the occasion.

The proceedings com m enced w ith a church service, conducted by P astor Awes, after w hich th e choir sang “Yes, W e Love Our C ountry” m ost effectively. W ith the m em ory of this well-known and m elodious itune, we w ere forcibly rem inded of th e happy 17th of May celebrations at hom e in Norw ay, and th e longing for such brilliant evening celebrations, w as very m arked. A fter an address by Mrs. Awes, Oscar Nero played a delighful violin solo accom panied on the piano by Inga Haajem .

The solo, “K an du glem m e gamle N orge” (Can you forget old N orw ay?”) sung by Pastor Awes, was m ost im pressive, and m uch appreciated by one and all, and added to th e significance of (the occasion. A fter th e choir had sung: “Norges Love” (The lion of th e N orth) Mr. J. Nero, senr. gave an interesting historic resum e of events since th e year 1814 (when N orw ay obtained h er independance) and th e significance of the occasion, w hich m ade th e 17th of May N orw ay’s N ational Day of Independ­ ence. As 'the speaker had attended several 17th of May celebrations in different parts of Norw ay, he could give a tru e picture of the significance of th e occasion.

This talk w as particularly interesting to th e younger people, w ho had not been to Norway. The tuneful m elodies on the violin and piano w ent a long w ay tow ards m aking th e festival enjoyable. A fter th e choir had sung: “Jeg vil vaerge m it L and” (I w ill defend m y country) Mr. O. Valdai gave an interesting talk on the S ettlem ent’s affairs in general. T he occasion gave people th e opportunity to greet friends and enjoy a convivial chat. A fter partaking of plentiful refreshm ents, th e 122

gatherin g listened to m usical item s and songs. A song by Johannes Hojem, w as follow ed by piano solos played by Joh n V injevold and Alicia Berg. The choir sang: â&#x20AC;&#x153;D er ringes paa jord (There rings on E arth ). The proceedings concluded w ith the singing of a hym n and th e E nglish N ational Anthem .

Finally, it w as tim e to part, after people had enthusiastically expressed th eir enjoym ent of a very successful function.

Mrs. J. Egeland 123

Th e 50th Anniversary 29th August, 18 8 2 —29th August, 19 3 2

by Consul Egeland

H appiness and hope filled the souls of the em igrants, and th eir eyes brightened as the S.S. “L apland” dropped anchor at P ort N atal’s (D urban) outer anchorage, on th e 28th of August, 1882. T he prom ised land, w hich Mr. W alter Peace described to them as flow ing w ith m ilk and honey, had been reached, and the long voyage from A alesund w as a t an end. D urban struck the em igrants as a beautiful and friendly place, w ith th e Berea and Bluff covered w ith forests; th e large green cane fields, stretching northw ards from th e Umgeni River, indicated prosperity, w hich, under w inter conditions, heartened the farm ers from Sonnm ore (Aalesund) and instilled hope of good prospects in N atal.

Consul Egeland 124

The paddle-steam er, “F o reru n n er”, soon drew up alongside the “L apland”, and G overnm ent representatives w ere hoisted aboard in baskets; they had come to extend a welcom e to th e V iking folk of th e M idnight sun to the G arden Colony of South Africa, w here th ey w ould settle. Mr. G. Cato, D urban’s first Mayor, who w as also the H arbour M aster gave the settlers a h earty handshake; as did Mr. H. T. Bru-deW old, w ho accom panied Mr. Cato. Mr. Bru-de-Wold, a prom inent Norsem an, whose farm “Eidsw old” w as adjacent to th e farm s allotted to the settlers situated about 7 m iles up, on th e no rth bank of th e U m zim kulu River. A nother encouraging and kind welcom e cam e from Mr. John Robinson, the E ditor of the “N atal M ercury”, a D urban daily new spaper. Mr. Robinson said he was confident th at th e folk from the N orth w ould tackle such problem s as m ight confront them w ith a determ ination to m ake th eir m ark in th eir new hom eland. An excellent leading article, w ritten

by Mr. Robinson him self, appeared subsequentil in th e N atal M ercury, praising the high calibre of th e settlers he had m et. Mr. Robinson w as th e first A dm inistrator of N atal; later he w as knighted, and becam e Sir john Robinson.

E verything seem ed brig ht and hopeful as the “L apland” steam ed south, tow ards th e U m zim kulu River, w here the settlers w ere to disem bark. And so approached th e m eaningful event, nam ely, th e landing on the 29th of August 1882, frau ght w ith forebodings of likely disappointm ents in th e new hom eland. The sight from the “L apland”, as she lay at anchor outside th e entrance to th e U m zim kulu River, did not im press the folk from Sonnm or and Aalesund. No inviting vegetation here;

Mrs. A. E. Larsen 125

grass and m ore grass, dry, dreary. T here w as no harbour, as such, and only the sm all, alm ost flat-bottom ed steam er, “th e Som tseu”, could negotiate th e difficult and shallow entrance to th e river, and then only during spring tides. A ny apprehen­ sion the settlers m ay have harboured, increased, w hen later in the day they w ere show n th eir respective farm s, w ith the prim itive grass-thatched huts, provided by the G overnm ent authorities; th ere w ere surely tears in th e w om en’s eyes th a t even­ ing. W hat do w e w an t here? Norway, our m otherland, w hy did we forsake you? Thus, no doubt, m any thought, and w ished them selves back in the com fortable hom es they had left behind. B ut th e householders found hope and encouragm ent in the Holy Book, and thanked, as did Joshua, th e Lord, who hith erto helped them , and prayed for H eaven’s blessing over th e M arburg Settlem ent. A new “L ittle N orw ay” m ust be created here, and th e Norse language and culture m ust be perpetuated. The barren land w as prepared for cultivation, and M arburg w as to be transform ed into a Canaan, w ith both m ilk and honey; a garden w ithin th e “G arden Colony”, w ith com fortable hom es replacing the grass huts. The m otherland’s heritage, its language and custom s m ust be upheld. T hanks to sons of “Sonnm or for th eir toughness, strong -will, and th eir love of th eir Hom eland, Norway. If the optim istic anticipation of both the G overnm ent and the em igrants did not prove fruitful to th e full, th e blam e is due to th e fact th a t P o rt Shep­ stone w as a port in nam e only, and not been navigable for 40 years. The harbour, w hich had functioned until th e railw ay reached N orth Shepstone, in 1901, had ben a m eans—though slow and costly of dispatching to m ar­ ket, in D urban, such farm produce as w as av ailab le; its abandonm ent m eant the end of any hope for fishing activity. P ort Shepstone could have become N atal’s m ost active fishing harbour if the Lon­ don A gents w ell-m eant prom ise had been fulfilled. If and w hen a h a r­ bour is constructed, P ort Shep­ stone could become the fishing industry’s A alesund in Natal.

On the occasion of the 50th A n­ niversary of th eir arriv al at M ar­ burg, I w ish to convey to all the settlers m y greetings and best wishes.

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Mission Activities by the M arburg Congragation

by Pastor L. M. Titlestad

In referrin g to the events and festiv ities during th e past 50 years, it is fitting th a t w e should also throw our m inds b a c k and reflect on th e w ork done for (the M issions, particularly th e N orw egian M ission Society. The m ajority of th e M arburg Settlers cam e from Aalesund, w here people took a keen in terest in Mission work, and th a t in terest they did not leave behind, but brought it w ith them to the wide open spaces of South Africa, and m ore especially to th e vicinity of the M arburg Settlem ent. It w as difficult to contribute anything substantial to the Mission, but from th e beginning th e m ajority of th e C ongregation here w ere deeply interested, and th e life, and living conditions of ithe heathen w ere daily in th eir thoughts. The difficulties w ith w hich the M issions w ere confronted, w ere m any, but th e labours of th e m issionaries, and those who supported them , bore fruit, and th eir in terest in the w ork w as m aintained. Once every year a collection for the M issions w as taken at Church Ser­ vices.

W hen M arburg had no longer a resident Pastor, m issionaries from various centres w ere invited to come down and conduct religious services. The M issionaries,’ w illing­ ness to accept these invitations, encouraged and strengthened the congregation to continue giving tangible assistances to th e cause.

The travelling expenses of the visiting M issionaries w ere borne by th e Congregation, and collect­ ions for the Mission Society be­ came a regular feature. The visit­ ing M issionaries w ere accommo­ dated by various m em bers of the Congregation during th e ir visits, and in this w ay they cam e into direct contact w ith m any of the residents of M arburg.

The W om en’s Mission Society Committee, w hich had been form ­ ed, w orked assiduously, and, through Bazaars, and contribu­ tions, collected m oney w hich was regularly transm itted to the Rev. a n d Mrs. L. M. Titlestad Mission Society and w hich w as a c k n o w l e d g e d w ith grateful thanks. Several m em bers of th e Congregation sent contributions, from (their ow n resources and according to th e ir m eans. W hen the new C hildren’s Home, in D urban w as established, we in curred a considerable debt, and we received several donations from the people at M arburg, to assist us in defraying th e liability.

I w ill not m ention nam es, for fear of om itting some donors who m ight be offended.

God loves th e spontaneous giver, and w ill repay him! W ith the building of chur-

127

Some members of the "Ladies Aid" 7932 ches a t various M ission stations we received w ith gratitude, m uch help from builders from M arburg, and this has been the m eans of forging th e links betw een them and th e Mission Society.

It is alw ays a great pleasure for us to visit the N orw egians at M arburg, and hold Church Services, as this afforded m em bers of th e Congregation an opportunity to partake of the Holy Sacram ent. W e alw ays felt at hom e w hen visiting M ar­ burg, and it w as as if we had come ito a tow n, or village on old M other Norw ay.

U nfortunately, we live at distant places, an d taken up w ith our ow n w ork, w hich m eant th a t our visits to our countrym en a t M arburg had ito be of sho rt duration, but sho rt as these visits were, they resulted in a firm bond being built up betw een us, and th e Mission Society as a whole, w ith th e N orw egian com m unity, w hose m en and wom en have given us m uch help.

W e will, in the nam e of th e N orw egian Mission Society, avail ourselves of the opportunity on this occasion, to express to our brothers and sisters a t M arburg, our sincere thanks for happy association, and co-operation, both w ithin, and out­ side th e M ission Society, in th e years th a t have passed. W e hope th e in terest in Mission w ork on behalf of th e heathen w ill rem ain, and grow, am ong our country­ m en at M arburg, so th a t we can fu rth e r th e L ord’s Kingdom out here, m ore and more, in th e years ahead of us. May ou r H eavenly F ath er bless and protect you during th e next 50 years, and forge th e bonds betw een us even stronger.

Th e M arburg Congregation, and the Seamans Mission

by P astor Olaf Aarvold There are not m any fam ilies in the rugged w estern highlands of Norw ay, w hose sons and relations are not sea-faring m en. Am ong th e settlers w ho cam e out here, there w ere also m en of the sea, and th e ir leanings w ere tow ards th e sea, and the 128

Rev. O laf A arvold

Mrs. Aarvold

life on th e high seas. Even if these m en w ere sorely disappointed w ith conditions as th ey found th em here, they w ere bound to rem ain on th eir farm s, and th eir deep-rooted feelings could no t be throw n aside. It w as therefore only natural th at m any of them w hole-heartedly supported th e cause of the Seam en’s Mission. This in terest w as clearly dem onstrated w hen th e Seam en’s Home “Sailors’ R est” w as established in D urban. F or several years th is institution w as supervised by Mrs. Em blem Ohlsen and h e r tw o daughters; and here, our sea-faring brothers w ere wellcared for, and m ade to feel really a t hom e. Mr. Rasm us Sandanger, who had settled in D urban, took a very keen in terest in th e w elfare of the “Sailors’ R est”, and its activities, and did m uch to help in a tangible way.

As an indication of th e in terest th e M arburg Congregation took in th e N orw egian Seam en’s Mission, th ey frequently invited any seam en’s m issionaries w ho happened to be in D urban, to come down and give an address on the M ission’s cause. At each foregathering a collection w as taken, and th e m oney donated to the M ission’s funds. "*S My first visit to M arburg w as very in terestin g and enjoyable, as the atm osphere w as so typically N orw egian, and I im m ed ately felt I had arrived in one of N orw ay’s w estern tow ns. The people I m et w ere contented, and solid in th eir outlook, despite th e intense South A frican sun during th e past 50 years. In all these years, w hile th ey w ere loyal m em bers of th e B ritish Em pire, they still rem ained tru e N orw egians at heart. W hen C hristm as comes, and presents are distributed to th e sailors, you w ill alw ays find am ong them , parcels sent by th e N orw egians at M arburg. This m ay perhaps appear sm all, and m eaningless, bu t w hen you realise the joy such gifts give th e m en, w e learn to appreciate these gestures and are full of gratitude to th e folk a t M arburg, w ho through th e years, have joined in supporting th e Seam en’s M ission. May th is in terest in th e w ork for th e seam en be kept alive.

129

Greetings fro m R e v. Braatvedt

The N orw egians who settled at M arburg look back on th e 50 years th a t have passed w ith th ank s to the A lm ighty—b u t not they alone; th e sam e applies to the m any N orw egians who have settled in various p arts of South Africa. M issionaries, especially, rem em ber w ith gladness th eir visits to M arburg, and I am one of them .

Above all do I rem em ber m y visits to God’s House, and I see before m e th e old m en and w om en who, w ith great earnestness, listened to God’s W ord, and from th eir hearts sang our beautiful hym ns. lit w as also a joy to visit these folk in th eir hom es, w here God’s W ord, and prayers w ere a regular and daily feature. It is not through hum an eyes th a t we now see them , but w e see them in th e spirit, am ong the saved m asses in H eaven, w here they praise ithe L ord and th e Lam b for a safe journey. These loved ones w e m ust alw ays rem em ber; th ey have w orked industriously, and set a good exam ple for th e young people; they tau gh t th eir children to be industrious, and ensured th a t th ey received a good education. The earlier days especially, w ere difficult tim es, bu t through prayer and th eir faith in God, they progressed and th e ir labours w ere blessed. They w ere thrifty, hard-w orking and contented, and therefore God’s blessing w as upon them . I am sure th e children will alw ays appreciate th e ir efforts, and th an k God for such good parents.

Yes, th e old folk have left an inheritance w hich is well w orth preserving; th e young rest on th eir parents’ shoulders, and it is necessary th a t th ey should m ake full use of th at inheritance. Yes try to do that!

The old people w orked w ith foresight and keenness, in order th at th eir children m ight be better equipped th an they w ere for advancem ent.

Our sincere th ank s to God, and m ay we follow in th e footsteps of th e dear departed souls; then w ill God’s rich blessing be on the young, as it w as on th e old who are now at Home w ith Him.

Rev.

Braatvedt 130

Marburg Church Cemetery â&#x20AC;&#x201D; 1932

131

17. THE FIRST CHRISTMAS IN A STRANGE LAND contributed by A. Halland

A fter a m ere four m onths in this new strange land, we view ed the approach of our first C hristm as w ith som ething like dism ay. Could this really be Christm as? No snow, no chilling North-W est gales; no church bells ringing in th e festive season, no glittering, candle-lit (tree. The fam ilies in th eir bare, thatched h u ts thought nostalgically of th e elaborate C hristm as preparations in even th e poorest hom es in the old country—the spring cleaning, the slaughter of sheep, th e baking of tra ditional fare. This, in contrast, seem ed a very poor Christm as. The children slept on straw on the m ud floor; the few sticks of furniture w ere m ade from packingcases.

The only food available for the average fam ily w as m ealie porridge, m ealie bread, sw eet potatoes and black coffee.

N evertheless, w hen on C hristm as Eve, fath er read aloud th e old, fam ilar story of th e birth of Christ, we w ere filled w ith the festive spirit, and could sing, “I am so happy on C hristm as E ve” ju st as w ell in our prim itive huts, for w e w ere re­ m inded of th a t first C hristm as in B ethlehem , w hen our Saviour w as born in a stable. “By H is poverty He would enrich u s”.

On C hristm as m orning the green pastures, th e tall m ealie plants and th e flow er-perfum ed trees sm iled in th e w arm sunshine. The children revelled in the w onderful w eather. Rev. Berg conducted a service in th e church at th e M arburg Mission Station. He spoke im pressively of the C hristm as message, th e W ord of God, and our lovely old carols. F o r Norw egians, C hristm as is above all else a religious festival, and w hen we heard “I bring yo u tidings of great joy”, ou r h earts w ere at peace in spite of the hard road we w ere travelling, and w e joined in th e song of th e angels, “Glory to God in the highest, peace on earth and goodwill am ong m en”.

A nd so, looking back, we th ank our dear M other Norw ay, and our devout fore­ fathers for th a t concept of a Holy C hristm as. W e cherish our m em ories of C hrist­ m as in Norway, b u t w e have become reconciled to the sum m er C hristm as in South Africa. W e realise th a t happiness can be w ith us here too, if our h earts are tuned and in th e rig h t spirit.

The years have come and gone, and after the first bleak C hristm as, m any are the joyous festivities th a t have tak en place in our dear C hurch hall. The beautifully decorated tree, the happy children receiving th eir presents, th e joyful sound of th e carols, and the old yet ever new C hristm as story, all play th eir fam ilar p art each year as M arburg calls h er sons and daughters to “Come hom e”!

May God help us to ensure th a t none of those who left th eir hom eland are deprived of th e joys of Christm as.

132

Our Poet — I. S. Carlsen

Elias Andreassen

— Signaller

a n d Lighthousekeeper

133

18. STATISTICS — 1882 - 1932 From the Church records the following is recorded:— C hristenings ....................................................................... 196 Confirm ed ............................................................................... 127 M arried ......................................................................................... 40 B urials ......................................................................................... 97 The following 6 couples celebrated th eir golden wedding:— 1. Rasm us and Helene Sandanger.

2. John and K anutte Lillebo.

3. Ole and H endrikke Haajem.

4. C hristian and C hristiane Rodseth.

Christian, and Christiane Rodseth's Golden W edding

— Doonside

5. Ole and Beate Valdai.

6. M athias and K arn Holte.

Of the settlers and their decendents 242persons have m arried:— 50 Norwegians have m arried settlers 61 N orw egians have m arried other Norwegians.

11 N orw egians have m arried Swedes.

1 Norw egian m arried a Dane 97 Norwegians have m arried English 134

2 8th May, 1918

4 10 5 3

N orw egians N orw egians N orw egians N orw egians

have m arried Scots have m arried A frikaaners have m arried Germ ans have m arried F rench

S ettlersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; decendants during these 50 years: C hildren ..................................................... 208 G randchildren ............................................. 425 G re a tg ra n d c h ild re n .................................... 130 \

Total D eaths

763 ..................................................... 67

Total still alive 696 O riginal settlers still alive ................... 84 T otal settlers and decendants

780

Four Generations -

The Rodseth Family

135

AFTER FIFTY YEARS F ifty years have elapsed since the arriv al of the settlers, and big changes have taken place in th a t time; our pioneers’ w ander-lust has been satisfied and th ey have enjoyed South A frica’s sunny and excellent climate. They have learned to understand the black races, and a new environm ent has been created for them and th eir children. M any of the older folk w ho cam e out here, have passed on, and are at rest.

The m ajority of the young folk have left in search of better prospects, else­ w here. Some of the farm s have been sold to strangers, and th ere are now barely 20 of the original families rem aining at M arburg; they have com fortable hom es and enjoy good living conditions. The church h as invariably been the focal point of the com m unity. W hen festive occasions are celebrated, and Church services are held, m any of the N orw egians, who have sett I d at places such as M urchison, Ihluku, Paddock and Oribi Flats, to m ention a few, attend th e functions and gatherings, which gives th em an opportunity to m eet th e relations and friends they left at M arburg. Church services, which are held every Sunday, are conducted, either by visiting m issionaries, or Rev. Halland w ho has again settled at M arburg.

A t present the N orw egian children attend the G overnm ent-aided school at Izotsha, but as a new G overnm ent school is being built at Izotsha, situated w ithin the Settlement., they will attend th a t school, when it is completed.

The settlers live under fairly good conditions, and it is long since th e area w as plagued w ith cattle diseases, and sw arm s of locusts w hich devastated th eir crops and grazing. The prevailing depression is being faced w ith fortitude, bu t never­ theless it is difficult to visualise w hat th e future has in store. The propects of a harbour being constructed at P ort Shepstone, are poor indeed; th e riv e r m outh is frequently closed-up on account of the sand banking up at the entrance. Com m uni­ cation w ith distant places is com paratively good; th ere is a daily train service to and from D urban and H arding; goods and passenger buses serve th e surrounding areas, and the telegraph, telephone and postal facilities are good. P ort Shepstone is a fairly im portant country town but its im portance would be greatly enhanced if th ere w as a harbour, w ith access to th e nearby good fishing grounds. Both in Port Shepstone and D urban th ere is a ready m arket for farm produce, bu t com­ petition by the Indian m arket-gardeners m akes the lot of the w hite farm ers very dif­ ficult; nevertheless, several farm ers have been able to dispose of both eggs and fruit, to advantage.

Up-country people are attracted by th e ideal clim ate at th e coast, especially during th e w inter m onths, w ith the result, th a t there is a regular influx of visitors; this influx creates a dem and for farm produce and th e prices obtained are usually good.

In recent years, the G overnm ent has established A gricultural Colleges at dif­ ferent places, for the purpose of assisting farm ers to im prove th e ir farm ing m ethods, and th e successful cultivation of various crops, and it would be to th e ad­ vantage of th e settlers if they availed them selves of these services. The G overnm ent has also appointed E xtension Officers, w ho are alw ays available to give advice and guidance w here needed. It is im perative th at the quality of th e soil should be studied, and only the best pu t un der cultivation as then only can good results be expected. F urtherm ore, it is essential th a t advice be obtained as to how one should •tackle the eradication of th e various pests th at invade fru it trees, and the fru it 136

Aerial View of Port Shepstone

—

1932

b y kind permission of H. Duncan Abraham , Durban

itself, also other produce. L itchis is a fru it w hich was later found to be profitable to cultivate and th ere is a big dem and fo r it on both local and overseas m arkets.

Sugar cane th rives in th is area, bu t tran sp o rt costs to the mill, are high, and absorb a considerable portion of th e proceeds, w hich m akes sugar cane cultivation alm ost uneconom ic. Sisal also grow s w ell in the district and as th ere is a ropem aking factory in D urban, its cultivation w ould be encouraging and profitable. No sisal is being grow n in th e district at present, however.

As th e M arburg farm s are sm all—a m ere 100 acres in extent and the land not all arable, agricu ltu ral activities are restricted, and it is therefore preferable to go in for cattle. The G overnm ent has n o t been unm indful of the farm ers’ difficult­ ies, and financial assistance has been m ade available, in order th at th ey m ay p u r­ chase b etter grade cattle, and thereby im proving th eir herds.

T here is a t present a sign of progress and prosperity, and, due to foresight and h ard w ork, developm ent at M arburg com pares very favourably w ith other areas. U nfortunately, tim es are bad a t present, bu t farm ers should hold on to th eir properties, as conditions are bound to im prove, and those desirous of selling, would benefit by obtaining better prices at a later stage.

A lthough th e colonisation envisaged, did not come up to expectations, th e advent

137

of th e settlers has been of considerable benefit to the country. O ur countryâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;m en are spread throughout the length and breadth of th e land, and have been welcom e th ro ug h th eir com petence and integrity. T ogether w ith other colonists th ey have brought new blood to th e w hite population of South Africa, and have contributed tow ards its progress and prosperity; and, at th e sam e tim e fu rth erin g th e in ter­ ests and w elfare of B antu inhabitants.

In com parison w ith N orw ay and o th er countries our tax com m itm ents are low, and in th is regard we are very fortunate. W e cam e to a land w ith great possibili­ ties, and w ith conditions to-day a t a v ery favourable stage, we have a t our disposal the experience and facilities of those w ho can help us to progress in any direction we m ay desire. F urtherm ore, the th ird generation is grow ing up, and th e young people, therefore, have the best opportunity to prove th eir own w orth, and th a t of th e stock from w hich they have descended. They can be good South A fricans in th e land of th eir adoption, bu t this will not detract from th eir stature, if they rem ain proud of Norwegian ancestry, and language. U nfortunately m any have not em braced th e N orw egian language, bu t m aybe th eir parents are to blam e for this. W e tru st and hope, th a t no one of N orw egian origin w ill forsake th a t w hich th ey have inherited from M other Norway; th is should be cherished w ith pride and honesty at all costs, and the future faced w ith unfailing hope and determ ination.

The A lm ighty has sheltered and guided us during th e last 50 years, and in H is hands w e leave our future w ith full confidence.

138

19. SUPPLEMENT: AFTER 1932 Several of ou r decendants w ere elected to high positions. In 1934 we had the pleasure of congratulating A rth u r and M arie (nee Pahr) A ndreasen as the first M ayor and M ayoress of P ort Shepstone.

Mr. a n d Mrs. Arthur Andreasen

Olaf B jorseth w as elected M ayor of A m anzim toti.

R ecently P eter R odseth w as elected M ayor of P ieterm aritzburg.

B R IE F REPORTS OF AN NIVERSA RY CELEBRATIONS 50 Yearsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; C elebration T he settlers enjoyed th e unique Golden Jubilee Celebrations on A ugust 28th an d 29th, 1932. Over 350 persons w ere assem bled in ideal w eather.

139

Mr. Olaf Bjorseth

Mr. Peter Rodseth

Am ong the m inisters taking part, w ere tw o of our own sons Rev. A. Rodseth and Rev. J. Nero and other m issionaries fro m distant places.

T hrough a portal bearing the w ord “W elcom e”, one entered the beautifully dec­ orated church w here an im pressive service w as held. A fter a tasty luncheon, the congregation w as invited to a trip to O ribi Flats. About 30 cars w ended th eir w ay through the Gorge, w here th e scenery w as m uch enjoyed, to the hom e of Mr. and Mrs. Skorpen. A fter a welcome, and th e delightful singing of Mrs. L ind’s choir, tea and cakes w ere served in the garden. Consul L arsen thanked th e host and hostess for a very enjoyable party. B efore retu rn in g th e party m otored to the m agnificient view sites of “th e W alls of Jericho” and “The Rock of G ibraltar”.

MONDAY 29 th AUGUST This w as the real Jubilee Day, and th e w eather w as perfect. A large crow d again assem bled. The Church w as packed, m any had to sit on benches and chairs on th e verandahs. The serm on by Rev. Rodseth em phasized specially thankfulness to God. The m ost im pressive p a rt w as the w reath-laying cerem ony at th e cem etry by Rev. Titlestad, after w hich th e choir, conducted by Ludvig H aajem , rendered “Den store hvite flokk vi ser”. A w reath resem bling a harp w as placed a t th e base of th e m onum ent in m em ory of the N orw egian m en from M arburg, w ho m ade th e suprem e sacrifice in th e Boer W ar 1899—1900.

140

50th Anniversary, 141

7932

T H E LUNCHEON A t one o’clock the gathering assem bled in the C hurch hall to partak e of the excellent lunch th a t had been prepared. M rs. Haajem , th e hostess, extended a w arm welcom e to one and all.

Consul Egeland in his address said, “I t is fitting th at we should on th is special occasion pay hom age to H is M ajesty the K ing of England by singing “God save th e K ing”. This w as followed by a toast to th e King of Norway, and the N orw egian anthem w as sung.

The Wreath-laying Ceremony, 1932

Leif Egeland, Vice-Consul for Norway, brought greetings from the N orw egian Society in D urban. Mr. Oscar Nero read telegram s from th e General Consul L und in Cape Town, and m any others from D urban, Bulawayo, Johannesburg and Pretoria.

Consul Egeland then announced th a t K ing H aakon had conferred th e O rder of St. Olav on Rev. P. A. Rodseth for his valuable w ork in th e Zulu Mission. W e con­ gratulate Rev. Rodseth and th e N orw egian Com m unity at M arburg on th e honour conferred on one of its sons. A hearty clapping followed and the singing of “Gud signe dig Norge” by th e choir w as a stirrin g m om ent.

Mrs. Egeland paid tribute to the w om enfolk, and stressed th e fortitude w ith w hich they had carried on in th e hard tim es.

Solos w ere sung by Miss Skjerve and Mr. M athiesen. Rev. A arvold of th e Seam en’s Mission, im pressed upon the yo un g people th e value of th e heritage received from th eir parents, and im plored them to alw ays love and honour God. In referring to th e Jubilee book, M rs. H alland m entioned th a t Mr. G. 0. K val­ svig had given valuable inform ation. P resentation leather-bound copies w ere then presented to various m em bers w ho had tak en special interest, and aided in the production of th e book.

142

Consul E geland and Rev. A arvold expressed th eir ow n and all the guests’ h earty th an k s for th e w onderful hospitality they had enjoyed at th e festivities.

T hanks w ere also extended to th e choir and orchestra. The proceedings w ere brou gh t to a close by th e singing of th e E nglish and th e N orw egian N ational anthem s 51st CELEBRATIONS 1933 In 1933, w e had th e pleasure of dedicating a new pulpit, m ade by Mr. R. A. K jode from D urban. T he cerem ony w as conducted by Rev. Titlestad, and a letter of th an k s sent to ou r friend, Mr. Kjode.

60th ANNIVERSARY, 1942 The service w as conducted by Rev. S. Dahle and Rev. Froyland. D uring th e service, after th e serm on, a m arble plaque containing th e nam es of all th e adults a t th e arriv al in 1882 w as unveiled by Mr. E dvard H aajem . T hen followed a sum p­ tuous luncheon, during w hich m usical item s w ere rendered by Mrs. Stabell and Rev. Dahle.

75th ANNIVERSARY, 1957 T his tim e a service out of the ordinary w as arranged by th e younger m em bers of the com m unity w ith Mr. Oscar Nero as chairm an. A large crowd of 400 from far and n ear w ere welcom ed to a beauifully decorated church. The flow er decorations w ere done by Mrs. A udrey Bate and h e r helpers.

A loud speaker w as installed and th e service w as conducted by Rev. B ram m er and Rev. Loken. Mrs. Aagot G ulbrandsen played the organ, as w ell as conducting th e choir, augm ented from D urban, in singing “Lov H erren m in sjel”—“P raise th e Lord, O m y Soul”!

An excellent lunch had been prepared by Mrs. Borghild Caw dry and her helpers. The highlight of th e afternoon’s proceedings w as th e rendering of the song “T he H oly City” by th e N orw egian choir from Durban, w ith Mrs. B ram m er as soloist. Mr. Rolf B rauteseth w as the M aster of Ceremonies.

In th e evening a program m e w as arranged by th e young people.

70th Anniversary, 1952 143

The Church Altar

The Memorial to the Fallen. Boer War 1899-1900

The Church Interior

144

— 1957

— 1957

Paying homage to our pioneer Forefathers. 2 9th August, 1957

145

Mrs.

So

Original Settlers â&#x20AC;&#x201D; 29th August 1957 Mr. Edward Haajem, Mr. O laf Vinjevold ,Mr. Andrew Vinjevold fie Bjorseth, Mrs. Anna Tuckell, Mrs. Martha Carlsen, Mrs. Olive Gidske, Mrs. Anna Halland, Mrs. M a g d a Jacobs

75th Anniversary, 1957. Descendants in National Costume 146

80th ANNIVERSARY IN 1962 T his ann iv ersary w as not celebrated in such lavish scale. The service w as con足 ducted by Rev. Jim F erris. T his w as followed by luncheon and an afternoon program m e of m usic, song and speeches.

80th ANNIVERSARY OF THE CHURCH, 1963 Rev. Jim F erris conducted th e m orning service. The festival speech w as given

by Rev. N ils Follesoe, and th e varied program m e of violin solos, recorder solos and th e young Sunday school choir w as m uch enjoyed by th e large gathering.

85th ANNIVERSARY, 1967 As reported in th e South Coast H erald of Friday, 1st Septem ber, 1967.

T he M arburg N orw egian com m unity held th eir 85th anniversary and th an k s足 giving cerem ony in th e ir C hurch and H all on Sunday, A ugust 27, 1967. The oc足 casion w as held to com m em orate th e arriv al of th e original settlers in 1882, consis足 tin g of 34 fam ilies com prising 229 people. S ix are still alive, of w hom th ree w ere p resen t to help celebrate th e anniversary.

Mr. N. Nero, oldest of the Norwegian Settlers children, born in Marburg, is seen here laying a wreath on the Settlers' W ar Memorial in honour of d e p a r te d settlers 147

The day com m enced w ith a C hurch service in the new ly renovated Church w hich w as a real credit to th e w orkers w ho had m ade it look so beautiful. Rev. L oken from Eshow e conducted p art of th e service, and re-dedicated th e C hurch to include all th e renovations and im provem ents and, Rev. L islerud preached th e serm on, taking as his tex t w ords from St. M atthew “Be not anxious” w hich he applied to th e settlers who had come to a strange land tru stin g in th eir God to see them through.

The D urban Norw egian Choir conducted by Mrs. Aagot G ulbrandsen led the singing in the Church, and also sang th e “K yrie E leison”.

A fter th e indoor service, the congregation w as led by tw o little girls carrying a w reath, through a guard of honour form ed by children of th e fourth generation out to th e “S ettlers’ C em etery” in th e C hurch grounds.

A fter a short address by th e Rev. T. B rauteseth, the w reath w as laid at the foot of the Settler’s W ar M emorial by M r. Noralf Nero in honour of th e departed settlers.

Before lunch, the N orw egian com m unity and th eir friends, who num bered about 500 spent a w hile chatting w ith old acquaintances and relatives, som e of w hom had come from far to be w ith them on this great day.

W hen all w ere seated at th e tables, decorated for th e occassion w ith sm all N or­ wegian flags, Mr. Oscar Nero, C hairm an of th e Church Council m ade a speech of welcome, after w hich the guests sang th e Doxology, and then set to w ith a w ill to enjoy th e sum ptuous lunch provided by m em bers of the com m unity.

The procession at the Norwegian celebrations is led b y Rev. Lislerud of Mapomulu Theological College a n d Rev. Superintendent Loken of Eshowe who re -d e d ica ted the Church

148

DISTINGUISHED GUESTS A m ong the distinguished visitors w ere th e Vice-Consul of Norway, Mr. H elland and his w ife, Mr. Douglas M itchell, M.P. and his wife, and Mr. and Mrs. B rian A rchibald; the m ayors and chairm en of local boroughs and tow nships; Rev. and Mrs. H allingskog of D urban, Rev. and M rs. Bom an of the Seam enâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Mission, Mr. and Mrs. F erguson of the Elim Mission, a n d m any other m em bers of local churches.

A fter lunch telegram s and m essages of congratulation and good w ishes w ere read, am ong th em one from Mr. P. R odseth, M ayor of P ieterm aritzburg and one from Mrs. A. Tuckell, w ho is herself a settler, now aged 95.

Rev. L islerud read tw o telegram s in Norw egian, th e first from L ars W anvig and A nna Bjorlo, b ro th er and sister of th e W anvig fam ily, and th e other from the Bishop of Oslo. Mr. A rth u r A ndreasen read a telegram from C arsten Larsen, M ayor >of A alesund, th e tow n from w hence m ost of the settlers came, and later during a speech by th e Vice-Consul, Mr. Helland, a telegram w as read from H is M ajesty, K ing Olaf V of Norw ay.

TRIBUTES PAID A fter lunch, photos w ere taken of m any of th e com m unity who had come in national costum e. D uring th e afternoon m usical item s w ere rendered, and in spee­ ches, trib u tes w ere paid to the settlers fo r th eir fortitude and strong faith in the Alm ighty.

Mr. A dam F erguson spoke very forcibly of the settlers, of th eir m any good qualities, and of th e high office m any of th em held in the land today.

Mr. O. Nero, one time teacher at Izotsha School is seen here with a number of his former pupils of some 4 0 years ago. They came from as far a field as Germiston, Estcourt, Hilton Road an d Durban to attend the Norwegian 8 5th year celebration 149

Mr. Douglas M itchell spoke of his association w ith the com m unity through his life, and m entioned th a t in his youth he used to trek to M arburg each y ear to sit for th e end of year exam inations in th e v ery hall being used a t present.

M ention w as also m ade of th e road to Oribi Gorge w hich had been m ade by th e N orw egians from the old bridle path, in spite of m any rem arks th a t it could not possibly be done.

GOOD WISHES The Rev. Mr. Seeby of the P ort Shep-stone M ethodist Church brought m essages of greeting from other churches in th e district, and Rev. Bom an brought greetings from other N orw egian churches. Rev. H allingskog m entioned in his speech th a t his congregation and th e choir had m ostly disappeared from th eir church in D urban, th at m orning, bu t th a t he had not been un du ly w orried as he had had a shrew d idea w here he would find them all.

MR. O. NERO In speeches m ade during the day m any tributes w ere paid to Mr. Oscar N ero for the p art he played throughout th e years in the education of th e com m unity, evidence of w hich w as proved by the high standard of both past and present m em 足 bers. M ention w as also m ade of m any disappointm ents the settlers had to en足 dure, and the alteration to the way of life they had to m ake in order to live. They had intended to use the Port, but it w as n o t developed, and they had to become farm ers instead of fisher folk, w ith poor soil, and alm ost non-existent m arkets.

T hat they had trium phed w as only to th e ir faith and tenacity of purpose.

This group of women a n d children in national costume are seen here with two of the original Norwegian settlers, at left Mrs. Bjorseth of Marburg a n d Mrs. M. Jacobs now of Hillary 150

S.

ORIGINAL SETTLERS Mr. F ran z B jorseth, son of Mrs. Sophie B jorseth proposed a vote of th ank s to all w ho had w orked so untiringly to en su re th e success of the Festival. H e also sen t greetings to absent friends, am ong w hom w as Mrs. A. Tuckell of Oslo Beach w ho is herself an early settler, and w h o came out w ith h er parents as a child of ten; Mrs. Alfa L andm ark of Johannesburg, and Mrs. D. T vedt of M arburg. T hree o th er ladies w ho w ere present w ere M rs. Jacobs from H illary w ho is 92, Mrs. Sophie B jorseth of M arburg aged 88, a n d Mrs. A. H alland also of M arburg w ho is 87. These six people are th e only rem aining survivors of th e original settlers, and as w as rem arked all are ladies. W ho said fem ales w ere th e w eaker sex?

ARTS AND CRAFTS A show of N orw egian a rt w as on display on th e verandah, and am ong th e very in terestin g exhibits w ere som e pipes an d brooches brought out in 1882. D uring th e afternoon orders w ere being taken fo r copies of the translation of th e book, “T he F irst F ifty Y ears”, w hich w as w ritte n originally in Norw egian by th e Rev. A ndrew H alland and his w ife Anna, assisted by Miss Ingeborg K jonstad, and later brought up to date by Mrs. H alland, and th e n translated by Mr. A rth u r A ndreasen and Mrs. H alland. It is now w ith th e press, and should be available shortly.

FIN A L E A fter supper for w hich nearly 200 people w ere present, film s of in terest w ere show n. One presented by Mr. Jonathan v a n B lerk w as m uch appreciated by th e audience as it w as of the 75th celebrations, and caused m uch am usem ent w hen folk saw them selves as th ey w ere ten y e ars ago. Two film s w ere of Norw ay, “N orth of th e P olar Circle”, and “Ski-touring in N orw ay”, and one of Israel and another of Japan. A ltogether a m ost inspiring and enjoyable day, and a great credit to our N or­ w egian friends..

1932— 1966 Since th e 50th y ear’s celebrations, the few rem aining older settlers have passed on. T he younger people settled dow n on th eir farm s (m ainly dairy and sugar cane), th e ir trades and th eir professions, w hile the th ird generation at school w orked tow ards a high er standard of education.

A plot of five acres w as given by th e Settlem ent for a school for Indians.

In th e new school a t Izotsha, built o n a site donated by th e N orw egian Settle­ m ent (7 acres), w ith Oscar N ero as P rincipal for m any years, our boys and girls, along w ith th e G erm an children w on m any G overnm ent bursaries, and then pro­ ceeded to high schools in other tow ns. L ater, some attended the U niversity of N atal and th e T eachers’ T raining College. Several obtained B.A. and B.Sc. degrees there, w hile others got degrees at Pretoria. F o u r qualified as doctors, 2 becam e advocates.

W ORLD W AR II A t th e outbreak of W orld W ar II in 1939, South Africa, under G eneral Sm uts, joined th e A llied Forces, and our boys began joining up from all over th e Union of South Africa. Our boys w ere on active service in N orth A frica and Italy.

151

It is am azing to see how m any different regim ents our boys represented.

T hree becam e M ajors, and w ere aw arded th e M.B.E. (M em ber of the B ritish Em pire) for distinguished service, nam ely F rederik Rodseth, Aage R odseth and F ranz B jorseth. F ranz w as in charge of th e conversion of th e South A frican In fa n try to arm our of th e 6th SA . A rm oured Division and later com m anded th e R eserve A rm oured R egim ent in Italy. G jert N aro did valuable w ork w ith an engineer Corps; Ludvig L arsen helped to m anufacture m unitions to send up N orth —som e of w hich w ere seized by Rommel! Quite a few of our girls joined and w orked as signallers, tran sp o rt drivers, V.A.D.’s in m ilitary hospitals, in canteens and in arm y clothing factories.

Key positions w ere held by m any of our m en at th e bases, and th ey w ere told th a t they could best serve th e ir country by continuing in the w ork they w ere doing.

Sidney Nero tells of th e valuable w ork done in D urban during the w ar. ‘One big section of th e w ork w as to equip the ships w ith a de-m agnetising device to safe­ guard them againt m agnetic m ines—a new danger in the last war. I personally

Major Fredrik Rodseth, M.B.E.

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w orked freq uently on th e rad ar of w arships, am ongst them being th e aircraft c arrier “A rk R oyal” and th e “lie de F ra n c e” (the largest ship to en ter D urban H arbour) w hich w ere ferrying troops betw een D urban and th e M editerranean every th ree w eeks. F o r th is very specialized w ork, some very in tricate p arts w ere im provised as replacem ent parts w ere unobtainable. In th is I excelled, for God gave me th e skill; consequently w e w ere able to do repairs th a t th e ships had been unable to have done in other ports of call. One Chief E ngineer of a large ship expressed am azem ent at th e w ork w e w ere able to do”.

D ennis Berg em ployed by Shell Co. D urban w ent to W alvis Bay to take charge of a tin and case m aking factory, and also h a d to handle the supply of bunker fuel to all allied m inesw eepers and other w arships and the receiving of bulk oils from tan k ­ ers for th e storage tanks.

As D urban w as an im portant h arb o u r for receiving soldiers in tran sit, and w aiting for ships in the repair docks, th e re w as a great need for voluntary enter­ tain m en t fo r th e troops. In this capacity, Oscar N ero and his film projector w orked five and six nights a w eek th ro ug hou t th e w ar.

These are bu t a few of th e contributions by our boys and girls during the Second W orld W ar, of whom w e have been able to obtain inform ation.

Major A ag e Rodseth, M.B.E. 153

Major Franz Bjorseth, M.B.E.

T H E PREACHING OP T H E GOSPEL W e feel sure th a t our parents and grandparents, who had the w elfare of the B antu at h eart would be glad to know th a t so m any of th e th ird and fourth gener­ ations are proclaim ing the good new s of th e Gospel. E. Reim has done good w ork am ong Indians and is now ordained as m issionary for them .

Some are serving E uropean congregations: Ron B rauteseth in Swaziland, Sidney N ero a t Doonside and M ilton Staley a t th e Bluff. O thers are laypreachers, Sunday School superintendents and teachers.

W alter H ansen and Geoffrey L angton w ork am ong th e Indians; T rygvar B rau­ teseth is a full tim e w orker am ong th e M ine w orkers.

T here are th ree ladies doing full tim e m issionary work; Inga Lind, Jud ith M orck and R uth Syren.

In conclusion it is our earnest hope that, by God’s help our futu re generations continue in th e sp irit and heritage of o u r forebears, and fulfil our place in the destiny of our adopted country, the Republic of South Africa.

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CHRISTMAS T R E E CELEBRATIONS T he an n u al N orw egian C hristm as T ree celebrations are held in th e trad i­ tion al m anner. T hese occasions are enjoyed by young and old as we g ather in th e C hurch H all to celebrate th e b irth of th e “P rince of Peace”.

A sh o rt C hristm as service com m ences th e program m e; th en th e candles on the beautifully decorated 20ft. C hristm as tree in th e centre of th e hall are lit, and the children and th e “young a t h e a rt” gather round the tree form ing circles. The lovely N orw egian and E nglish carols are th en sung, w ith the circles m oving round th e tree w h ilst singing.

T he arriv al of F a th e r C hristm as and th e distribution of his gifts is thoroughly enjoyed.

R efreshm ents are then served and a happy evening is brought to a close w ith th e benediction.

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ANNA HALLAND -

J\ tribute

L

-

One of th e m ost outstanding characters to em erge from th e ranks of the M arburg settlers is A nna Halland.

The history of th e settlem ent is also, broadly speaking, h er history, for she cam e ashore w ith h er parents on th a t first m em orable landing day, as a tw o year old child, and she attended th e 85th anniversary celebrations on A ugust 27th 1967, a frail yet gracious old lady of 87.

In th e settlem ent’s early years of hardship w e read th e story of h e r childhood. In th e striving for betterm ent, in the eager quest for education and w ider horizons, she w as a pioneer, braving economic difficulties as well as pious objections to h er “em ancipated” schem es. In the fam ily circle and in the w ider field of teaching and m ission work, h er tru ly C hristian life has been an exam ple to all.

H er four children owe it to h e r determ ination and enthusiasm th at they w ere able to obtain U niversity degrees during those difficult depression years w hen m oney w as hard to come by. In 1932 she w as indefatigable in collecting data and w riting th e m em oirs of the settlers, and now, 35 years later, has helped w ith th e tran slatin g of th e book into English.

T hroughout h er life she has had com passion for the sick and the underprivileged. M any a m ission society th an k s h er regularly for h e r sm all bu t faithful donation, and h er earnest prayers. A deeply religious wom an, h e r love of God has w idened and enriched h er love for her fellow men. She has endured deep personal sorrow , and poor health, but at 87 h e r m ind is as alert and active as ever, h er w ide interests ranging from concern over w orld affairs dow n to delight at discovering a new, expressive word,— a tru ly rem arkable wom an, w hom it has been a privilege to know , and to call a friend.

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WORLD WAR II

1939—1945

D escendants of the M arburg Settlers 1. ANDREW ANDERSON 2. RONALD J. ANDERSEN Cpl. 3. E R N EST ANDERSON Distr. Supt.

4. W IL L IE ANDERSON Cpl. 5. GILBERT A. P. ANDREASEN Cpl. 6. ROY D. P. ANDREASEN Segt.

7. JOHN W. BAZLEY Pte. 8. W ILLIA M A. BAZLEY Sgt. 9. P H IL IP E. BAZLEY Snr. Pte. 10. H U RB ERT K. BAZLEY Sgt. 11. ERIC N. BAZLEY Sig. 12. MAURICE R. BAZLEY Tpr. 13. W ILLIA M BEA TTIE Dvr. 14. M ERVIN BOSW ELL Pte. 15. GEORGE BOYD S/M ajor 16. ALEC V. BJORSETH Pte. 17. EDW ARD 0. BJORSETH L/Cpl. 18. FRANZ A. BJORSETH M ajor 19. LUDVIG BRAUTSETH Lieut.

20. ROLF J. BRAUTESETH Sgt. Sgt. 21. GUSTAV BERGESEN 22. JOH N BRAUTESETH Pte. Pte. 23. RICHA RD BRANT 24. VICTOR BRAUTESETH Cpl. Pte. 25. ALAN CARLSEN Pte. 26. PAUL CARLSEN Pte. 27. GEORGE CLAYTON Tpr. 28. IAN B. CLAYTON Gnr. 29. RICHARD J. CLARK Sgt. 30. PAT COUNIHAN 31. NORMAN DOUGGANS A/M 32. STANLEY ERASMUS Lieut.

33. CYRIL A. FORBES Bdr. 34. CLIFFO RD S. FORBES Bdr. 35. ALAN W. FORBES Tpr. 36. ARTHUR B. FE L L L/Cpl. 37. M ARTIN I. GIDSKE Cpl. 38. CASPER GULBRANDSEN A /P 39. OW EN M. GOSHEN C/O 40. ALAN HA W KINS Capt.

41. CARL A. HALLAND Lieut.

42. RO LF H. HALLAND A /M 43. IVAN M. HANSEN Spr. 44. W A LTER T. HANSEN Lieut.

45. JO SEPH O. H A RLE A/M 46. VIV IA N HA RRIS Lieut.

47. GRAHAM C. HOJEM A 'M 48. COLIN C. HOJEM 157

Tvl. Rgt. Tvl. Scot. 1st Div. St. Joh n’s Amb. Brig.

S.A.A. (M.T.S.) Mines E ngineering Brigade.

Pretoria Reg. T ank Corps.

5th S.A. Inf. Brig. 1st Div. N.M.R. U.M.R. S.A.E.C. S.A.M.B. Sig Co. R.D.L.I. Tvl. Scot.

Coastal Def. P.E. 3rd Rhodesian U nit, Middle East.

2nd N.M.R. 2nd N.M.R. Instr. S.A.A.D.T.S. (M.B.E.) S.A.E.C. 2nd Cape P.R. Batt.

E.S.C. Med Corps. Hosp. Ship.

New Zealand Unit.

46th S.C.S.A.E.C. R.D.L.I. R.D.L.I. 1st N.M.R. N.C. 20th F. Bat. 7th F.R. (S.A.R.) U.M.R. (U nit unknow n) S.A.A.F. T ank Corps. 1st Div. N.F.A. 2nd Div. S.A.A.H. 2nd Div. 6th S.A.A. Cars.

S.A.C.S. S.A.M.C. S.A.A.F. R.N. S.S.S. S.A.C.S. 2nd Botha Rgt. S.A.A.F. gunner.

S.A.A.F. S.A.E.C. S.A.A.F. S.A.A.F. S.A.A.F. S.A.A.F. (W ireless op.)

49. RODNEY C. HOJEM 50. FR E D JACOBSON 51. ALBERT JACOBSEN 52. JOHN G. JOHNSON 53. ALEC C. JOHNSON 54. RICHARD C. JOHNSON 55. LOUIS JACOBS 56. CRAIG KVALSVIG 57. A LF LILLEBO 58. CARL LILLEBO 59. JORGEN LILLEBO 60. GERHARD LANDMARK 61. ERIC MARTINUSON 62. LAW RENCE MARTINUSEN 63. ARTHUR MASON 64. PERCY BRANT 65. EDW IN MORRISON 66. ERLIN G MEYDELL 67. JOHN MYKLEBUST (Sen.) 68. ERN EST NERO 69. FR ED R IK NIELSEN 70. L E IF NIELSEN 71. OLE OLSEN 72. M ERVIN REIM 73. LEONARD RIGGIEN 74. AAGE RODSETH 75. CLAUS RODSETH 76. NORMAN RODSETH 77. FR E D E R IK RODSETH 78. RAGNAR RODSETH 79. ROY RODSETH 80. RAYMOND SCHIEVER 81. DEREK SCHIEVER 82. HJALMAR SKORPEN 83. ERIC STALEY 84. ALBERT STALEY 85. DERRICK TAYLOR 86. JACK D. TAYLOR 87. NOEL TAYLOR 88. HAROLD TRESTRALL 89. CLIFFORD TRESTRAIL 90. K EN N ETH TRESTRAIL 91. IVOR TRESTRA IL 92. LAW RENCE VALDAL 93. VICTOR VINJEVOLD 94. STANLEY VINJEVOLD 95. OLAV K. VINJEVOLD 96. JO SEPH W ADE 97. EDGAR W EBBER

Capt.

Pte. Gnr. Pte. A/Cpl. Cpl. Pte. A/M Lieut.

Lieut.

A/M Lieut.

Sgt. Spr. Lieut.

S/Sgt. Pte. Pte. Cdt./O Pte. Major.

Capt 2nd Lieut.

M ajor A/M Pte. Cpl. Pte. Tpr. Sgt. Sgt. Lieut.

Sig. A/S. A/S. Sig. Sgt. Spr. Capt.

Gnr. Cpl. Lieut.

158

S.A.A.F. F ig h ter Squad. D.F.C. S.A.A.F. R.D.L.I. 1st Div. 4th S.A.B.R.W. Shop.

7 A.D. S.A.A.F. S.A.T.C. A.T.V. W ing R.D.L.I. S.A.A.F. M erchant Navy A ustralian Unit.

A ustralian Unit.

S.A.M.C. S.A.A.F. S.A.A.F. S.A.A.F. New Zealand Exp. Force.

S.A.E.C. U.M.R. Mechanic Base Depot.

S.A.A.F. Railw ay and H arbours Brigade 1st Tvl. Scot.

A ustralian Unit.

S.A.A.F. Tech. Service Corps.

N ative Btn. (M.B.E.) N ative Btn. S.A.A.F. Pilot 60th A ir Sqd. N ative Btn. (M.B.E.) Kenya Unit.

A rtillery in Italy S.A.A.F. R.D.L.I. S.A.T.S.C. T.S.C. 3rd Div. W /Shop.

A Squad P.A.G. T.C. S.A.M.C. 46th Survey Co. Instr. Roberts H eights 2nd Botha Reg. 1st Div. R.N. H.M.S. C um berland R.N. H.M.S. C um berland 2nd Botha Reg. 1st Div. R ailw ay and H arbours B rigade S.A.E.C. S.A.H.A. S.A.F.A. 2nd R.N.C. S.A.T.C. S.A.A.F.

OUR BOYS WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES IX WORLD WAR II. Pte. I. B. CLAYTON Pte. A. E. CARLSEN 2nd Lieut. O. M. GOSCHEN Lieut. G. C. HOJEM Pte. J. G. JOHNSON 2nd L ieut. M ERVIN REIM

R.N.C. R.D.L.I. S.A.A.F. S.A.A.F. 2nd R.D.L.I. S.A.A.F.

OUR G IRLS DOING FU L L T IM E SER V IC E. 1. KITTY G ILB ER T Sgt. 2. LOREN ZE CLARKE Sgt. 3. H ILDA HANSEN Cpl. 4. BERN IC E HALLAND Sgt. 5. BERYL H A RPER Cpl. 6. EDNA ERASMUS 7. SYLVIA LILLEBO Cpl. 8. E IL E E N POW DRELL 9. A LFA LANDMARK N urse N urse 10. EDNA ANDERSON

159

28/6/1944 26/12/1941 2/12/1944 17/12/1941 1/12/1942 3/3/1945 T ransport N atal Comm and M unition W orks Office V ereeniging Special Signallers Coastal Defence Typist Im per. Hospital, Howick Im per. H ospital (D ental), Howick W.A.A.S. Cullinan Radio.

M ilitary H ospital Pretoria M ilitary H ospital