This article needs additional citations for verification .(November 2021) |
Total population | |
---|---|
651 (1930)[ citation needed ] | |
Regions with significant populations | |
KwaZulu-Natal | |
Languages | |
Afrikaans, English, Norwegian | |
Religion | |
Christianity (Lutheranism) | |
Related ethnic groups | |
Norwegians, Norwegian diaspora |
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Norwegian South Africans are South African citizens of Norwegian ancestry. While most Norwegian emigrants moved to America, some people also moved to South Africa, Madagascar, Angola, and Mozambique. The number of Norwegians in the whole of Africa in 1920 was 998. The number rose to 1,107 by 1930; 651 Norwegians lived in South Africa and 147 in Madagascar. [1] Official migration numbers from 1961 to 2005 are available. [2]
In 1869, Arnt Leonard Thesen sailed to South Africa along with his large family in their schooner, the Albatros, after his ship-owning and timber company in Stavanger collapsed the previous year as a result of the Second Schleswig War of 1864-67. Even though they originally intended to go all the way to New Zealand, once they encountered stormy weather east of Cape Town after spending a week in Cape Town for repairs and to load provisions, they had to return to Cape Town for further repairs. Once there, they encountered the Swedish-Norwegian consul, Carl Gustaf Åkerberg, who notified them about transport shipping shortages along the South African coast and how they could take advantage of that situation; the plan to sail on to New Zealand was first delayed and then scrapped altogether. Ultimately, the Thesen family settled in Knysna, with its fjord-like port; their family firm first worked in timber shipping and then expanded to sawmills and acquiring forested land. Following Arnt Leonard's death in 1875, ownership of the company was passed to one of his sons, Charles Wilhelm Thesen, and it expanded into additional ships and into yet other areas of work, such as oyster farming, whaling, hardware stores, and gold mining. Charles Wilhelm became more politically involved in Knysna, becoming its mayor in 1890-93 and again in 1921-24. The Thesen Company is still a major enterprise in South Africa to this day. [3]
In the 1890s added about 90 families, most from Sunnmøre, by boat the long road to South Africa and Kwazulu-Natal. After arrival at Port Shepstone, the families were each awarded a lot (soil patch, parcel) and one could begin to build a house and cultivate the soil. In 1882 a party of 246 Norwegian immigrants settled in nearby Marburg near Port Shepstone [4] and played a large part in the development of the area. [5] Although a few went back home and others went to Australia, most Norwegians remain in this area. After a short time they began to build a church, the Norwegian Settler's Church, which is still in full operation after being extended twice. The church is also a Norwegian museum with things Norwegians brought with them from home, as for example, bunad, tools, kitchen utensils, etc. Norwegians also put their mark on place names in the area with names like Oslo Beach and Fredheim.
Later Norwegians participated in gold-digging in Johannesburg - and the Norwegian missionaries were among the first who established Christianity in Zululand.[ citation needed ]
Early in the 1900s had the Norwegians already established Norwegian School, Norwegian Lutheran Church and Norwegian newspapers in Durban. In line with the expanding whaling and the growing Norwegian merchant fleet, reached the Norwegian South Africa climax towards the middle of the 1900s. The capital was Durban. Durban's major Norwegian ancestors were Abraham Larsen and Jacob Egeland.[ citation needed ]
Now there is a thinning in the ranks of the first and second generation immigrants - those who kept their Norwegian identity. A few years ago potetløp was held for costume-clad children at 17 May. Two years ago the Norwegian society in the years after 110 years of activity, and was a Scandinavian club. There are still gathering places such as The Norwegian Hall, the former Norwegian Lutheran Church, St. Olav's Church. There are Norwegian names in the directory, Norwegian houses and street names. And there always will be the occasional immigrant with Norwegian names and language intact, such as Rolf Larsen, the last surviving Norwegian whale hunter in Durban.[ citation needed ]
Sandefjord is a municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Vestfold. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Sandefjord. Other population centres in Sandefjord include Andebu, Fevang, Fokserød, Fossnes, Freberg, Hafallen, Helgerød, Himberg, Høyjord, Kodal, Lahelle, Melsomvik, Råstad, Solløkka, Stokke, Storevar, Strand, and Unneberg
Plettenberg Bay, nicknamed Plett, is the primary town of the Bitou Local Municipality in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. As of the census of 2001, there were 29,149 population. It was originally named Bahia Formosa by early Portuguese explorers and lies on South Africa's Garden Route 210 km from Port Elizabeth and about 600 km from Cape Town.
Knysna is a town with 76,150 inhabitants in the Western Cape province of South Africa. It is one of the destinations on the loosely defined Garden Route tourist route. It is situated 60 kilometres east of the city of George on the N2 highway, and 33 kilometres west of the Plettenberg Bay on the same road.
Port Shepstone is a large town situated on the mouth of the Mzimkhulu River, the largest river on the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast of South Africa. It is located halfway between Hibberdene and Margate and is positioned 120 km south of Durban. It serves as the administrative, educational, industrial and commercial centre for southern Natal.
Scottburgh is a coastal resort town located along the south coast of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It situated south of the mouth of the Mpambanyoni River (confuser of birds).
Park Rynie is a small resort town on the South Coast of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. It was established in 1857 and possibly named after Renetta Hoets, wife of one of the John Phillip Hoffman, partner in the firm Nosworthy & Co. that bought the original farm for development. There was a whaling station here built during World War I, Park Rynie Whales Ltd. A breakwater, Rocky Bar Pier and a landing ramp were also built.
New Germany is an industrial town situated just inland from Durban in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It has been incorporated firstly into Pinetown and now into eThekwini. Originally Neu-Deutschland and subsequently translated, the name refers to settlement of the area by German immigrants in 1848. They came over to farm cotton, but when that crop proved unsuccessful, the settlers turned to growing vegetables and flowers. The town became a municipality in 1960.
The N2 is a national route in South Africa that runs from Cape Town through George, Gqeberha, East London, Mthatha, Port Shepstone and Durban to Ermelo. It is the main highway along the Indian Ocean coast of the country. Its current length of 2,255 kilometres (1,401 mi) makes it the longest numbered route in South Africa.
George is the second largest city in the Western Cape province of South Africa. The city is a popular holiday and conference centre, as well as the administrative and commercial hub and the seat of the Garden Route District Municipality. It is named after the British Monarch George III.
Gordon Igesund is a former South African football player and coach who was most recently the manager of Highlands Park in the Premier Soccer League.
Sedgefield is a coastal town on the Garden Route in the Western Cape province of South Africa. It is situated on the N2 national road, between George and Knysna.
Events in the year 1869 in Norway.
Johan Bryde was a Norwegian businessman, ship owner and whaler. He helped establish a whaling station in the Colony of Natal. The Bryde's whale is named after him.
Christopher Harison was a British military officer and forestry official in South Africa. He served as Conservator of Forests and was an authority on forest practice in the region.
Charles Wilhelm Thesen was a Norwegian-born South African shipowner and timber merchant who played a leading role in the public affairs of the South African town of Knysna. He was actively involved in the timber and shipbuilding industry of the region, and acquired Paarden Island in the Knysna Lagoon, on which he built a sawmill and shipyard. The island was later renamed Thesen Island, after him and his family.
Nils Peter Thesen was a Norwegian-born, South African businessperson.
Marburg is a settlement in the Ugu District Municipality in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa, situated approximately 112 kilometres south-west of the city of Durban. Marburg was a Norwegian settlement given the name Marburg for a nearby German mission. The Norwegian founders played a significant role in the development of Marburg and Port Shepstone, which it forms part of today. The British colonial government gave the settlers a free voyage to South Africa and also houses and 100 acres of land. Marburg was the only successful Scandinavian settlement in South Africa.
KwaZulu-Natal South Coast is a region along the southern stretch of coastline of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, south of the coastal city of Durban.