The first group of Volga German families to settle in South Africa arrived in Cape Town aboard the SS Godeffroy in February 1878. They came from the colonies of Fischer, Kaneau, and Streckerau. On 1 March 1878, another group arrived from the colony of Nieder-Monjou aboard the SS Saturnus. These families immigrated to South Africa in response to a recruitment initiative of the Cape Colony government to bring farmers to the region. The incentives included free passage and free land. These families found employment in Cape Town, area suburbs such as Wynberg, and farmed in the Cape Flats.
Sources
- Nieder-Monjou Russia: Volga Germans to South Africa (Steven Grau).