Southern Africa Reports

Series of official or annual reports from LMS mission stations to LMS headquarters, relating to the Southern Africa missions in South Africa, Bechuanaland [Botswana], Matabeleland and Southern Rhodesia [Zimbabwe]. The reports contain a great deal of information, including statistics and other inform...

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Date(s) of creation: 1866-1939
Level: Series
Format: Archive           

Summary: Series of official or annual reports from LMS mission stations to LMS headquarters, relating to the Southern Africa missions in South Africa, Bechuanaland [Botswana], Matabeleland and Southern Rhodesia [Zimbabwe]. The reports contain a great deal of information, including statistics and other information such as the number of local converts and indigenous preachers, and the number of local children attending mission schools. Reports were sometimes used in mission publications, and many have been edited for such use. Reports written in January of each year have been included in the previous years' files. Some reports consist of decennial reviews of the advances or otherwise made by the mission. The Southern Africa reports come from stations in South Africa (Cape Province) - Bethelsdorp, Graaf Reinet, Grahamstown, Hankey, Kruisfontein, Oudtshoorn, Paarl, Pacaltsdorp, Port Elizabeth, Somerset East, Somerset West, Stellenbosch, Uitenhage, Zuurbrack; South Africa (Natal) - Griqualand East, Kokstad; South Africa (Kaffraria) - Knapp's Hope, Oxkraal, Peelton, Tidmanton; British Bechuanaland (South Africa after 1910) - Backhouse, Griquatown, Kuruman, Lekatlong, Taung, Tiger Kloof, Vryburg; Bechuanaland Protectorate (Botswana) - Kanye, Lake Ngami, Maun, Molepolole, Ngamiland, Palapye (also Phalapye), Sefhare, Selepeng, Serowe, Shoshong; Southern Rhodesia (Matabeleland, later Zimbabwe) - Bulawayo, Centenary, Dombodema, Hope Fountain, Insiza, Inyati, Shangani, Tjimali. Some reports relate to specific Institutions, and for Southern Africa these include Tiger Kloof Native Institution, Boys Boarding School, Kuruman, Moffat Institution, Industrial Institute and Girls Boarding School at Hope Fountain. Significant missionaries reporting for the period to 1940 include William Ashton (1817-1897, Kuruman, Lekatlong & Barkly, 1843-1897); John Tom Brown (1860-1925, Kuruman & Tiger Kloof 1885-1925); Alfred James Gould (1859-1913, Kuruman 1882-1898); Alfred John Haile (1888-1982, Tiger Kloof & Bulawayo 1914-1955); Charles Daniel Helm (1844-1915, Hope Fountain 1873-1914); John Mackenzie (1835-1899, Shoshong 1858-1884 & Hankey 1891-1899); John Smith Moffat (1835-1918, Inyati, Kuruman & Molepolole 1864-1879); Mary Partridge (1862-1944, Molepolole & Palapye 1895-1918); Roger Price (1834-1900, Shoshong, Molepolole & Kuruman 1858-1900); James Read (1811-1894, Kat River & Philipton 1836-1871); Bowen Rees (1857-1929, Inyati & Tiger Kloof 1887-1919); Ella Sharp (1874-1956, Serowe 1900-1933); William Sykes (1829-1887, Inyati 1858-1887); William Charles Willoughby (1857-1938, Palapye, Serowe, Tiger Kloof & Molepolole 1893-1917); Alfred John Wookey (1847-1917, Kuruman & Motito 1870-1880 & Kuruman, Lake Ngami, Molepolole & Vyrburg 1882-1917).
Extent: 9 boxes (825 reports)
Arrangement: Reports for Southern Africa before 1866 can often be found amongst the series of South Africa incoming correspondence. Reports to 1940 are organised chronologically into yearly files, and then alphabetically by author. Reports written in January of each year, or where they specifically refer to the previous year, are included in the previous file. After 1940, reports relating to Southern Africa are found amongst the reports within the Africa division. These later reports are arranged alphabetically by author, and grouped approximately by decad ... View more
Access status: Open
Finding aids: A detailed list of Southern Africa Reports is available for consultation in the Special Collections Reading Room, SOAS Library. There is an additional list of 'Zimbabwe Papers, 1900-1940', by JC Kufa, which lists materials in South Africa Reports Boxes 3-9, only where they relate to Southern Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe. Material included in this list is indicated by **.
Format: Archive