South African Women Missionaries in the Diamond Fields and Their Work amongst Migrant Workers.

Abstract

In the late 19th and early 20th century, following the discovery of diamonds in what is now known as the Northern Cape, many flocked to the Diamond Fields in the hope of finding employment. The mines within these areas made use of residential compounds to house and control the migrant labour force which they employed. This was proposed as a means by which any theft of diamonds could be curtailed. The result of this strategy was a closed community of men from different areas who would return to their home communities once their contracts had come to an end, usually after a three-to-six-month period. As the Dutch Reformed Church became aware of this situation, an opportunity for mission work was perceived. In response, several of the Women’s Missionary Union missionaries were sent to Hope Town, Saulspoort, Beaconsfield, and Kimberley in order to work among these migrants, as well as the other locals of the area. The perspective of these women missionaries with regard to their experiences among the migrants offers an interesting and previously overlooked insight into the ways in which the church engaged with mission work to migrants, as well as how different groups of missionaries approached the topic. This paper will engage with archival documents such as the Mission News Letter (the Huguenot Mission Society’s newsletter, which was written and administrated by women) as well as the missionary records of the Woman’s Missionary Union with the aim of examining the mission work which was done among the mine workers in the Diamond Fields from the viewpoint of women missionaries, with the aim of bringing their narrative to the fore.