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Mission Stations

• The Farmer, the Preacher and the Land Speculator: Village Development Patterns in the Karoo Region of the Cape Colony, 1806 to 1920
• Mission Stations chapters A - F
• Mission Stations chapters G-H
• Mission Stations chapters I-L
• Mission Stations chapters M
• Mission Stations chapters N-S
• Mission stations chapters T-Z

 

Mission Stations chapters M

MAASDORP, Stockenstrom, Cape: UC. Believed to have acted as an outstation only.
MABAALSTAD, also known as EMMAUS, Transvaal: HM 1868
MABETSHA, Ngqeleni, Cape: No data available
MABIESKRAAL, Transvaal: DRCSA 1879
MABILI, Mocambique: see INHAMBANE, Mocambique
MABOLA, Transvaal: MHLF 1914
MABOTSA, Botswana: LMS
MABULE, Bizana, Cape: No data available
MABULELE, Lesotho, but possibly in OFS: P
MACFARLANE, Alice, Cape: FCS 1821-44
MACHADODORP, Transvaal: DRCSAT 1902
MACHEKE, Zimbabwe: SPG
MACKAY'S NEK, Glen Grey, Cape: No data available
MACLEAR, Cape: SPG 1885; ECS 1896; SAfMS
MACOSA, Mqanduli, Cape: No data available
MADALENI, Pondoland, Cape: No data available
MADWALENI, Elliotdale, Cape: No data available
MAFEKING, Cape: SDA 1920; WMMS
MAFETENG, Lesotho: SPG 1883; P 1905
MAFUBE, Matatiele, Cape: P 1885
MAFUKENI, Ngqeleni, Cape: No data available
MAGOGO, Umzimkulu, Cape: No data available
MAGOULE, also spelt MAGULE, Mocambique: MSR
MAGUDU, Natal: SAM 1923
MAGULU, Ngqeleni, Cape: No data available
MAGUSHENI, Flagstaff, Cape: No data available
MAGUTYWA, Tsolo, Cape: No data available
MAGWA FALLS, Lusikisiki, Cape: No data available
MAHAMBA, Swaziland: Society not known, 1840; SPG 1877; WMMS. This report refers to King Mswati II who was also known as Mavuso. He invited the Rev Allison to establish a mission station at Mahamba in 1844. The incident mentioned here by Merensky did not take place, as he states, as a result of Mswati's death, which occurred in 1868, but because the Regent, Malambule, had retained some of the Royal cattle and, upon being charged of this fact, had sought refuge with the missionary concerned. The resultant upheavals brought to an end the first attempt to establish a Mission Station among the Swazi.

"Three years after the death of king Rapusa of Swaziland, the missionary Allison and his wife arrived at Matemba, capital of the Swazis. He founded a station at the Umkonto river. Then a brother of the young king, Umswazi, contested the accession to the throne and, in the skirmishes which followed, the mission station, which included the mission house and the church, was destroyed. Allison and his wife fled to Natal and founded a mission station at Edendale, near Pietermaritzburg".

MAHANAIM, Transvaal: HM 1884
MAHASANE, Willowvale, Cape: No data available
MAHLABATINI, Natal: see EMAHLABATINI, Natal
MAHLATINI, also spelt MAHLATHINI, Bizana, Cape: No data available
MAHLUBINI, Glen Grey, Cape: No data available
MAIN, Cofimvaba, Cape: UFS 1876; FCS 1882
MAITLAND, Peddie, Cape: No data available
MAITLAND, Cape: DRCSA 1916
MAKAPANSPOORT, also known as MAKAPAANASPOORT, Transvaal: Bn 1865
MAKCHABENG, Transvaal: Bn
MAKODWENI, Mocambique: ABCFM pre-1891
MAKOHABENG, Transvaal: Bn 1877
MAKOHABENG, Transvaal: see KREUZBURG, Transvaal
MAKOTOPONG, Transvaal: see KREUZBURG, Transvaal
MAKOULANE, Botswana: MR 1900
MAKOULANE, Natal: MR 1900
MAKOULANE, Mocambique: MSR 1900
MAKOWE, Natal: SAGM 1892
MAKUPI, Mocambique: ABCFM pre-1891
MAKWASSIE, also spelt MAKWASSE and MAQUASSI, Transvaal: WMMS. It was established by Samuel Broadbent who documented the building of the Mission house as follows:

"On a representation of these circumstances to Siffonello, he went with Mr Hodgson to the site chosen for the new town intended for their settled abode. On their return we were delighted with Mr Hodgson's description of it, as being a well selected and beautiful place called Maquassi. In a few days after we struck our tents, and went there. Having previously learnt the part on which the natives would build their houses, we selected a site on which to build ours, at a convenient distance from theirs, so as to be separate and yet accessible. We had some doubts respecting an adequate supply of water for so large a population, as the fountain which had been pointed out to us was not very copious. However, as there was a periodical river at a short distance, at which their cattle would drink, we supposed that the people would fetch water from it, or that they probably knew of other springs in the locality not yet seen by us.

"Here, then, we set to work in earnest, first to collect material with which to construct our habitations. My case being urgent, induced me to cut down timber, of which there was a tolerable supply in the neighbourhood, to build a house in the manner of the natives, though of a different form. The width was limited by the length of beams we could get, and the length such as admitted of a division into three parts: one end for a lodging-room, the other end a room of equal size, which was divided into halves, one for a pantry, the other for books, implements, etc.; and the centre room, which was the largest, for our sitting and dining apartment. In building this house, we dug holes in the ground at proper distances, in which we set up perpendicular posts, well fastened by ramming the earth in around them. We then placed horizontal beams along the top, and fastened thee and the rafters with thongs cut from the hides of oxen, which, being used while soft, became, when dry, hard and firm.

"The intermediate space between the main posts was filled with smaller spars, crossed with woodbines, and the squares filled up with clay, which, when dry, was whitewashed within and without. This kind of work the people performed under my direction; but I and my wagon-driver had to make the door and window frames, and fix them in the walls. The whole was covered with thatch made of long grass.  For doors and window-shutters we nailed together the boards of packing cases. I had a view to this when I chose those cases for my goods when in the colony. Hinges, locks, door latches, etc with nails and screws, we had taken with us.

"The native women made for us an excellent floor of material from ant-hills, which they first pounded, then spread even, and sprinkled with water, after which they, in a kind of dance, stamped it with their feet, so that, when dry, it was both hard and smooth. Our lodging-room was first completed, that we might be ready for the expected addition to our family.

"I made a bedstead of poles and leather straps, on which was laid our hair mattress, which had served first for out sea cot, then for our wagon bed. The house was consecrated to God by prayer and praise.

"We were followed to this place in a few weeks by Siffonello and his people; first by a party who made folds for their cattle, then by the whole tribe; and in a short time a populous town was built".

MAKWIRO, also known as MOUNT MAKWIRO, Zimbabwe: WMMS
MALAN, Cape: UFS 1875; PCSA
MALAN, Willowvale, Cape: UPCM 1876
MALAPETSE, Cape: LMS
MALE, Mqanduli, Cape: see OLD MORLEY, Mqanduli, Cape
MALEPELELE, Tsolo, Cape: No data available
MALITSI, Transvaal: see MOLETSHE, Transvaal
MALITZI, also known as BISCHOFFKREUZ, Transvaal: Bn 1877
MALMESBURY, Cape: DRCSA 1881
MALOKONG, also spelt MALAKONG, Transvaal: Bn 1867
MALOLOANE, Botswana: DRCSA
MALOPO, Transvaal: WMS
MALWALWENI, Transkei, Cape: No data available
MAMACHALE, Transvaal: HM
MAMBA, Idutywa, Cape: No data available
MAMRE, Division of Victoria, Cape: MorG
MAMRE, Groenekloof, also spelt MAMRA, Cape: MorG 1808. It was visited by John Campbell in November and December 1812 who reported as follows:

"We visited every Hottentot family in the settlement, about forty in number. Their houses, though mean huts, were clean, and their dress, upon the whole was decent, though there were some exceptions.

"After dinner we took a circuit round the settlement, calling a several houses of the Hottentots, which were neat and clean. Some of the houses had four apartments, which were whitened, and had some articles of furniture: but many other houses were as mean as those I afterwards saw at Bethelsdorp.”

James Backhouse who visited it in April 1840 described it as follows:

"We walked with Ludwig Teutsch over the settlement, which is represented in the annexed etching, and on which there were about 1,000 (Khoikhoi) and other coloured people. They lived in two wide streets, with gardens between the rows of houses; one of the streets extended far to the right beyond the limit of the sketch ... Many of the people had also considerable pieces of corn-land at a short distance; some of their fields extended up a neighbouring mountain. Their first habitations were usually of rushes; they next built hartebeest houses of better quality; and many had superseded these by neat, comfortable cottages, well built and thatched.

"This station was made over by the Government, to the Moravians in 1808, as a missionary place for the Hottentots, etc. Before that time, it was successively occupied as a hunting-station for the Governor, and a depositary for salt. Several of the original buildings were still standing, and others had been added, among which was a commodious chapel. The estate was 4,606 morgens, or nearly 9,200 acres.”

MAMUSA, Botswana: P
MAMUSA, Cape, but may have been in Botswana: LMS
MANCI'S, King William's Town, Cape: No data available
MANDALA, Transvaal: Bn 1916
MANGEA, Transkei, Cape: No data available
MANGWENI, Bizana, Cape: No data available
MANKAZANA, Stockenstrom, Cape: UC. It is believed to have functioned as an outstation only.
MANTLANENI, Lusikisiki, Cape: No data available
MANUANE, also spelt MANUANA and MANOANE, Transvaal: HM 1882
MANYAKAZE, also spelt MANJAKAZE, Mocambique: MSR 1921: CN 1922
MANZIMDAKA, Engcobo, Cape: No data available
MAPHUTSENG, Lesotho: see BETHESDA, Lesotho
MAPUMULO, Natal: ABCFM 1848; WMMS
MAPUTA, Natal: SAGM 1898
MAQUASSI, Transvaal: see MAKWASSIE, Transvaal
MARANATHA, Grahamstown, Cape: SDA 1909
MARANDELLAS, Zimbabwe: SPG
MARBURG, Natal: HM 1867
MAREETSANE, Northern Cape: SPG 1895
MARIA BRON, Namibia: Rc 1923
MARIA-HILF, Natal: Rc
MARIALINDEN, Natal: Rc
MARIA LINDEN, Matatiele, Cape: No data available
MARIANHILL, Natal: Rc
MARIA TELGTE, believed in Cape: Rc
MARIATHAL, Natal: Rc
MARIATROST, Natal: Rc
MARIAZELL, Natal: Rc
MARIA ZELL, Matatiele, Cape: No data available
MARIBOGHO, also spelt MARIBWAY, Botswana: LMS
MARISSTELLA, Natal: Rc
MARMABENI, Libodi, Cape: No data available
MARQUARD, OFS: SPG 1869
MARTINSTHAL, Cape: Bn
MARUBENI, also spelt MARHUBENI, Libodi, Cape: No data available
MARUPING, Cape: LMS 1820-1848
MARY'S HELP CONVENT, King William's Town, Cape: No data available
MASASE, Zimbabwe: SKM 1919
MASERU, Lesotho: SPG 1875; P 1900
MASETLA, also spelt MOSETLA, Transvaal: HM 1867
MASHISHI, also spelt MAXIXI, Mocambique: SPG 1898
MASITI, also spelt MASITE, Lesotho: SPG 1884
MASITISE, also spelt MASSITISSI: Lesotho: P 1866
MASIYENI, Mocambique: SPG 1912
MASSANGANO, Tete, Mocambique: No data available. The ruins of Massangano were visited by David Livingstone in 1854 who recorded that:

"There are two churches and an hospital in ruins in Massangano. Of two convents, one of Black Benedictines, only the foundations appear".

MASSAO, Botswana: LMS
MASSITISSI, Lesotho: see MASITISE, Lesotho
MASUNGZANENI, Willowvale, Cape: No data available
MATALA, also known as CHA MATLALE, Transvaal: Bn 1865
MATATIELE, also spelt MATATIELA, Cape: SPG 1872-1878; ECS 1878; P; SAfMS
MATAU, Transvaal: see BOSCHHOEK, Transvaal
MATELILE, Lesotho: P 1905
MATLABANE, Transvaal: Bn; WMMS
MATLARE, Transvaal: HM
MATLAUGALA'S, Lesotho: SPG 1877
MATOLLA, Mocambique: SPG 1898
MATOPO, Zimbabwe: BC 1898
MATSHONA, Tabankulu, Cape: No data available
MATSHONGWE, Umtata, Cape: No data available
MATUMBU, Ngqeleni, Cape: No data available
MATUTWINI, also known as MATOUTOUENE, MATUTUENE and MATUTO HINE, Mocambique: SPG 1899; MSR 1902
MATYEBA, Tsolo, Cape: No data available
MAXABA'S, Ngqeleni, Cape: No data available
MAYATYWA, Glen Grey, Cape: No data available
MAZOE, Zimbabwe: SA
MBABANE, also spelt EMBABAAN, Swaziland: SAGM 1903
MBANCOLO, also spelt BANCOLO, Willowvale, Cape: No data available
MBANDANA, Bizana, Cape: No data available
MBANGA, Transkei, Cape: No data available
MBAULENE, Transkei, Cape: No data available
MBEKENI, Engcobo, Cape: No data available
MBEXA, Transkei, Cape: No data available
MBOKOTWANA, also known as MBOKOTWA, Tsolo, Cape: SPG 1873. Believed to have acted as an outstation of the SULENKAMA mission, it was burnt down in 1880 during the course of the Mpondomise uprising.
MBOBENI, Bizana, Cape: No data available
MBOLOMPO, Transkei, Cape: No data available
MBONDA, Mount Frere, Cape: Founded by John Henderson Soga, second son of Tiyo Soga, in the 1890s.
MBOPOLEMI, Transkei, Cape: No data available
MBOZISA, Transkei, Cape: No data available
MBULU, also known as PATERSON, Tsomo, Cape: UFS 1868; PCSA; UPCM
MBULUKWEZA, Tsomo, Cape: No data available
MBULUZI, Swaziland: SAGM 1920
MBUMBASI, Mount Ayliff, Cape: No data available
MBUZI, Mount Frere, Cape: No data available
MCELENI, Flagstaff, Cape: No data available
MCETHENI, Flagstaff, Cape: No data available
MCEULA, Xalanga, Cape: No data available
MDAKA, Transkei, Cape: No data available
MDAMAZULU, Ngqeleni, Cape: No data available
MDEDELWA, Transkei, Cape: No data available
MDIKANE, Pondoland, Cape: No data available
MDIKASA, Transkei, Cape: No data available
MDITSHWA, Transkei, Cape: No data available
MDIZENI, Cape: see ANDERS MISSION, Middledrift, Cape
MDULENI, Transkei, Cape: No data available
MEDINGEN, Transvaal: Bn 1881. Alexander Merensky reported that they "... founded our mission station, Medingen, next to chief Kashane's village".
MEKOATLENG, OFS, possibly the same as MEKUATLENG, Lesotho: Society not known, 1820-1848
MEKUATLENG, also spelt MAKWATLING and MEKUATLING, although the exact orthography of this name is not known, Lesotho: P 1837. It was visited by James Backhouse in July 1839 when he recorded the following:

"Numerous villages exist within a short distance of the Mission-house. Several of the people had been into the Colony to work; they had been careful of their wages, and had procured cattle, and returned with them to their own country. Some of them were building cottages of stone and clay, and most of them were decently clothed".

Eugene Casalis visited the Station, probably in the early 1840s, when he gave the following account of building its church:

"The churches of which we have spoken are mostly the work of our converts. At this very moment one is being completed, to the erection of which they have subscribed a sum of 200l. They lend still more willingly the aid of their hands, especially if the work is managed conjointly, and treated as a family matter, in which case the most wearisome toil is considered in the light of a pleasure.

"At the time of the construction of the church at Mekuatling, the natives first got together all the stones, and prepared about 60,000 bricks; the wood for the framework was found in the mountains, or at the bottom of ravines inaccessible to horses or oxen; it was brought, as if by magic, by the strong arms of these men. The stubble and rushes for the roofing had been cut by them at some distance from the station; the women and girls took upon themselves the duty of conveying it, and they might be seen every morning following one another, bearing the their heads large bundles, which they deposited in the yard. It is customary to stitch these materials to the laths of the roof by means of thongs, and for this purpose a number of skins were required. All the hunters of the place set off immediately, and soon returned with a large waggon-full of the skins of the gnus and zebras of the neighbourhood. Never had war been waged against these animals with such good conscience. The hunting cry was, "God wills it! God commands it!" In the evening the hunters assembled, to sing a hymn to the Creator before retiring to rest.

"Lime is seldom found in this country, and is used for no other purpose than to whiten the walls of houses. It is only found in the form of stalactites in grottoes, situated generally at the mountain-tops. Mr Daumas, after a great deal of research, had discovered a considerable quantity near a sparkling fountain falling in cascades; but, unfortunately, very disadvantageously placed for the convenience of the quarrymen. The lime was taken by storm; a party set out, one fine morning, as if on an excursion of pleasure. Mr and Mrs Daumas could not resist the temptation to be of the party. Blocks almost as hard as marble were soon broken to shivers, and long before sunset there were no fewer than five cart-loads of lime, which ten strong oxen conveyed successively to the station.

"Last of all, in order that the construction of the building should be complete, we must add to the happy labours already mentioned, a contribution in cattle, the sale of which would enable our colleague to furnish the sacred edifice with suitable benches".

MELITA, Botswana: LMS
MELMOTH, Natal: ZMD 1900
MELORANE, Transvaal: HM 1870
MELSETTER, Zimbabwe: ABCFM
MENDU, Willowvale, Cape: No data available
MENGI, Transkei, Cape: No data available
MERIBOWAY, Botswana: see MARIBOGHO, Botswana
MERUMETSO, OFS: Society not known, 1820-1848
MEXEGWENI, Mount Frere, Cape: No data available
MFULAMUHLA, Umzimkulu, Cape: No data available
MFUNDISWENI, also spelt EMFUNDISWENI, Flagstaff, Cape: WMS 1862; SAfMS 1862.  Previously located at PALMERTON, Lusikisiki, Cape
MGAGANI, Mount Frere, Cape: No data available
MGANDULI, Cape: see MQANDULI, Cape
MGCWE, Nqamakwe Cape: No data available
MGELE, Transkei, Cape: No data available
MGODINI, Lusikisiki, Cape: No data available
MGQUMA, Transkei, Cape: No data available
MGUDU, Engcobo, Cape: No data available
MGUME, Transkei, Cape: No data available
MGUNGU, Bizana, Cape: No data available
MGWALANA, Elliot, Cape: No data available
MGWALI, also spelt EMGWALI, Engcobo, Cape: This is the local name for CLARKEBURY, Cape
MGWALI, also spelt EMGWALI, Stutterheim, Cape: UFS 1839; PCSA; GMS; UPCM
M'GWENDI, also spelt MGWENDIS, Zimbabwe: SPG
MGWENYANA, Transkei, Cape: No data available
MGWENYENI, Transkei, Cape: No data available
MHINGA, also spelt MINGHA, Transvaal: MSR 1898
MHLABAMNYABA, Transkei, Cape: No data available
MHLABANE, Transkei, Cape: No data available
MHLABATI, Qumbu, Cape: No data available
MHLANGA, Bizana, Cape: No data available
MHLANGALA, Mount Frere, Cape: No data available
MHLANI, Transkei, Cape: No data available
MHLOPOKAZI, Engcobo, Cape: No data available
MHLOTSHENI, Mount Frere, Cape: No data available
MHLOTSHENI, Swaziland: SAM 1924
MHLUMBA, Lusikisiki, Cape: No data available
MHLUNGULU, Qumbu, Cape: No data available
MIDDLEBURG, Cape: DRCSA 1855; SAfMS 1881; WMS
MIDDLEBURG, Transvaal: DRCSAT 1890; SPG 1894; Bn 1901; AG 1908; WMMS
MIDDLEDRIFT, also known as ANN SHAW, Cape: SAfMS 1853; NBC 1897
MIDDLEDRIFT, Transvaal: NBC 1897
MILLER, Elliotdale, Cape: UFS 1888; UPCM
MISSION LOCATION, Kentani, Cape: see KENTANI LOCATION, Cape
MISTER BIRT'S, Cape: see MXHELO and PEELTOWN, Cape
MISTER BROWNLEE'S, Cape: see BUFFALO RIVER, King William's Town, Cape
MISTER KAYSER'S, Middledrift, Cape: see KNAPP'S HOPE, Middledrift, Cape
MJAMKHULU, Butterworth, Cape: No data available
MJANYANA, Engcobo, Cape: This operated as a Leper Colony
MJIKA, Tsolo, Cape: Believed to have acted as an outstation of the SULENKAMA mission, it was little damaged in 1880 during the course of the Mpondomise uprising.
MJOMBELA, Lusikisiki, Cape: No data available
MJOZI, Bizana, Cape: SABMS 1901
MKELE, also spelt MCKELE, Umzimkulu, Cape: No data available
MKONGE, Tabankulu, Cape: No data available
MKOSI, Transkei, Cape: No data available
MLAMLI MISSION HOSPITAL, Herschel, Cape: No data available
MLAZI, Natal: see UMLAZI, Natal
MLINDAZWE, Bizana, Cape: No data available
MMANGWENI, Bizana, Cape: No data available
MNCEBA, Tabankulu, Cape: No data available
MNCWASA, Transkei, Cape: No data available
MNDUNDU, Transkei, Cape: No data available
MNENE, Zimbabwe: SKM 1903
MNGAZI, Port St Johns, Cape: No data available
MNGQAKHWEBE, King William's Town, Cape: No data available
MNXE, Xalanga, Cape: No data available
MNYAMENI, Bizana, Cape: No data available
MNYANDO, Transkei, Cape: No data available
MNYIBASHE, Nqamakwe Cape: No data available
MOCHUDI, Botswana: DRCSA 1865
MOCHULI, Sechell's Country, Transvaal, possibly the same MOCHUDI, Botswana,: DRCSA
MOCOELI, Zeerust, Transvaal: HM 1886
MODDERFONTEIN, Cape: RM
MODDERPOORT, OFS: SPG
MODDERSPRUIT, Natal: DNa
MODIMOLLE, Transvaal: see WATERBERG, Transvaal
MOHALES HOEK, Lesotho: SPG 1876.  In 1895 John Widdicombe published the following report on the Missions destroyed during Anglo-Basotho conflict of 1880:

"The Church had at the time three Missions in Basutoland: one in the south at Mohale's Hoek, under the charge of the Rev E W Stenson; a second, as the reader already knows, at Sekubu, in the extreme north, where the Rev T Woodman and his sister were working; and my own at Thlotse Heights. Of these the first was speedily destroyed; the mission buildings being rased to the ground, and the very foundation-stone of the church dug up by the rebels for the sake of the coins known to be enclosed in it".

MOILO, Botswana: LMS
MOLEPO, near Mphome, also known as BETHEL, Transvaal: DRCSAT 1892
MOLEPOLOLE, also spelt MOLOPOLOLI, Botswana: LMS 1866; DKK. It was visited by Emil Holub in 1873 when he recorded the following:

"Molopolole appeared undeniably the most picturesque of all the Bechuana towns. Around us were the rocky heights, most of them absolutely perpendicular in their upper parts, the lower half being formed of huge masses of rock, thickly wooded on the less abrupt declivities, and occasionally adorned with some giant aloe; on our right, overhanging the pass, was the Molopolole rock, with its interesting geological formation, and between us and the mouth of the defile were fine trees shading the mission buildings and their little gardens with their tropical growth of bananas and sugar-canes ... Accepting an invitation from the missionaries, I paid them a visit, and found that Mr Price had a home that was furnished with much comfort and considerable taste. It must, however, have been a great difficulty for him to attain such an amount of domestic civilization. He had been one of the two missionaries appointed to conduct the mission into the country of the Makololos; their reverses, however, had been so many, and their non-success so complete, that they had been obliged to abandon their undertaking.  His associate, Mr Williams, belonged, like himself and the other missionaries in Kuruman, Taung, Kanya and Shoshong, to the London Missionary Society; he had been several years in South Africa, and was now building himself a house. They offered to introduce me to the king. Accordingly, on the second day after my arrival, we proceeded to mount the rocky heights on which, like an eagle's nest, stands the part of the town that is occupied by Sechele and his retinue. Passing the unfinished house of Mr Williams, we had first to ascend a narrow section of the glen, at the end of which stood the chapel built by Mr Price, an unpretending edifice, sixty feet long and twenty-one feet wide, with an aisle and a thatched roof".

MOLETSHE, also spelt MALITSI, Transvaal: Bn 1877
MOLOTE, Transvaal: HM 1895
MOLTENO, Cape: DRCSA 1902; WMS; DGT; SAfMS
MOLUMONG, Lesotho: P 1892
MOMPANDOMOSINI, Mount Ayliff, Cape: No data available
MONGWE, Mocambique: ABCFM pre-1891
MONOTI, Natal: WMS
MONTAGU, Cape: SPG pre-1862; DRCSA 1891
MONTI, Bizana, Cape: No data available
MOOIFONTEIN, believed to have been called SEKHUKHUNILAND, Transvaal: WMMS
MOOI RIVER, Natal: SPG 1898; SA
MOORE'S POST, Qumbu, Cape: Appears to have also been a trading post
MOORREESBURG, Cape: DRCSA 1914
MORAVIAN, Mount Fletcher, Cape: No data available
MORGENSTER, Zimbabwe: DRCSA 1891
MORGENZON, Natal: BPA 1914
MORIJA, also spelt MORIJAH, Lesotho: P 1833; SME 1841. It was founded by Eugene Casalis who gave extensive accounts of the mission house as well as its subsequent buildings. Like most other Mission Stations in southern Africa, Morija also had humble beginnings:

"The next day we began to think about constructing some kind of shelter. The box of tools that we had brought from Europe was opened, and my two fellow-workers and myself took each of us a hatchet and a saw. Plenty of fine trees were to be seen at a little distance from the place of our encampment.

"Our excellent friend, Mr Gossellin, who had joined us in the capacity of a missionary artisan, handled with equal skill the hammer of the stone-cutter and the mattock of the husbandman.  By a few encouraging words he raised my spirits, and prevented Mr. Arbousset from losing heart - he taught us to husband our strength, and to direct our blows better. The result was that in the evening, aided by our men, we carried to our encampment an almost sufficient quantity of stakes and laths for the construction of the modest dwelling, the erection of which we had planned.

"It was to be nothing more than a cabin, a little larger than the huts of the natives, and in a few days it was completed. Some reeds, placed upon four props driven into the ground, received our mattresses, and an old table and some trunks completed the furniture. The guns and the implements of husbandry were suspended like trophies from certain projecting points, which our primitive columns presented at very irregular intervals. It was so long since we had seen anything resembling a human habitation, that this poor cabin threw us into an ecstasy of admiration.

In spite of having expert building assistance not all their structures stood the test of the African weather. Casalis tells of one such mishap:

"We had heard so much of the scorching climate of Africa, and had been so earnestly recommended to fix our abode near streams adapted to the purpose of irrigation, that we never imagined we should experience any inconvenience from rain. There could surely be no more than passing showers. The roof of our cabin consisted of a thin layer of reeds, bound rather loosely to the rafters which formed their support; the rafters themselves were not sufficiently slanting to cause the water to run off quickly, and the consequence was, the first heavy shower we had produced upon us the effect of a shower-bath. This amused us very much - it was, doubtless, an accidental occurrence. But week after week these shower-baths became more frequent and more copious, and we at length determined to give the entire surface of our roof a coat of mortar. The remedy aggravated the evil; the rafters gave way under the weight, and soon, instead of an umbrella, we had a funnel over our heads".

Eventually a new Mission house became necessary. Casalis continued his account:

"During these hours of inactivity and of compulsory fasting we devised the plan of a solid stone house, twenty-four feet by eighteen, which was to contain five rooms and a large kitchen. The first stone was laid with great ceremony. One may judge of the serious nature of this undertaking by the reflection which it suggested to my companion, Mr. Arbousset. The day the stone was laid he wrote as follows:

"Without adopting the opinion of an author of much celebrity and without applying to the evangelical Missionary what that writer has said of the priest, we nevertheless believe that he ought, in some way, to command respect; and experience has proved that a grave demeanour, a spacious dwelling, order in the domestic arrangements, and cleanliness in everything, are at least some of the means which favourably prepossess the simple and uninstructed mind."

"Alas! how matter-of-fact we become as we grow old! Now, my friend, would say that he built the house for the preservation of his health.

"Ours were evidently in great danger. Colds, rheumatism, and fevers of all kinds, would have been the natural results of our almost aquatic life, and yet we had nothing of the kind; we had never been better in our lives; a loving and all-powerful Father was watching over us, and He did not permit us to suffer the natural consequences of our inexperience. "We laboured for six months, without any relaxation, at our new dwelling, and were in such a hurry to enter it, that we installed ourselves before the roof was completed, or a single door put up. The Basutos watched our proceedings, and asked each other why, if we wanted a cavern, we did not go and inhabit one of those which abound in the Malutis?"

Casalis also gave a description of an ideal Mission Station, but could possibly have been referring to his home at Moriah.

"Turn your eyes from these silent scenes to seek the station. You will discover at the foot of a hill, in the shadow cast by the mountain nearest you, a few simple, though well-built houses, whose white fronts are turned towards large orchards and cultivated fields. You will recognise, by its size and isolated position, the edifice consecrated to the worship of God.

"A little higher up are seen several small buildings, in rough stone (pretty well arranged in a row), whose principal charm consists in their being overshadowed by some very fine peach-trees: these are the dwellings of those of the inhabitants who have taken the first step towards civilisation. Higher up still may be seen immense circles, the circumference of which is composed of huts or an oval form, and placed very near each other: this is the motse, the heathen community, where barbarous songs may too often be heard; whilst lower down the inhabitants meet, morning and evening, to chant the praises of the Saviour.

"Perhaps, after this glance at the ensemble of our station, you would like to enter one of our African churches. They are generally very much crowded, and it is sometimes not without difficulty that the preacher makes his way to the pulpit. The Christian women dress on a Sunday much as our villagers do; but they seem to understand that a handkerchief, worn as a turban, suits their dark complexion and rustic nature infinitely better than a bonnet or a cap; the men prefer a paletot to a jacket, and a frock to a tail-coat, which latter they consider as supremely ridiculous; the greater number still prefer arraying themselves in their cloaks of skins, and the Missionaries are not over-exacting in this particular".

Morija was visited by James Backhouse in July 1839 who recorded the following:

"The rain increased as we approached Morija, which is situated under a lofty range of hills, and near a remarkable peak, called Thabe Tele. The settlement is represented in the accompanying cut.

"It is, in what may properly be called the Basutu country; it consists of the mission premises, and two large kraals; the latter are situated on natural terraces, on the side of an adjacent mountain.  There are also many smaller kraals in the vicinity".

Subsequent to his original descriptions of Morija, published in 1861, Casalis was to provide more detailed accounts of his home in 1889. The building of the Mission Station he described as follows:

"For the moment what most interested us in this wood was the wood itself.  We needed a shelter with the least possible delay. One could be quickly extemporised with stakes and branches; but we wanted to render these materials amenable to the plumb-line and the square. We had remarked, not without anxiety, that in this country almost all the trees preferred bifurcations, and all sorts of grotesque protuberances, to a vertical growth. We found, however, amongst the younger ones, a certain number which answered our requirements.

"The next day we cut down as many as we needed, and the cabin was nearly finished in the week. It was worth about what it had cost us. Never was improvised domicile less comfortable. No groom would have accepted it for his horses. But Gossellin, our master in this line of things, was reserving himself for the masonry, which was his strong point. We were going by-and-by to have buildings altogether irreproachable. 'This is merely provisional', said he. That word answered for everything. He coldly added, 'The little house is good enough for those who have to live in it'.

"As we were finishing it, we saw coming towards us a squad of young fellows from eighteen to twenty years of age, commanded by Molapo, the second son of Moshesh. They were the assistants whom he had promised us. They soon established themselves, putting up some huts after their fashion, which they adorned inside with their shields, placing along the walls, by way of pillars, sacks of sorgho or large millet".

Improvements of the Morija Mission soon became necessary, as Casalis was to report:

"It may be imagined with what joy my friends saw me arrive. I found them in perfect health, and full of spirits. They had improved the cabin.  Such as it had now become it might have contended a not too particular coast-guardsman or tide-waiter. There were three compartments in it: one in front, which served as sitting room; another, a little larger, which formed the bed and dressing room; and, in addition, a small chamber for out boxes, tools, bags, etc. In this last a prominent feature was a huge cord hanging from a beam with a hook at the end. It was there we hung the piece of game, or the sheep killed for the weekly consumption. There were neither windows nor wooden doors. Some holes, which we could at need stop up with our oldest hats, allowed just enough light to penetrate to allow us to read without too much difficulty. For ingress and egress we had an arrangement of strong wattles pivoting on a wooden socket".

Three years later Casalis reported on forther improvements:

"The labours of the first three years were extremely fatiguing. The hardest came first; those demanded by the preparation of materials of construction. During entire months we were doing nothing except hewing stones, working lumps of clay for bricks, with our trousers turned up to the knees, cutting down trees, and sawing them into beams and planks. Of all our work nothing was so tiring as this last. We understood absolutely nothing of sawyering, and our instrument being an English one, that is, an immense flexible blade, unmounted, it was especially difficult to manage. It was continually getting out of the track, to the right or left, and once out of the right line it would have been easier to break it than to get it to move an inch. It was necessary then to have recourse to all sorts of expedients; to turn and return spite of its weight, the unfortunate tree-trunk we were handling so awkwardly. At times one might have seen us all three stretched on our backs, exhausted, quite out of breath, and asking ourselves if our vertebral column would ever recover from such a strain. The natives would look at us with open mouths, seeking vainly to comprehend the view of life which could lead men to kill them-selves to provide so simple an affair as a shelter from the sun and rain. The reflections they made did not prevent our young natives from lending us a hand when we asked them. The son of the chief went to work as eagerly as the rest. They burst into shouts of laughter when they found they had misunderstood the directions we gave them, or had made some blunder. Their good humour helped to keep up ours.

"There were certain kinds of work at which they were very apt. They were handy at the spade, and we were able to make good use of them in the cultivation of our plants. They were useful also in raising rough stone or mud walls. Thanks to their help, we were enabled, without much interruption in the preparation of our materials of construction, to substantially wall in our cattle enclosure and our garden".

Finally though it became necessary to erect a larger Mission House. On 17 September 1834 Casalis reported on its completion:

"September 17th, 1834, saw our large house at Moriah nearly finished. The roof was on, and it was secured against winds and wild beasts by doors and windows. We celebrated the occasion by a thanksgiving service and the killing of a fat ox, with which to regale the young men who had been our assistants.

"We determined at first to use only three rooms, the other part being devoted to the Sunday services and to our first attempts at a school. We were by this means enabled to put off to a later date the erection of a chapel and schoolhouse. This respite was indispensable to us: we were wearied of hewing stones, of making bricks, and of sawing wood.

As Casalis noted, these structures were not always successful in excluding rainwater:

"The rain stopped us to such an extent that Fossellin had to leave me before the cabin was quite finished. The storms which forces us to strike work at Thaba-Bossiou had caused him to lose some thousands of bricks which he had moulded at Moriah, and had demolished a large portion of the wall of a school then in construction".

MORLEY, also known as NEW MORLEY and MALE, Mqanduli, Cape: WMS 1830. This mission was originally established at AMADOLA in 1828 but was attacked and burnt down a year later by refugees from the Difaqane. In 1830 it was removed to OLD MORLEY, also known locally as WILO, where it remained until 1863 when it was resited once again to a new location 13km nearer the coast. This then became known as NEW MORLEY or, more simply, as MORLEY. OLD MORLEY subsequently became a trading station. It was visited by James Backhouse in March 1839 who reported as follows:

"Morley is a flourishing Station. Its population was at this time about 300, but on First-days, nearly twice the number attended the chapel. Nineteen men and seventeen women were members of the church.  The pupils in the school were about 100. Forty-five were in attendance, exclusive of little children, notwithstanding many were occupied in watching the gardens. The schoolmaster was a native. The little children were taught the alphabet in a (Xhosa) hut; the school for older children was kept in the chapel.

"A few of the men here had learned to fell and saw timber, and to assist in building. The Mission-house was a neat, brick building; in front of it a few shrubs were inclosed within a fence. A brick house was in course of erection for the Catechist. The chapel was likewise a brick building. Two cottages of wattle-and- dab were occupied by the Catechist and others connected with the mission. The Interpreter had erected for himself a wattle-and-dab cottage, of two rooms, with a chimney and a four-paned window. The window was given to him as an encouragement for building his house with a chimney. A few other (Xhosa) were building cottages. The (Xhosa) huts on the station were numerous; they were of larger dimensions than those in many other places. Wood and grass are abundant here, rain being frequent".

MOROKOA, Botswana: P
MOROYANA, OFS: WMS
MORVANE, Cape: LMS
MOSETA, also spelt MOSETLA or MASETLA, Transvaal: HM 1867
MOSETLA, Transvaal: see MOSETA, Transvaal
MOSHANENG, Botswana: WMMS. It was visited by Emil Holub in 1873 when he recorded the following:

"The southern part of Moshaneng belonged to Molema and his Barolongs, and (excepting the ruined church and Mr Martin's house) contained no buildings in the European style of architecture. The native huts were all of pure Bechuana construction, and owing to the limited space, were packed very closely together, although in the Baharutse quarter, separated by a valley and a stream, the farmsteads were much less crowded. I should estimate the population of the entire town to be about 7000; but out of this number nearly 1000 would be fluctuating, many of the inhabitants working occasionally for lengthened periods at the diamond fields, or cultivating land at a distance.

"The king's residence stood in the western part near the river-bank and was surrounded by a courtyard containing two huts apiece for his five wives".

MOSIKA, Botswana: Society not known, pre-1848
MOSIKA, near Kuruman, Cape: ABCFM 1837
MOSIKA, Transvaal: ABCFM; P
MOSITELE, Lesotho: P
MOSSEL BAY, Cape: Bn 1879; DRCSA 1899; SAfMS
MOTIBE, Transvaal: LMS
MOTING, Lesotho, but may have been in OFS: WMMS
MOTITO, Botswana, but possibly same as MOTITO, Cape: P
MOTITO, also spelt MOTITON and BOTHITONG, Cape, but possibly same as MOTITO, Botswana: Society not known, 1820-1839. It was visited by James Backhouse in September 1839 when he recorded the following:

"Motito, which is represented in the accompanying cut, is situated about ten miles west of the low, conical hill of Takoon, from which Old Lattakoo took its name. After that station was deserted, in consequence of invasion by some native hordes, the Missionaries of the Paris Society re-occupied it, but they subsequently removed to Motito, on account of the latter place being better supplied with water. The most remote house in the cut is the mission-house, the nearer ones are a chapel and a store. They are built of raw brick".

MOUNT ARTHUR, Glen Grey, Cape: LMS 1840; WMS 1853; SafMS 1862. This station was previously known as the BUSHMAN SCHOOL, the BUSHMAN STATION, FREEMANTON and FREEMANTLE. It was visited by Thomas Baines in 1848 who he recorded one of the Mission's outstations as follows:

"Upon the projecting ridge pole of the Chief's house, a rough framework loosely thatched with reeds of ten to fourteen feet in length, hung three pair of hartebeest horns ... Passing through the village, which consisted of perhaps half a dozen reed houses similar but inferior to that of the Chief, we outspanned beyond the building that served as a school and chapel ..."

MOUNT AYLIFF, Cape: ECS 1888; SPG
MOUNT COKE, King William's Town, Cape: SAfMS July 1825; WMMS  1826; LMS 1830. It was visited by Andrew Geddes Bain in April 1829, when he reported as follows:

"We saw them building a large & elegant house fitting up in the first style, for which extravagance I suppose poor John Bull contributed pretty handsomely".

By the time Backhouse visited this mission in March 1939 it was in ruins.

"Mount Coke, like most other places in this country, bore marks of the devastations of war. The old mission-house, which was of stone, was in ruins, and there were but few inhabitants left upon the place. Some of these were living in huts of wattle-and-dab, of which material the unfinished houses of the Missionary and Catechist, and a rude building, without doors or windows, used as a chapel, were also constructed".

MOUNT FLETCHER, Cape: UFS 1911; WMS; SPG
MOUNT FRERE, Cape: ECS 1890; UFS 1893; SPG; SA
MOUNT HARGREAVES, Matatiele, Cape: No data available
MOUNT HERMON, Swaziland: SAGM 1897
MOUNT MAKWIOR, Zimbabwe: see MAKWIRO, Zimbabwe
MOUNT NICHOLAS, Libodi, Cape: No data available
MOUNT PACKARD, Mqanduli, Cape: SAGM 1897
MOUNT RATSCHITZ, Natal: Rc
MOUNT SILINDA, Zimbabwe: ABCFM 1893
MOUNT TABOR, Natal: SAGM 1899
MOUNT TELGLE, Natal: Rc
MOUNT ZION, Bizana, Cape: No data available
MOWBRAY, Cape: SAfMS 1869; WMS
MOWINILINGA, Cape: see MWINILINGA, Tsolo, Cape
MPANDE'S KRAAL, also known as NODWENGU, Natal: ABCFM 1835-1850
MPEMBA, Transkei, Cape: No data available
MPERANE, Lesotho, but may have been in OFS: WMMS
MPHARANE, also spelt IMPARANI, OFS: Society not known, 1820-1839. It was visited by James Backhouse in July 1839 when he reported as follows:

"Near Imparani, there were several remarkable peaks, and tabular sandstone mountains; the villages of the natives were very numerous on the rocky slopes of the latter. On the plains, the corn-fields of the people were extensive. We passed through the werf or town of the Chief, Sikoniela, which consisted of numerous huts, with courts of reed fencing, just as the people, were bringing in the cattle in the evening, and soon came in sight of the white chapel and mission-house, where we met a hearty welcome from James Allison, whose valuable wife was gone to Grahams Town on account of her health. The people of Imparani are Mantatees.

"The Mantatees cultivated a considerable quantity of land in this neighbourhood. From the time that their grain came up, they employed many of their children in herding their cattle, to keep them off their cultivated ground, which is universally unfenced. James Allison showed them the advantage of fencing their ground, by building a stone wall around his own garden, which was in front of his house".

MPHEKO, Peddie, Cape: No data available
MPHEKO LOCATION, also spelt MPEKO LOCATION, Umtata, Cape: No data available
MPHOME, also known as KRATZENSTEIN, Transvaal: Bn 1878
MPICANE, also spelt MPISANE, Transvaal: MSR 1875-1923
MPINDWENI, Bizana, Cape: No data available
MPOKAMINGA, Transkei, Cape: No data available
MPOKANE, also spelt UMPUKANI, OFS, but may have been in Lesotho: Probably PMS c1836. Visited by Arbousset and Daumas in 1836 (pp 22-23), who recorded it to have been a mission to Koranna Khoikhoi and Bastards. They described it as follows:

"On the brow of the hill stand two European houses; to the right is a kraal of about two hundred and fifty koranna huts; to the left is a pretty fountain, which can be turned in to water the garden of the mission house when necessary.

"Mr. and Mrs. Jenkins, who formerly resided at Old Buchap, founded the station of Umpukani, about three years before our visit. In the choice of a locality, as well as in the construction of the houses of the station, they have manifested a prudence and an industry which might well serve as models for all missionaries in South Africa placed in similar circumstances. They have erected, at little expense, a dwelling, which is at once simple and commodious, and is not altogether devoid of elegance. The house is built of raw bricks; and the erection, serving for chapel and for school, is formed of reeds, and is covered within and without with a coat of clay. The garden, although very plain, is well cultivated, and produces the principal vegetables of the country.  In one corner of this little enclosure, stands Mr. Jenkins' study".

James Backhouse visited Mpokane in July 1839 when he recorded the following:

"The mission-house and chapel, at this place, are under one roof; they form a commodious, neat building, of raw brick, and are whitewashed, as are also the outbuildings".

MPOKANI, Lesotho, but may have been in OFS, possibly the same as MPOKANE: WMMS
MPOZOLA, Transkei, Cape: No data available
MPUKANE, Nqamakwe Cape: No data available
MPUNGUTYE, Transkei, Cape: No data available
MPUTOLI, also spelt MPOTULA, Cape: SABMS 1899
MQANDULI, also spelt MGANDULI, Cape: SPG 1895
MQEKEZWENI, Umtata, Cape: No data available
MQOKOLWENI, Mqanduli, Cape: see QOKOLWENI, Mqanduli, Cape
MQONCI, Engcobo, Cape: No data available
MQWAKWEBE, King William's Town, Cape: see MNGQAKHWEBE, King William's Town, Cape
MQALANA, Engcobo, Cape: No data available
MREWA, Zimbabwe: MEFB 1908
MSANA, Umtata, Cape: No data available
MSELENI, Lusikisiki, Cape: No data available
MSELENI, Natal: SAGM 1908
MSIKABA, Lusikisiki, Cape: No data available
MTAMVUNA, Bizana, Cape: No data available
MTEBELE, Nqamakwe, Cape: No data available
MTENTU, Umtata, Cape: No data available
MTHONJANE, Butterworth, Cape: No data available
MTINSILANA, Butterworth, Cape: No data available
MTOKO, Zimbabwe: MEFB 1916
MTSHABEZI, Zimbabwe: BC 1907
MTSHOZI, Mount Frere, Cape: No data available
MTSILA, Mount Frere, Cape: No data available
MTSOVA, Mocambique: SPG 1895
MTYINTYINI, Glen Grey, Cape: No data available
MUDEN, also spelt MUEDEN, Natal: HM 1859
MUI'S, OFS: WMS
MURE, also known as MUIR, King William's Town, Cape: Believed to have acted as an outstation for the PIRIE mission.
MURRAYSBURG, Cape: DRCSA 1860; WMS
MUTAMBARA, Zimbabwe: MEFB 1907
MVENYANE, Matatiele, Cape: Mor 1888; MorG 1914
MVUMALANO, Transkei, Cape: No data available
MWINILINGA, also spelt MOWINILINGA, Tsolo, Cape: No data available
MXHELO, also spelt MXELO, also known as BIRT'S MISSION, Alice, Cape: LMS 1839, destroyed during the 1846 Border conflict, also known as the "War of the Axe". Although this station was known as BIRT'S MISSION during his stay there, Birt is better known for his work at PEELTON, near King William's Town. The village of ABERDEEN was established here subsequently, in about 1853.
MZAMBA, also spelt NZAMBA, Bizana, Cape: No data available
MZAMO, Transkei, Cape: No data available
MZIMVUBU, Tabankulu, Cape: No data available
MZINTLAVANA, Lusikisiki, Cape: No data available
MZIZI, Bizana, Cape: No data available