Cape Town, South Africa Passenger Lists 1911-1955
Cape Town Docks - View From End of Breakwater - 1907. | GGA Image ID # 175886fb9e
Cape Town is the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape in South Africa. The city is famous for its harbor, natural setting in the Cape floral kingdom, and well-known landmarks such as Table Mountain and Cape Point. Today it is one of the most multicultural cities in the world, reflecting its role as a major destination for immigrants and expatriates to South Africa.
Cape Town Harbor
View of Cape Town Harbor. The Syren and Shipping, 4 January 1905. | GGA Image ID # 1d3fc32da0
The metropolis of South Africa is fortunate in possession of a harbor commensurate with the retirements of the volume of trade and the floating tonnage passing through or touching thereat.
Massive is the only word to apply to the tonnage, while the variety of merchandise handled at Cape Town's docks is probably unique, like the infinite mixture of colors in its urban streets. The inception of the present harbor works dates back to 1860 when Sir John Coode recommended that a breakwater (now 3,600 ft. long) should be run out into Table Bay.
Under the shelter of that breakwater, two dock basins have been constructed of eight and sixty-four acres, the depth of all the outer quays being from 28 ft. to 30 ft.
Until recently, the equipment of the Cape Town docks was insufficient, and the storage accommodation, except on the South Arm, was poor and meager.
Early in 1900, the Harbor Commissioners recognized this fact and determined to mend matters, and, Parliament having voted the necessary funds, immediate steps were taken to supply every deep water quay in the port with the most approved electrical cranes; to remove the old warehouses, to construct others of modern design; and to re-arrange the lines of rails, so that it would be possible on every wharf to load directly from ships into railway trucks.
Although not yet completed, these improvements have been largely carried out, and it is hoped in the course of another year. Cape Town may, in every respect, claim to be a thoroughly up-to-date port.
1911-07-15 RMS Walmer Castle Passenger List
Steamship Line: Union-Castle Line
Class of Passengers: First and Second Class
Date of Departure: 15 July 1911
Route: Southampton for Capetown via Madeira, Algoa Bay, East London, and Natal
Commander: Captain F. Whitehead, R.N.R.
1920-11-19 RMS Armadale Castle Passenger List
Steamship Line: Union-Castle Line
Class of Passengers: First and Second Class
Date of Departure: 12 November 1920
Route: Southampton to Natal via Madeira, Cape Town, Algoa Bay and East London
Commander: Captain J. W. Hague, R.N.R.
1925-08-13 TSS Sophocles Passenger List
Steamship Line: Aberdeen Line
Class of Passengers: First Class
Date of Departure: 13 August 1925
Route: United Kingdom to Australia
Port of Calls: London to Brisbane via Tenerife, Capetown, Albany, Melbourne, and Sydney
Commander: Captain A. Ogilvy
1926-01-16 TSS Demosthenes Passenger List
Steamship Line: Aberdeen Line
Class of Passengers: Saloon
Date of Departure: 16 January 1926
Route: Australia to the United Kingdom via South Africa and Spain
Port of Calls: Melbourne » Fremantle » Durban » Capetown » Tenerife » Southampton
Commander: Captain F. A. Orriss
1927-11-04 R.M.M.V. Carnarvon Castle Passenger List
Steamship Line: Union-Castle Line
Class of Passengers: First and Second Class
Date of Departure: 4 November 1927
Route: Southampton for Capetown via Madeira, Algoa Bay, East London, and Natal
Commander: Captain W. F. Stanley
1929-11-29 RMS Walmer Castle Passenger List
Steamship Line: Union-Castle Line
Class of Passengers: Cabin
Date of Departure: 29 November 1929
Route: Capetown to Southampton via Madeira
Commander: Captain W. Morton Betts
1935-09-24 SS Llandaff Castle Passenger List
Steamship Line: Union-Castle Line
Class of Passengers: First and Tourist Class
Date of Departure: 24 September 1935
Route: Capetown to Southampton via St. Helena, Ascension, and Teneriffe
Commander: Captain H. L. Scholefield
1935-10-18 SS Kenilworth Castle Passenger List
Steamship Line: Union-Castle Line
Class of Passengers: First and Tourist Class
Date of Departure: 18 October 1935
Route: Natal to Southampton via East London, Port Elizabeth, Capetown, and Madeira
Commander: Captain E. S. Vincent, R.D., R.N.R.
1937-07-21 SS City of New York Passenger List
Steamship Line: American South African Line
Class of Passengers: Cabin
Date of Departure: 21 July 1937
Route: Beira to New York via Lindi, Dar-Es-Salaam, Zanzibar, Tanga, Mombasa, Durban, Port Elizabeth, Capetown, and the Island of Trinidad
Commander: Captain C. W. Schmidt, Lt. Cmdr. USNR
1939-07-14 RMS Windsor Castle Passenger List
Steamship Line: Union-Castle Line
Class of Passengers: Cabin and Tourist Class
Date of Departure: 14 July 1939
Route: Cape Town to London via Madeira
Commander: Captain R. W. Goodacre, R.D., R.N.R.
1939-07-13 RMMV Stirling Castle Passenger List
Steamship Line: Union-Castle Line
Class of Passengers: Cabin and Tourist Third Cabin
Date of Departure: 13 July 1939
Route: Southampton to Durban via Madeira, Capetown, Port Elizabeth, and East London,
Commander: Captain H. R. Northwood
1939-07-14 RMS Windsor Castle Passenger List
Steamship Line: Union-Castle Line
Class of Passengers: Cabin and Tourist Class
Date of Departure: 14 July 1939
Route: Cape Town to London via Madeira
Commander: Captain R. W. Goodacre, R.D., R.N.R
1949-04-21 R.M.M.V. Capetown Castle Passenger List
Steamship Line: Union-Castle Line
Class of Passengers: First and Cabin Class
Date of Departure: 21 April 1949
Route: Southampton for Capetown, Port Elizabeth, East London, and Durban via Madeira
Commander: Captain W. D. Roach
1949-12-15 RMS Warwick Castle Passenger List
Steamship Line: Union-Castle Line
Class of Passengers: First Class and Tourist
Date of Departure: 15 December 1949
Route: Southampton to Durban via Madeira, Capetown, Port Elizabeth, and East London
Commander: Captain J. Trayner
1950-03-31 RMS Edinburgh Castle Passenger List
Steamship Line: Union-Castle Line
Class of Passengers: First and Cabin Class
Date of Departure: 31 March 1950
Route: Capetown to Southampton via Madeira
Commander: Captain T. W. McAllen
1954-12-09 R.M.M.V. Winchester Castle Passenger List
Steamship Line: Union-Castle Line
Class of Passengers: First and Tourist Class
Date of Departure: 9 December 1954
Route: Southampton to Durban via Madeira, Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, and East London
Commander: Captain G. W. B. Lloyd
1955-06-17 RMS Edinburgh Castle Passenger List
Steamship Line: Union-Castle Line
Class of Passengers: First and Cabin Class
Date of Departure: 17 June 1955
Route: Cape Town to London via Madeira
Commander: Captain H. A. Deller
Related Categories
Ephemera & History
Steamship & Ocean Liners
- Armadale Castle
- Capetown Castle
- Carnarvon Castle
- Demosthenes
- Edinburgh Castle
- Sophocles
- Stirling Castle
- Walmer Castle
- Warwick Castle
- Winchester Castle
- Windsor Castle
Ports of Call Information
SS RMS MV - Defined
⚠️ About Accuracy in Historical Records Research Tip
Context. The GG Archives presents passenger lists as faithfully as possible to the original documents. While OCR is generally accurate, portions of these collections—especially image captions and some transcriptions—are typed by hand and may include typographical or spelling variations. The original manifests themselves also contained clerical inconsistencies (names recorded phonetically, mid-voyage corrections, etc.).
What this means for your research:
- Search variant spellings of names (e.g., “Schmidt/Schmitt/Smith,” “Giuseppe/Joseph”).
- Cross-reference with immigration cards, passport applications, naturalization files, city directories, and newspapers.
- Treat manifests as primary sources with historical quirks—use them alongside corroborating records.
- For place names, consider historical borders and language variants (e.g., Danzig/Gdańsk, Trieste/Trst).
How to cite. When quoting a name from a manifest, consider adding [sic] for obvious misspellings and include a note such as “spelling as printed in original passenger list.”
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