Timeline of Jewish life in Montagu
- 1851: The town was laid out and with its mountain pass named after the Colonial Secretary, John Montagu.
- 1888: Jews from Eastern Europe began arriving, first as itinerant pedlars in the Little Karoo area, then as feather buyers, shopkeepers and traders.
- 1894: Barnet Buirski establishes a Jewish cemetery, which houses ten graves altogether.
- 1895: The Jews of Montagu contribute to the establishment of the Robertson Hebrew Congregation and the building of that synagogue, which became their spiritual home.
- 1936: There were 27 Jews recorded in the census.
- 1951: 70 Jews were recorded in the area.
- 1966: Only two Jewish families remained: Idelsons and Sandlers.
- 1987: Rabbi Zaiden buries remaining Jewish attributes in a genizah near the entrance to the cemetery.
