WBM Vogts

Full name: Willem Bernard Maria Vogts

Lifespan: 1859 Germany - 1945

Occupation: Prospector

Also see his business partner: JL Gauf

Portrait. Unidentified photographer. n.d.

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Biography

(There are some overlaps between the biographies of Vogts and Gauf, as they were business partners).

Vogts, born in Germany, arrived in South Africa in 1882. He married Jane Mcmillan MacAllen (1864 England - 1941) in 1889 and had a daughter, Valerie Francesca Vogts (1895 Pretoria - 1972 Mount Ayliff, SA).

In 1897, Vogts partnered with JL Gauf another German immigrant. Vogts, a dedicated Freemason and secretary of the Netherlands Constitution of the Transvaal, had trekked and traded in the Eastern Province before meeting Gauf as a prospector and claim pegger. They shared a dusty, map-filled office on the top floor of Green's Buildings for nearly 50 years. That year, Vogts secured a right-of-way across Rietfontein farm for the East Rand Gold, Coal and Estates Company ("Busters"), leading to a prospecting contract in which Gauf took a share. They prospected De Rietfontein (east of what became Springs), purchasing the 2,700-hectare farm from Willem and D. Steyn in 1903 for £6,000 (a stark contrast to its 1883 sale for a saddle and bridle, as recorded in ZAR court reports).

Kosmos Lodge No. 2768 (Parktown), Consecrated 1899: The Charter Master, Bro Willem Bernard Maria Vogts, had been the Charter Master of Cosmopolitan Lodge a few years earlier. Within months of the consecration of Kosmos, the South African war started and the lodge went into recess until March 1902. Bro Vogts remained in the chair until 1903 and retained a keen interest in the progress of the lodge during its early years despite his becoming, in 1906, the first Provincial Grand Master for the Transvaal under the Grand East of the Netherlands.

The Second Boer War (1899-1902) delayed progress, but after the Treaty of Vereeniging, they formed the Rand-Rietfontein Estates syndicate. The enormous farm (~10 square miles or ~2,590 hectares) held indications of gold and an estimated 104 million tons of coal (with seams 8-10 feet thick above gold formations)

"The two old men hung on for another 32 years, satisfied that sooner or later their ship would come in. All that they did in that time was to sink a few boreholes. Rietfontein was an enormous farm covering nearly 10 square miles and apart from indications of gold, there was a trifle of 104,000,000 tons of coal, with seams from eight to ten feet thick lying above the gold formation. Vogts, who had far less money than Gauf, was often tempted to sell, but his partner flatly refused. “You wait,” was all he would say. In 1934 his patience was rewarded. The Corner House signed an agreement and the Rietfontein 11 mine was floated with a capital of £650,000, with power to increase to £1,600,000. Later the whole venture was absorbed into the East Daggafontein." (Rosenthal)

From the Deutsche Schule, Johannesburg: The political and financial difficulties of the Deutsche Schule Johannesburg during War time could only be overcome thanks to the tireless effort and brilliant connections of Mr Willem B.M. Vogts. Mr Vogts attended to the business of the Board almost single-handedly through two World Wars and created the basis for an unprecedented recovery in 1945. He exerted a long-lasting influence on the school for over 40 years and above all ensured that the Deutsche Schule Johannesburg would not degenerate into a national-socialist institution.

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Sources

• Shovel and Sieve. Rosenthal, E. c.1959. George Allen and Unwin: London.
• Deutsche Internationale Schule Johannesburg (DSJ).