George Harrison

-

Lifespan: Australia ? - post-1889 Barberton

Occupation: prospector, stonemason, blacksmith


Harrison was an experienced gold prospector, often described as Australian (having prospected and mined there extensively), although some accounts suggest he was originally English before heading to Australia, and then to South Africa. Details of his early life are sparse and somewhat mysterious - he was tall, taciturn, and his past included rumors (unconfirmed) of being wanted for embezzlement by Australian authorities or involvement in minor legal issues.

He met his friend and fellow prospector George Walker while traveling through the Orange Free State en route to the Transvaal. The two had prospected together or crossed paths earlier.

In early 1886, Harrison was working on the farm Langlaagte (owned in parts by the Oosthuizen family, including Hendrik/Gerhardus Oosthuizen). He was employed building a house (as a mason) for one of the owners. While there, he noticed or stumbled upon an outcrop of conglomerate rock containing visible gold. Accounts vary.

On July 24, 1886, Harrison signed an affidavit for the government of the Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek (ZAR) which stated: "My name is George Harrison and I come from the newly discovered goldfields Kliprivier especially from a farm owned by a certain Gert Oosthuizen. I have long experience as an Australian golddigger and I think it a payable goldfield.". Harrison was describing the discovery of the Main Reef at Langlaagte farm, which was part of the larger Kliprivier region.

"In July 1946, his (Judge F.E.T. Krause's) Presidential address to the dignitaries of the South African Association for the Advancement of Science outlined his role in finally determining, on the basis of evidence, that George Harrison was the undisputed 1886 discoverer of the Main Reef. In settling this long drawn out controversy, he relied upon the painstaking research of James and Ethel Gray. This factual knowledge led to the erection of the Langlaagte Memorial to the Australian Harrison, who, poor man, having traveled the world’s goldfields in a fruitless search for riches." (JHJ)

He was awarded Claim No. 19 (the "Zoeker's Claim" or discoverer's claim), which he sold for £10 shortly after and left the area. He is believed to have died near Barberton a few years later. 

Anecdotal comment from 1889: "The hotel (Concordia) had become a meeting place for transport men, tramps and "Boer verneukers"... so Orrie's first job helping in the hotel brought him into contact with an amazing assortment of characters. Among them he met George Harrison who discovered the gold and was paid £10 for his pegged find." (Rhodesiana, 1973)
  • Orlando "Orrie" Baragwanath (1872 - 1972) had in 1889 joined his family at their Concordia Hotel (a busy wagon-stop and bar on the outskirts of Johannesburg, where the Kimberley and Bloemfontein roads converged).


George Harrison Park in Johannesburg (near the original Claim 19 site, now a Provincial Heritage Site) commemorates him with a statue, original shafts, and views over the city. It was established in 1947 and marks the spot.

Sources

  • George Walker - Discoverer of the Main Reef. 1926. Macdonald, W. The Sun and Agricultural Journal of S.A.
  • Orlando Baragwanath: A Centenarian Pioneer of Rhodesia. Rhodesiana Nol 28, 1973. Howman, R.
  • Johannesburg Heritage Journal, n.d.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

John O'Reilly

-
Image
Full name: John Robert "Diamond Jack" O'Reilly Lifespan: 1831 Grahamstown - 1904  Taung Occupation: Travelling peddler, hunter, diamond prospector, farmer John O'Reilly Timeline Personal details John Robert O'Reilly was the eldest son of James O’Neill O'Reilly (or James O'Neil O'Reilly) and Ida Hendriks (Yda Wilhelmina Hendrikz). His father left the family poorly provided for, prompting O'Reilly and his brothers to become traders and hunters. He first married Maria Greaves (1845 - 1884, British Bechuanaland) in 1868, in Colesberg. They had six children. After Maria's death, he married Henrietta Sarah Renou (1867 Port Elizabeth - 1947, Taung) in 1886. The ceremony was officiated by Rector William Thomas Gaul (1850–1927). They had seven children (totaling 13 for O'Reilly). The territory known as British Bechuanaland (annexed 1885, later incorporated into the Cape Colony and Union of South Africa) encompassed areas including Vryburg, Maf...
Read more

Rhenish Mission Church (Sarepta) - Kuils River

-
Image
Aka: Uniting Reform Church, Sarepta Built: 1843 Architect: Unidentified Status: Extant (Source: URC on Facebook) Timeline Location Notes The Rhenish Missionary Society (named after the Rhine River region in Germany) was one of the largest German missionary organizations, formed by amalgamating smaller missions dating back to 1799 and officially established on 23 September 1828. Its first ordained missionaries were dispatched to South Africa by year's end, where they began work in various towns, focusing on conversion to Christianity and community support. In 1829, the Society founded its first congregation in Stellenbosch, with Reverend Paul Daniel Lückhoff as the initial minister. Jana (Johanna) van den Berg (c.1800 - 1860), also known as Moeder Jana , was a formerly enslaved woman who, like many others emancipated in 1838, settled in the sandy dunes surrounding Kuils River - an informal community with little access to formal institutions. She became one of the earliest memb...
Read more

Coert Steynberg

-
Image
Full name:  Coert Lourens Steynberg Lifespan:  1905 Hennopsrivier - 1982 Pretoria Occupation:  Sculptor, medallist. Coert Steynberg. Unidentified photographer. Timeline Biography Coert Steynberg was a prominent South African sculptor and medallist. He worked in a variety of materials, including granite, marble, sandstone, glass, bronze, copper, and wood, and created both large-scale public monuments and smaller, more intimate private works. Early Life and Education Steynberg in Venice, third from left. Unidentified photographer. Born in Hennops River (near Pretoria) in the Transvaal Colony. At the age of four, his family moved to Bethal (Mpumalanga) where he matriculated. Steynberg studied art at Rhodes University in South Africa before advancing to the Royal College of Art in London, where he studied sculpture under Gilbert Ledward . Here he received the August Spencer trophy for best sculpture student. Steynberg spent six years abroad, during which time he toured Europe...
Read more