Charles Smythe - Pioneer, Premier and Administrator of Natal by Daphne Child
Charles Smythe - Pioneer, Premier and Administrator of Natal by Daphne Child
Hardcover, ISBN 9780869770306
Publisher: C. Struik, 1973
Used - Very Good. Book protected with a Cellophane cover.
This book, based on the hitherto unpublished diary and letters of the Hon. Charles Smythe, throws fresh light on life in Natal during the period 1872-1918 when momentous events were taking place in South Africa. In 1872 Charles Smythe, then nineteen, left his Scottish home Methven Castle, to go to Natal as a protégé of Herbert Rhodes, eldest brother of Cecil Rhodes who was already making his name at Kimberley. Charles's first attempts to make his fortune failed (they included gold-digging in the Eastern Transvaal), but he eventually settled down to stock-farming in the Natal Midlands. . In 1905 he reached the peak of his career as Prime Minister and Colonial Secretary of Natal. In 1906 he won a political victory over Britain's Colonial Secretary (his cousin, Lord Elgin) in a clash concerning a vital constitutional issue. Charles was a delegate to the National Convention of 1908, and after Union in 1910 he became Administrator of Natal, a post he held with great success until his death in 1918. . A descendant of William the Silent, Prince of Orange, the much loved and respected Charles Smythe had the gift of being able to "walk with kings, nor lose the common touch".
