Empire Cricket Booklet

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JAMES LOGAN

Town Railway and Dock Company. For economic expansion to occur, rapid railway expansion had to replace the slow and expensive transport-wagon as the main means of conveyance into the interior. To ensure that this was achieved, the Cape government took over the running of the Railways in 1874.12 By June 1876, Worcester was linked by rail with Cape Town and the interior was further opened up with the construction of a line through the Hex River Mountains. Many Afrikaner farmers opposed the coming of the railway, fearing that it would bring a flood of 'undesirables' into the territory and decimate their simple, rustic lifestyle. However, by the end of 1877, the Hex River mountains had been conquered and the line reached Touws River, then known as Montagu Road. Seven years later, the lines from Cape Town, PortElizabeth and EastLondon were linked at De Aar, and from there extended to Kimberley. The construction of the railways opened up the interior to imperial expansion, with the railway and the telegraph becoming, in Cecil Rhodes's view, 'the keys to the continent'. 13 Logan's timing was opportune and his progress rapid. His experience of Scottish Railway administration contributed to his promotion within a week from porter to the clerical department of Salt River Station. Further promotions followed in rapid succession. He was appointed station master at Cape Town and then offered the position of district superintendent of the railway section between Hex River and Prince Albert in the Karoo. He was to be stationed at Monta gu Road. 14 This appointment presented an unexpected problem. The Karoo was isolated territory, and the railway authorities decreed that the incumbent must be married within three months of being appointed. Characteristically, Logan set about finding a wife and within a couple of months had proposed to and married Miss Emma Haylett, the well-connected daughter of Christopher Haylett, the proprietor of the popular White House Hotel in Cape Town. 15 Her mother, a member of the De Villiers clan of Villiersdorp, hailed from one of the oldest and most highly respected Cape Dutch families. In his capacity as district superintendent of Railways at the age of 21, the newly wed Logan moved to the Karoo for the first time on 5 Au gu st 1879. The

country appealed to him. He found familiarity in the wide open plains and the sense of space and freedom they offered was invigorating. It did not take long for him to establish himself at Touws River. Both his children were born there - James junior in 1880 and a daughter, Gertrude, two years later. Alongside his rail duties, in 1882 he became caterer for refreshments at the station, as well as the tenant of the government-owned Frere's Hotel.1 6 He also held the post of deputy postmaster for which he received £14 4 per annum. It was in Touws River that Logan began to lay the foundation of his business empire. The growth of James Logan's business and political careers, as well as his support of first-class cricket, was established from his unlikely base in the Karoo. In 1883, after resigning from the Cape Railways, Logan bought 3 500 morgen at Matjiesfontein station, between Touws River and Laingsburg, where he opened a new refreshment room and set about creating a model village, with all the latest trappings of Victorian Britain, as 'a veritable oasis in the Karoo'. 17 Despite its isolation, Matjiesfontein attracted attention. A master of self-publicity, Logan stage managed major developments in the village with widespread coverage in Cape Town newspapers. The growing populace conferred on Logan the unofficial title, 'Laird of Matjiesfontein'. By the 1890s, the Laird's enterprise had paid off as a stream of celebrated fi gu res journeyed to Matjiesfontein. Within British high society, it became fashionable to make the sea voyage to the Cape, with a visit to Matjiesfontein almost mandatory. Logan's name and village were soon known throughout the empire. 18 Lord Randolph Churchill (father of Winston) was an early visitor to the village during June 1891; he was followed by the likes of the Duke of Hamilton as well as His Highness Prince Seyyid Ali, the Sultan of Zanzibar. Other notable visitors included Lord Carrington and the Admirals Nicholson and Rawson, as well as the astronomer Sir David Gill. T hese dignitaries provided Logan with highly desirable publicity. The 'Laird of Matjiesfontein' and Cricket's Lohmann