James Stevenson-Hamilton (2 October 1867 – 10 December 1957) served from 1902–1946 as the first warden of South Africa's Sabi Nature Reserve, which was expanded under his watch and became Kruger National Park in 1926. The Tsonga people nicknamed him Skukuza because when he arrived at the area of the reserve he "turned everything upside down" with the banning of all hunting in the reserve and the relocation of all the native kraals. Skukuza camp and Skukuza Airport is named in honour of Stevenson-Hamilton, who is regarded as a champion of wildlife Conservation in South Africa.

Early life and military career

James Stevenson-Hamilton was born in Dublin, Ireland on 2 October 1867 to Colonel James Stevenson-Hamilton and Eliza Hamilton. As the eldest of nine children, he was the legal heir to the family title and home at Fairholm, near Larkhall in Scotland. He was educated at Lockers Park School in Hertfordshire, Rugby and Sandhurst before opting for a career in the military. and saw active service with the Inniskillings in Natal later the same year. He was promoted to lieutenant on 20 February 1890, and to captain on 1 June 1898, After the expedition, he returned to active service, and fought in the Second Boer War (1899-1901), receiving both the Queen's South Africa Medal and the King's South Africa Medal for his service. He also received the brevet rank of major on 29 November 1900 for his service in the war, and after the end of hostilities was promoted to the substantive rank of major on 12 November 1902.

History of the Sabi Nature Reserve

Stephanus Johannes Paulus Kruger, commonly known as Paul Kruger, was the President of the South African Republic from 1883 to 1902. It was he who first pleaded "for setting aside certain areas where game could be protected and where nature could remain unspoilt as the Creator made it". His vision, however, was not shared by other members of his parliament; his efforts to conserve land, especially in the areas between Swaziland and Zululand and in the Zoutpansberg area, met with strong opposition.

In 1891, Kruger managed to amend existing game laws, and the state started providing protection for some animal species. After managing to declare other smaller areas as game reserves, on 26 March 1898, he proclaimed the 'Goewerments Wildtuin' (Government's Reserve) between the Sabi and Crocodile rivers as the Sabi Nature Reserve.

Stevenson-Hamilton and the Sabi Nature Reserve

In June 1902, Sir Godfrey Lagden, the newly appointed Commissioner for Native Affairs in South-Africa, appointed James Stevenson-Hamilton as the first warden of the Sabi Nature Reserve, and he was seconded from the army to service for the British Colonial Office. As a "bachelor, a man of means and a professional soldier," Game-ranging was still a new term and this allowed Stevenson-Hamilton to have free rein over the Sabi Nature Reserve, his only order from Lagden being "to make himself generally disagreeable" who were caught killing a giraffe and a wildebeest and were convicted and fined for their crimes.

After this, "what he did is now a matter of history. He trained his rangers, thinned out the lions and the wild dogs, declared war on the poachers and patrolled the whole area."

Death

He died on 10 December 1957 at the age of 90.

Legacy

thumb|Stevenson-Hamilton Library

Stevenson-Hamilton was a good friend and fellow of the Tsonga people and he was dubbed "Skukuza" by the Tsonga who lived on the reserve, meaning 'the man who has turned everything upside down' or 'the man who swept clean'. This referred to his efforts to eliminate poaching in the reserve, and according to Henri-Alexandre Junod, also referred to the Tsonga people's attitude toward him after he had evicted them from the southern lowveld. Stevenson-Hamilton understood Tsonga language as well as Tsonga culture and was taught hunting skills by the Tsonga, who were expert in hunting big game, such as elephant, rhino, leopard and lion. Skukuza, the main camp in the park and which was formerly called Sabi Bridge, was renamed in honour of him. After his death, "the old men of the kraals, some of whom he had sent to prison for poaching, said: 'A great man has gone'".

References

Other sources (to be incorporated)

  • Siyabona Africa, 2011, First Warden.(Accessed 8 October 2011)
  • The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Bo Beolens, Michael Watkins, Michael Grayson. pp 253–254.