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Graphic: An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand 1966.

Warning

This information was published in 1966 in An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand, edited by A. H. McLintock. It has not been corrected and will not be updated.

Up-to-date information can be found elsewhere in Te Ara.

EXPATRIATES — BIOGRAPHIES

Contents


SOUTH AFRICA, REPUBLIC OF

Relatively little is known of the contributions made by New Zealanders living in South Africa. Among those who have died there may be mentioned J. J. Erasmus, who was for many years a journalist and sports editor of the Rand Daily Mail; and H. P. Tuckey who became prominent in diamond mining. The following are the principal New Zealanders now living in South Africa.

Begg, Robert Campbell, M.C.

(1886– ).

Retired surgeon.

Robert Campbell Begg was born in Dunedin, New Zealand, on 11 April 1886. He was educated at Otago Boys' High School, Otago University (M.A., M.Sc.), and the University of Edinburgh (M.D., Ch.B., F.R.C.S.). During the First World War he served in France, Egypt, Sudan, and Mesopotamia. From 1919 to 1935 he was an honorary surgeon at Wellington Hospital (New Zealand), and chairman of the House Committee from 1931. He was Director of Civilian Protection Services, Johannesburg, from 1940 to 1945 and visiting Urologist at Krugersdorp, Poordepoort, Boksburg, and Far East Rand Hospitals from 1941 to 1956. Begg was Havenga prizeman of the South African Academy for Science and Art (1950), president of the Africaans Medical Association (1951), and received a special citation for his services during the Second World War (1945). He won the Military Cross in 1917 and was awarded the King George V Jubilee Medal in 1936.

Bowling, Francis Gerald

(1910– ).

Company managing director.

Francis Bowling was born at Palmerston, New Zealand, on 15 June 1910. He was educated at Hamilton High School and at Auckland and Victoria University Colleges. From 1929 to 1937 he served in the New Zealand Public Trust Office. In the latter year he became accountant to Imperial Airways. He joined the RNZAF (1939–45) and rose to the rank of Wing Commander. In November 1945 he went to South Africa and joined Bowcliffe Ltd., of which he is now the managing director. F. G. Bowling was cofounder of the New Zealand Association of Africa (1949).

Carman, Philip Crosbie

(1907– ).

Director of the National Chemical Research Laboratories.

Philip Carman was born at Wellington, New Zealand, on 1 November 1907. He was educated at Otago University and at University College, London (Ph.D.). From 1934 to 1936 he was attached to the Research Department of Imperial Chemical Industries (Explosive). In the latter year he accepted a senior lectureship at the University of Cape Town. He became Chief Research Officer in the South African National Chemical Research Laboratory and held this post until 1958, when he became Director. Dr Carman is the author of two books and over 40 papers on various aspects of physical chemistry and chemical engineering.

Forsyth-King, Ronald Oswald

(1907– ).

Editor and proprietor of the Financial Times and Industrial Press.

R. O. Forsyth-King was born at Christchurch, New Zealand, on 10 November 1907. He was educated at Canterbury University College and at the London School of Economics. From 1928 to 1930 he was a columnist and reporter on the Lyttelton Times. In 1930–31 he was aviation editor on the Toronto Star and in the following year became assistant editor of the Japan Advertiser in Tokyo. For the next two years he edited the China Mail and the Hong Kong Sunday Herald. In 1935–36 he became a columnist on the Daily Sketch and a regular contributor to the Investors' Chronicle, the Economist, the Stock Exchange Gazette, London Sunday Times, and the New York Times. He edited the London Financial Times from 1937 to 1939 and then served for nearly six years in the South African Air Force. He is now editor and proprietor of the South African Financial Times and Industrial Press and, since the war, has been farming in the Vereeniging district.

Hall, James Oliver

(1916– ).

Sculptor-potter.

James Oliver Hall was born on 30 September 1916 at Millers Flat, Central Otago, and educated at Otago Boys' High School. He was engaged on art work for the Wellington Centennial Exhibition (1940) and, after services with the New Zealand Armed Forces overseas (1941–45), attended the Slade School of Art, where he studied sculpture and pottery. During the next few years he taught at the London, Camberwell, Willesden, and Harrow Schools of Art. In 1949 while at the Camberwell School of Arts and Crafts he was commissioned to execute a bust of Sir William Jordan. Since 1955 he has been a lecturer in ceramics at the School of Arts and Crafts at Durban, South Africa.

King, Lester Charles

(1907– ).

Professor of geology.

Lester Charles King was born at London, England, and was educated at the University of New Zealand. For a time he was a lecturer in geology at Victoria University College, Wellington, but in February 1935 he went to South Africa to become professor of geology at the University of Natal — a post that he still holds. Professor King is a fellow of the Royal Society of South Africa and a fellow of the Geological Society.

Sheat, William George

(1914– ).

General manager of the Parks and Recreation Department, Johannesburg.

William Sheat was born at Milton, South Otago, on 30 October 1914. He was educated at Rangiora District High School and at the Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew, where he obtained a diploma in horticulture. From 1946 to 1948 he was Chief Horticultural Officer in the United Kingdom Ministry of Transport, where he has charge of road-beautification schemes for England, Scotland, and Wales. He went to South Africa in 1948 and for the next two years was landscape officer for national roads in the Cape Provincial Administration. In 1950 he became general manager of the Parks and Recreation Department for the city of Johannesburg. W. G. Sheat is a fellow and member of the Board of Directors of the Institute of Park Administration of South Africa. He has published three books on horticulture.

Sullivan, Joseph Richard

(1890– ).

Economist, educationalist, and former member of Parliament.

Joseph Sullivan was born at Invercargill, New Zealand, on 18 December 1890. He was educated in New Zealand and abroad and has the degree of M.Econ. During the First World War he served with the New Zealand Forces. He went to South Africa in 1924 and was for four years principal of the Commercial High School in Johannesburg. From 1936 to 1943 he was vice-principal of the technical college in Durban. In the latter year he became member of Parliament for Durban, a post he retained until 1953. J. R. Sullivan has published several books, among which are The Native Policy of Sir Theophilus Shepstone; Economics for Students; Economic Geography of Southern Africa; and Social Security — Basis for Reconstruction. He is a fellow of the Royal Economics Society.

Among other New Zealanders living in South Africa are the following: R. S. Brooke, an ex-member of Parliament and company director; L. Diamond (born Canada, but educated Otago Boys' High School and Otago University), company director; N. S. Hewitt (Wellington), a company director and business entrepreneur; W. J. S. McCurdie (North Otago), who is the managing director of a manufacturing company in Durban; H. H. Mills (Auckland), who is managing director of a number of companies in Johannesburg; A. Steele (Christ-church), who manages several pharmaceutical manufacturing companies in Cape Town; and F. Williams, a company director and sanitation engineer in Johannesburg.


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