Hermann Ludwig Eckstein (3 August 1847 – 16 January 1893) was a German-born

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

mining magnate and banker.

Life history

Born in

Hohenheim Hohenheim () is one of 18 outer quarters of the city of Stuttgart in the borough of Plieningen that sits on the Filder in central Baden-Württemberg. It was founded in 1782. Geography Hohenheim sits on the Filder, a large and fertile plateau i ...

near Stuttgart,

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

to a Lutheran minister, he received an excellent education. He came to the South African diamond- and goldfields in 1882, and soon acquired a reputation as the resourceful manager of the Phoenix Diamond Mining Company at

Du Toit's Pan Du Toit's Pan, now usually Dutoitspan, is one of the earliest diamond mining camps at what is now Kimberley, South Africa. It was renamed Beaconsfield, which existed as a separate borough from Kimberley itself until Kimberley and Beaconsfield wer ...

near Kimberley. He attracted the attention of

Julius Wernher Sir Julius Charles Wernher, 1st Baronet (9 April 1850 – 21 May 1912) was a German-born Randlord and art collector who became part of the English establishment. Life history Born in Darmstadt, Hesse, Wernher was the son of Elisabeth (Weidenbu ...

and

Alfred Beit Alfred Beit (15 February 1853 – 16 July 1906) was a Anglo-German gold and diamond magnate in South Africa, and a major donor and profiteer of infrastructure development on the African continent. He also donated much money to university edu ...

and in 1884 joined them in the partnership of Jules Porgès & Co (later Wernher, Beit & Co). In 1885 Beit arranged for Hermann Eckstein and Jim Taylor, to report on the firm's interests in the Barberton and De Kaap goldfields, in which they had invested heavily. Taylor wrote a gloomy report on the extent and quality of the ore lode that brought Porgès hurrying back to South Africa. He and Beit decided to disinvest. The firm suffered a loss, which was trivial compared with what was to follow. The soaring share prices during the boom, were rapidly followed by pessimism, plummeting prices and widespread bankruptcy. Just before the collapse there had been rumours of enormous deposits of gold on the

Witwatersrand The Witwatersrand () (locally the Rand or, less commonly, the Reef) is a , north-facing scarp in South Africa. It consists of a hard, erosion-resistant quartzite metamorphic rock, over which several north-flowing rivers form waterfalls, which ...

, about 60 km south of

Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends eastward into the foot ...

. These rumours had reached Porgès and Beit whilst visiting government offices in Pretoria. Initially discounted, they had proved to be true. Beit hurriedly acquired extensive mining rights in Johannesburg. In 1888 Eckstein started his own firm under the name of Hermann Eckstein & Co., in the Corner House as a representative of Jules Porgès. He was instrumental in establishing the Chamber of Mines in Johannesburg, and acted as its first president until 1892. Eckstein put the infrastructure of the mines on a solid footing by using competent engineers, thus turning mere diggings into established industry. He was involved in the move to deep level mining when the surface deposits had run out. By the end of 1888 he was in charge of virtually all the mining activities in the central area of the Witwatersrand, and controlled the eleven most important syndicates. He played an important role in the founding of the Wanderers Club and is considered one of the

Randlord Randlords were the capitalists who controlled the diamond and gold mining industries in South Africa in its pioneer phase from the 1870s up to World War I. A small number of European financiers, largely of the same generation, gained control of th ...

s. Eckstein was dismayed by the growing rift between the

Uitlanders Uitlander, Afrikaans for "foreigner" (lit. "outlander"), was a foreign (mainly British) migrant worker during the Witwatersrand Gold Rush in the independent Transvaal Republic following the discovery of gold in 1886. The limited rights granted to ...

and

Afrikaners Afrikaners () are a South African ethnic group descended from predominantly Dutch settlers first arriving at the Cape of Good Hope in the 17th and 18th centuries.Entry: Cape Colony. ''Encyclopædia Britannica Volume 4 Part 2: Brain to Cas ...

, more so since he counted

Paul Kruger Stephanus Johannes Paulus Kruger (; 10 October 1825 – 14 July 1904) was a South African politician. He was one of the dominant political and military figures in 19th-century South African Republic, South Africa, and President of the So ...

as a personal friend. He played a large part in establishing the National Bank of the South African Republic. The year before his death he went to England, having been offered a partnership with Wernher and Beit in the Central Mining and Investment Corporation. He left Johannesburg with his wife who was pregnant with their fourth child, but didn't live long enough to see its birth. On 16 January 1893 he died of "apoplexy of the heart", probably a heart attack. His brother Frederick took over the family interests and in 1910 rebuilt Ottershaw Park in Surrey which at the time was described as the 'Wonder House of Surrey'.

Sachsenwald

Beit's company planted some three million trees on an area of , an area Eckstein called Sachsenwald, now known as the Johannesburg suburbs of

Saxonwold Saxonwold is an affluent suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa. It is situated in what was once the Sachsenwald Forest in the early 20th century. It is located in Region E of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality. History The suburb ...

and Forest Town, the Zoo Lake and Johannesburg Zoo. The forest became a favourite recreational spot for the wealthy Randlords and their families. Ten years after his death, and in his memory, his former partners made a gift to Johannesburg of the Sachsenwald, later named the Hermann Eckstein Park. This Deed of Gift read: "Whereas the late Hermann Eckstein was in his lifetime a resident in the town of Johannesburg and always took a deep interest in its advancement and prosperity, and played an active part in many schemes and undertakings for its improvement and whereas it has appeared to us that the dedication of a suitable area of land for the use of the public of Johannesburg, as a public park, would have met with the cordial approval of our late friend and will be acceptable to fellow townsmen." The Deed was signed by

Lionel Phillips Sir Lionel Phillips, 1st Baronet (6 August 1855 – 2 July 1936) was a British people, British-born South African financier, Mining Magnate, mining magnate and politician. Early life Phillips was born in London on 6 August 1855 to Phillip Phi ...

, Ludwig Breitmeyer, Friedrich Eckstein (his brother), Charles Rube and Ludwig Wagner.

Epilogue

"Eckstein's skill in financial transactions and his unimpeachable integrity made him a respected man in a community where dishonesty was rife. He became a leading figure in the Johannesburg mining industry." - South African Dictionary of National Biography. Eckstein was a founding member of the Rand Club, an exclusive club created for the use of the Randlords, and first president of the Wanderers' Club.

Sources

Article on Hermann Eckstein
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eckstein, Hermann South African mining businesspeople Randlords 1847 births 1893 deaths German emigrants to South Africa