Cllr James Bisset - Kenilworth Cape Town

James Bisset (14 October 1836 – 8 October 1919) was an architect and civil engineer of the

Cape Colony The Cape Colony ( nl, Kaapkolonie), also known as the Cape of Good Hope, was a British Empire, British colony in present-day South Africa named after the Cape of Good Hope, which existed from 1795 to 1802, and again from 1806 to 1910, when i ...

, responsible for many of the Cape's early buildings and communications infrastructure. He was also Mayor of Wynberg,

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

Early life

James Bisset was born in 1836 in Aberdeen, Scotland, son of a City Councillor and Master of Mortifications William Bisset and his wife Margaret. He was one of 6 brothers and 3 sisters. He trained as an engineer at London University and did his early work on Crystal Palace, Sydenham station as well as a range of railway projects and public buildings around Europe.

Early work in the Cape

Long Cottage 248 Main Road Muizenberg Cape Town - Frontal view

In 1858 he was sent to the Cape, aged 22, to begin work on its first railway, for the infant Cape Railway and Dock Company (later to become the

Cape Government Railways The Cape Government Railways (CGR) was the government-owned railway operator in the Cape Colony from 1874 until the creation of the South African Railways (SAR) in 1910. History Private railways The first railways at the Cape were privately own ...

). This railway stretched from Cape Town to Wellington, and his team began work on it on 31 March 1859. Another section was built from Cape Town to Wynberg. In 1861 he worked on construction of Cape Town's tramways, including the line to Sea point, (originally horse-drawn) with the "Green Point Tramway Company". He later also completed a similar project for Port Elizabeth. During this time, he also worked on a range of architectural and engineering projects throughout the Cape, including the old Mutual Assurance building in Cape Town, Dutch Reformed Churches and several other buildings in Beaufort West and Graaff-reinet, as well as the Town Hall and principal churches of

Port Elizabeth Gqeberha (), formerly Port Elizabeth and colloquially often referred to as P.E., is a major seaport and the most populous city in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is the seat of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality, Sou ...

Cape government railways

Early East London on the Buffalo River - Cape Colony Archives 1870s

In 1872, the Cape attained a degree of independence from Britain and its first Prime Minister,

John Molteno Sir John Charles Molteno (5 June 1814 – 1 September 1886) was a soldier, businessman, champion of responsible government and the first Prime Minister of the Cape Colony. Early life Born in London into a large Anglo-Italian family, Molten ...

, driving a massive expansion in the Cape's economic infrastructure, consolidated the country's railway lines into the

. The few existing rudimentary lines were to be turned into a nationwide network, connecting the country's ports to the diamond fields of Kimberley and the agricultural hinterland. James Bisset had played a significant part in deciding on the gauge to be used for the national railway system, and was involved in selecting

Cape gauge A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment which drapes the wearer's back, arms, and chest, and connects at the neck. History Capes were common in medieval Europe, especially when combined with a hood in the chaperon. Th ...

for this purpose. He inaugurated and directed the first early railway line of the "Cape Midland Line", running from

Uitenhage Uitenhage ( ; ), officially renamed Kariega, is a South African town in the Eastern Cape Province. It is well known for the Volkswagen factory located there, which is the biggest car factory on the African continent. Along with the city of Port El ...

. He was also appointed to lead construction of the "Cape Eastern Line", running from

East London East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the f ...

Political career

Bisset typically pursued several simultaneous occupations throughout his career. He served in the

Anglo-Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sout ...

and chaired the School, Municipal and Hospital Boards. He was a councillor for Liesbeeck Municipality (1883-1886), Mayor of Wynberg (1886, 1893) and briefly Mayor of Claremont. While Mayor of Wynberg, he obtained the grant of land for what became

Wynberg Park Wynberg Park, formerly known as King Edward Park, is a park situated in the southern suburb of Wynberg, Cape Town, South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in ...

. He also succeeded in making Wynberg the first municipality in the greater

Cape Peninsula The Cape Peninsula ( af, Kaapse Skiereiland) is a generally mountainous peninsula that juts out into the Atlantic Ocean at the south-western extremity of the African continent. At the southern end of the peninsula are Cape Point and the Cape of ...

area to get electric street lighting.

Family and later life

Early in his career, on 16 October 1862, he had married Elizabeth Magdalena Christina Jarvis, daughter of Cape Town Mayor Hercules Jarvis, and they had 6 sons and a daughter. One of his sons,

Murray Bisset Sir Murray Bisset (14 April 1876 – 24 October 1931) was a Test cricketer who captained South Africa before moving to Southern Rhodesia where he served as Chief Justice of Southern Rhodesia and briefly as Governor of Southern Rhodesia. Early l ...

was a

Test cricket Test cricket is a form of first-class cricket played at international level between teams representing full member countries of the International Cricket Council (ICC). A match consists of four innings (two per team) and is scheduled to last fo ...

er who captained

before moving to

Southern Rhodesia Southern Rhodesia was a landlocked self-governing British Crown colony in southern Africa, established in 1923 and consisting of British South Africa Company (BSAC) territories lying south of the Zambezi River. The region was informally kn ...

where he briefly served as

Governor of Southern Rhodesia The Governor of Southern Rhodesia was the representative of the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, British monarch in the self-governing colony of Southern Rhodesia from 1923 to 1980. The Governor was appointed by The Crown and acted as the local h ...

. Another was the international

Rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

player William Molteno "Bill" Bisset. James Bisset died on 8 October 1919 at Beauleigh, his house in Kenilworth, Cape Town.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bisset, James 1836 births 1919 deaths Alumni of the University of London People from Aberdeen South African engineers Cape Colony politicians Mayors of places in South Africa 19th-century South African people 19th-century South African politicians 19th-century South African engineers 19th-century South African architects Politicians from Aberdeen Scottish emigrants to South Africa