William Stanger (27 September 1811 in Tydd St. Mary,

Wisbech Wisbech ( ) is a market town, inland Port of Wisbech, port and civil parish in the Fenland District, Fenland district in Cambridgeshire, England. In 2011 it had a population of 31,573. The town lies in the far north-east of Cambridgeshire, bord ...

– 14 March 1854 in

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

) was best known as a surveyor-general in

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 ...

, but was also a geologist, botanist and medical doctor. He was the son of Willam Stanger and Mary Dent. He studied medicine and natural science at

Edinburgh University The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 1582 ...

, and after returning from a trip to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

, ran a practice in London for some time. William Stanger took part as geologist and doctor in the ill-fated 1841 British expedition to the

Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languagesChadda. Treaties were signed with the two black Princes of Eboe and Iddah, agreeing to the abolition of the slave trade and of human sacrifices, and the signatories were then left to resume their normal practices. An extract from a letter written on board the "''Æthiope''" on 21 October 1841 - ''"We entered the Nun on the 10th inst., and proceeded up the river the next morning, and fell in with the "Albert" on the evening of the 13th inst. at Stirling Island, about 24 miles below Eboe. We found her in a worse state than the "Wilberforce"; all hands down with fever but for Drs M'William, Stanger, a scientific gentleman, a marine, the boatswain's mate, and a servant. Captain Trotter very weak, Captain Bird Allen (who is since dead) very low; no engineers; Dr. Stanger was endeavouring to work the engine the best way he could. We sent our head engineer on board, and the "Albert" followed the "Æthiope" to the coast. Captain Becroft then went on board the "Albert", and took her to Fernando Po."'' - ''The Times'', 27 January 1842 And from the report of Captain Trotter: "''From want of engineers we should have had to drop down the whole length of the river without steam, had not Dr. Stanger, the geologist, in the most spirited manner, after consulting Tredgold's work on steam, and getting some little instruction from the convalescent engineer, undertaken to work the engine himself. The heat of the engine-room affected the engineer so much as to throw him back in his convalescence, and prevent him rendering any further assistance, but Dr. Stanger took the vessel safely below Eboe, without anything going wrong with the machinery.''" Stanger arrived in poor health in the

Cape 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 ...

in 1843. He came highly commended by the Secretary of State for the Colonies, and immediately started on surveying the route for the proposed road joining

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

Grahamstown Makhanda, also known as Grahamstown, is a town of about 140,000 people in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is situated about northeast of Port Elizabeth and southwest of East London, Eastern Cape, East London. Makhanda is the lar ...

. In 1845 he was appointed surveyor-general in

Natal NATAL or Natal may refer to: Places * Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, a city in Brazil * Natal, South Africa (disambiguation), a region in South Africa ** Natalia Republic, a former country (1839–1843) ** Colony of Natal, a former British colony ( ...

. One of Stanger's first tasks was fixing Natal's exact boundary and mapping its main geographical features, publishing a topographical map in 1848. Following on this he carried out a survey of Durban,

Pietermaritzburg Pietermaritzburg (; Zulu: umGungundlovu) is the capital and second-largest city in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It was founded in 1838 and is currently governed by the Msunduzi Local Municipality. Its Zulu name umGungundlovu ...

and smaller villages, and planned the route of the main road between Durban and Pietermaritzburg. Stanger erected the small building which later housed the Natal Training College in Pietermaritzburg, and which became Government House in 1850, having been acquired by Sir

Benjamin Pine Sir Benjamin Chilley Campbell Pine (1809–1891) was at various times administrator of Natal, the Gold Coast, Antigua, the Leeward Islands and Western Australia. Life Born in 1809 in London, Benjamin Pine was educated in Brighton and at Trinit ...

, Lieutenant Governor of Natal (1850-1855). According to an obituary in ''

The Lancet ''The Lancet'' is a weekly peer-reviewed general medical journal and one of the oldest of its kind. It is also the world's highest-impact academic journal. It was founded in England in 1823. The journal publishes original research articles, ...

'', Stanger suffered a premature death as a consequence of the so-called ''hydropathic treatment''. A horseback ride from Pietermaritzburg to Port Natal (Durban) had exhausted him, and he was persuaded to 'submit to the application of the "wet shed". The next day inflammation of the lungs took place, which carried him off in one week'. Botany was one of Stanger's enduring interests and the genus '' Stangeria'' was named in his honour, as was the small town of Stanger in Natal, laid out in March 1873 by the incumbent surveyor-general Dr. P.C. Sutherland and named after his late predecessor. The town of Stanger, now known as

KwaDukuza KwaDukuza is a municipality in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. In 2006, the municipal name was changed to KwaDukuza (which incorporates small towns such as Stanger, Balito, Shaka's Kraal, but the Zulu people in the area called it "Dukuza" well befor ...

on the north coast of

Kwazulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN and known as "the garden province") is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu) and Natal Province were merged. It is locate ...

was named after him. William Stanger is commemorated in the

scientific name In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

of a species of lizard, ''

Chioninia stangeri ''Chioninia stangeri'' (English common name: Stanger's skink) is a species of lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to the Cape Verde Islands. Geographic range ''C. stangeri'' is found on the islands of São Vicente, Santa L ...

''.

Marriage

William Stanger married on 22 September 1842 in

Lowestoft Lowestoft ( ) is a coastal town and civil parish in the East Suffolk district of Suffolk, England.OS Explorer Map OL40: The Broads: (1:25 000) : . As the most easterly UK settlement, it is north-east of London, north-east of Ipswich and sou ...

, Sarah Hursthouse (17 August 1809 Wisbech - 4 May 1873 Hunstanton), daughter of Charles Hursthouse (1781-1854) and Mary Jecks (1785-1821). The marriage produced four children: #Mary Alice Stanger (1845 Pietermaritzburg - 1930) #William Harry Stanger (1847 Pietermaritzburg - 1903 Sydney #Harriett Edith Stanger (September 1851

- 1937 #William Hursthouse Stanger (December 1852 Wisbech - 1931 Sydney)

Notable people from article

Thomas Tredgold Thomas Tredgold (1788–1829) was an English engineer and author, known for his early work on railroad construction. His definition of civil engineering formed the basis of the charter of the Institution of Civil Engineers. Biography He was b ...

Peter Cormack Sutherland Peter Cormac Sutherland (14 April 1822 – 30 November 1900) was born in Newlands of Forse, near Latheron, Caithness, Scotland. The son of Robert and Elizabeth Sutherland, he was one of three surviving children of a family of eight, due to smal ...

* Capt. Trotter

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stanger, William South African surveyors 19th-century South African botanists 1811 births 1854 deaths Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Atkinson–Hursthouse–Richmond family