In the 19th century, Britain encouraged its young men to settle in her colonies and make good in the further reaches of the ever- expanding empire. One man who responded to the call was the Scotsman, James Logan, who aged 20, arrived in the Cape colony in 1877. He quickly found work with the Cape’s railway service and was rapidly promoted over the next six years.
Logan was ambitious, worked hard and had an unwavering determination to succeed. He sensed an opportunity at Matjiesfontein, which in 1883, was little more than an iron shed with a platform of Karoo stones. He purchased 7700 acres of land and continued to buy land in the following years. His life revolved around Matjiesfontein, which he developed and was to secure his reputation. The village was apparently the first to be lit by electricity and the first to have water-borne sewerage. His famous hotel is perhaps, his best memorial.
As his business empire expanded, Logan was never shy to use his political connections to his own advantage. Like his friend, Cecil Rhodes, he “was not primarily concerned with moral scruples”. One contract in 1892, which effectively gave Logan a monopoly of the catering trade along the entire Cape rail network, was exposed by his detractors. The resulting scandal had dire consequences for the Cape government, but Logan emerged largely unscathed. Not long after, he was elected a member of the legislative assembly. He remained in politics until 1908.
From the 1890s, Logan used his money to promote cricket, which the English had established in many of their colonies. During this period – the so-called golden age of cricket – it became the Imperial game. The author avers that Logan (and others) used their support for cricket tours to promote their status and climb the social ladder. Logan certainly achieved this through his backing of the Lord Hawke’s tours and his lavish entertainment of cricket teams at Matjiesfontein. He also believed the best team should be selected and was angered that the talented Krom Hendricks was excluded because he was a coloured. Remarkably, he was even behind cricket matches in the infant Rhodesia, quickly donating a solid silver trophy called the Logan Cup. One wonders if it still exists.
A master of self-publicity, his name was frequently linked to worthy causes which he had backed. Apart from various cricket grounds, and a school at Matjiesfontein, he contributed to memorials, the Anglo-Boer War effort and a magnificent monument to Major-General Wauchope, who was reburied at the Matjiesfontein cemetery.
Within just 25 years of his arrival in the Cape, the working-class immigrant had achieved wealth, renown and,when he and his wife were invited to attend the coronation of Edward VII in 1902, the social status he had sought.
My only quibbles are that we never really have a sense of the private man: his wife and two children are only fleetingly mentioned.
Occasionally he belabours a point and is inclined to see Logan’s support of worthy causes and cricket only as a means to an end. Logan was very much a product of his time, but was he really so cynical? Significantly, he was never knighted.
These criticisms aside, Dean Allen has written a biography worthy of his fascinating subject. His research has brought Logan to life in a handsome book adorned with historic photographs, tour programmes, menus and cartoons from the Logan family archive. Perhaps he can be tempted to next turn his attention to the life of another sports benefactor, Sir Donald Currie.
Empire, War and Cricket in South Africa: Logan of Matjiesfontein is written by Dean Allen and published by Zebra Press