A Cameo From The Past

This is the English translation of the updated edition of a work first published by SANParks in 1990. It is an in-depth look at the prehistory and history of the Lowveld, as well as at the events that led to the proclamation of the Sabie Reserve in 1898 – one of the first conservation areas in the old Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek.

After the Anglo-Boer War, James Stevenson-Hamilton was tasked with running both the Sabie Reserve and the Shingwedzi Reserve (proclaimed in 1904). Stevenson-Hamilton, along with his small yet dedicated corps of rangers, protected and developed the reserve, and eventually, in 1926, the Kruger National Park was proclaimed – the biggest national park in South Africa. A Cameo from the Past covers the park’s history up until 1946, when Stevenson-Hamilton retired. The work also pays tribute to all of the park’s founders.

A Cameo from the Past describes the long and sometimes difficult developmental history of SANParks in detail. Despite the good and the bad from the past, the organisation has developed into the leading conservation authority in Africa, responsible for 3 751 113 hectares of protected land in 20 national parks.