George James Atchison Danford
George James Atchison Danford (1855-1902)
1903 Obituary [1]
GEORGE JAMES ATCHISON DANFORD, born on the 9th September, 1855, began his engineering career as a pupil in the works of Messrs. Simpson and Company, of Pimlico.
In 1876 he went to the Transvaal, where he was employed on survey work for the Government of that country until 1882, when hew as appointed Assistant Engineer on the construction of the Kimberley Waterworks.
While at Kimberley, he devoted much time to helping young men, and especially young engineers, and was largely instrumental in forming the 'Pirates' Club.
In 1891 he left Kimberley, and embarked in land and other ventures in Swaziland, and in 1895 entered the service of the Mozambique Company. One of his first works for that Company was to lay out the now rising town of Macequece in South East Africa. Subsequently he made numerous surveys in the territory, including that for a projected railway from Beira to Lacerdonia on the Zambesi river, and a survey of the coast line south of Beira. He also made a complete triangulation survey of the rich Manica or Macequece gold belt mining area, large and small scale topographical maps of which have been published recently by the Mozambique Company.
On the completion of that work, Mr. Danford settled on his farm “The Pirates’ Retreat” in the Revue alley near Macequece, and devoted himself to surveying and advising in connection with the many.....[more]