Gardner Frederick Williams

A pioneer who revolutionised mining in SA

Gardner Fred Williams was the first properly trained mining engineer to be appointed in South Africa. Born in 1824, in the US, he was the oldest son of Alpheus Fuller Williams, who served for many years in the American frontier forces and rose to be a colonel. Alpheus became a civil and mining engineer and, having moved his family from Saginaw in Michigan to California, he became well known in the mining camps. Gardner grew up in the Californian mining camps, surrounded by mining activity. His higher education began at the College of California (later to become the University of California), where he obtained a BA degree in 1865 – and was completed in Freiburg, in Germany. His mining degree was conferred three years later and, in 1868, he returned to California and rounded off his education by gaining an MA at the university. His mining experience began with a survey of the salt deposits on Carmen island off the coast of Mexico, followed by appointment as engineer to a syndicate in search of gold and silver in northern Nevada. He then became an assistant assayer in the US branch mint in San Fransisco, and spent three-and-a-half years as superintendent of the Meadow Valley Mining Company at Pioche, Nevada. Early in 1875 he opened up a silver mine at Cherry Creek, and was later appointed manager of the Leeds Mining Company at Silver Reef, Utah. In 1879 he became the consulting engineer to a New York firm interested in hydraulic mining in California and, as a result, became superintendent of the Spring Valley Hydraulic Gold Company at Cherokee at the age of 37. With such a varied career and with experience in so many areas of mining, particularly quartz and hydraulic mining, it was not unexpected that he should have been recommended to manage the properties known as The Transvaal Gold Exploration and Land Company at Pilgrim’s Rest in Mpumalanga. He left America in 1884 to take up this position, travelling from Cape Town by train to De Aar and did the rest of the journey by coach. After a year at Pilgram’s Rest he resigned and spent some time visiting the new gold discoveries on the Witwatersrand. Full of ideas about the exploration of the goldfields, he returned to Kimberley and met, for the first time, young Cecil John Rhodes, who was then 32 years old. The two men travelled to England on the same ship and spent many hours discussing the gold and diamond enterprises in South Africa. Rhodes was most impressed by his companion’s knowledge and enthusiasm. In the US, two Americans had formed a company, The Exploration Company, in conjunction with Rothschilds in London. Their objective was to explore for gold. They persuaded Williams to return to South Africa as their consulting engineer. When Rhodes heard about this, he lost no time in getting in touch with Williams and persuaded him to cancel his agreement

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