Page "Andrew Geddes Bain" Paragraph 3

The only child of Alexander Bain and Jean Geddes, both of whom died when Bain was still a young boy.

He was raised by an aunt who lived near Edinburgh.

Here he received a classical education, but no vocational training.

In 1816 he emigrated to Cape Town accompanied by his uncle Lieutenant Colonel William Geddes of the 83rd Regiment, who was stationed in the Cape.

He married Maria Elizabeth von Backstrom on 16 November 1818 and had 3 sons and 7 daughters.

In 1822 he bought property in Graaff Reinet and carried on for some years the business of a saddler.

In 1825 he accompanied John Burner Biddulph on a trading expedition to Kuruman, the mission outpost on the edge of the Kalahari and home of Dr. Robert Moffat ( father-in-law of David Livingstone ).

They explored further north and reached Dithubaruba in Bechuanaland, becoming the first recorded Europeans to return safely from so far north.

In 1829 they trekked to the vicinity of present-day Kokstad.

They were forced to return by hordes of Bantu fleeing Dingaan.

During these journeys he discovered his talent for drawing and writing and became a regular correspondent for John Fairbairn's South African Commercial Advertiser.

Outspoken, he was sued for libel a number of times by Gerrit Maritz, one of the eventual Voortrekker leaders.

He was awarded a special medal in 1832 for ' gratuitously superintending the construction of Van Ryneveld's Pass, Graaff-Reinet '.

In 1834 he made another trip to Bechuanaland where he lost his wagons and collection of zoological specimens during an attack by the Matabele, caused by his Griqua guides ' stealing some of the King's cattle.

During the Cape Frontier Wars in 1833-1834 he served as captain of the Beaufort Levies raised for the defence of the frontier.

He tried his hand at farming in the newly-annexed Queen Adelaide Province, but lost the farm when the land was returned to the Xhosa in 1836.

Later he was engaged to construct a military road through the Ecca Pass, and displayed engineering talents which led to his being permanently employed as surveyor of military roads under the corps of Royal Engineers in 1836.

During this period he had a part in building the Fish River bridge, then the largest bridge in the country.