‘Skukuza’: wildlife pioneer and visionary

James Stevenson-Hamilton was born in Dublin, the eldest of nine children and the heir to the family title and home at Fairholm, near Larkhall, in Scotland. He was educated at Rugby and later, like his father, was accepted into the military academy at Sandhurst. Upon completion of his training, he accepted a commission as a second-lieutenant in the Inniskilling Regiment and was posted to Natal in 1888 at the age of 21. Two years later, he was promoted to lieutenant, and by 1898 was a captain.

He joined the Cape-to-Cairo expedition under the leadership of Major Alfred Gibbons, whose ambition