Joseph Storr Lister

Last updated

Joseph Storr Lister00.jpg
1914 Class of Tokai Foresters South African Forestry School at Tokai01.jpg
1914 Class of Tokai Foresters
South African Forestry School at Tokai (1910) South African Forestry School at Tokai00.jpg
South African Forestry School at Tokai (1910)

Joseph Storr Lister (1 October 1852 Uitenhage - 27 February 1927 Kenilworth, Cape Town) was a South African forester and Conservator of Forests. He was educated at the Diocesan College in Rondebosch, and in 1885 married Georgina Bain, daughter of Thomas Charles John Bain, the roadbuilder and engineer.

Contents

Lister joined South African forestry during a period when commercial plantations of exotic timbers were being established and expanded on a large scale. Fresh from Punjab and the Indian Forest Service, he was appointed in 1875 as Superintendent of Plantations and based in Cape Town. Remarkably he was also selected to be custodian of Langalibalele, who had been banished to Robben Island after a mock trial by the British authorities for his part in a Zulu rebellion, and Cetewayo, deposed and exiled, first to Cape Town, and then to London for his role in the Anglo-Zulu War.

Lister soon came to understand the urgent need for growing exotic timbers which would reduce the pressure on indigenous species, and started by establishing at Worcester in 1876 a plantation of fast-growing Eucalypts to supply fuel for the railways. De Beers bought the Worcester plantation in 1892, and this sale resulted in a profit of some £60/acre, stimulating a wave of afforestation. Lister also planted the Tokai Arboretum against the slopes of Constantiaberg outside Cape Town in 1885 - an experimental stand of some 1555 trees representing 274 species of commercially promising trees including oaks, eucalypts and Californian Redwood. Between 1902 and 1903 he organised Forest Departments for Zululand and Natal, and for the Orange River Colony. In 1906 he established the South African Forestry School at Tokai in order to train men for the higher grades of forest service, and in 1912 the School started training foresters. Twenty years later in 1932 the training of foresters was moved to Saasveld Forestry College near George and was known as the 'Saasveld College for Foresters'. In 1910 Lister became the first Chief Conservator of Forests for the newly constituted Union of South Africa. [1]

In 1877, Lister turned his attention to driftsand reclamation at Bellville near Cape Town, where sand was threatening both the road and railway line to the north. He arranged for the town refuse to be spread over the dunes and then planted Acacia cyclops and Acacia cyanophylla between - this stopped movement of the sand and created a valuable source of fuel. In 1893 he carried out the same reclamation program at Port Elizabeth with complete success. The Port Elizabeth suburb of Listerwood was named in his honour, and a small stone monument, next to Marine Drive in Summerstrand, was built as a memorial. [2] Lister retired in 1913 having rendered 38 years of distinguished service. He was succeeded by the Scottish-born forester Charles Edward Legat.

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>Eucalyptus</i> Genus of flowering plants in the myrtle family

Eucalyptus is a genus of more than 700 species of flowering plants in the family Myrtaceae. Most species of Eucalyptus are trees, often mallees and a few are shrubs. Along with several other genera in the tribe Eucalypteae, including Corymbia and Angophora, they are commonly known as eucalypts. Plants in the genus Eucalyptus have bark that is either smooth, fibrous, hard or stringy, the leaves have oil glands, and the sepals and petals are fused to form a "cap" or operculum over the stamens. The fruit is a woody capsule commonly referred to as a "gumnut".

<i>Eucalyptus diversicolor</i> Species of eucalyptus

Eucalyptus diversicolor, commonly known as karri, is a species of flowering plant in the family Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a tall tree with smooth light grey to cream-coloured, often mottled bark, lance-shaped adult leaves and barrel-shaped fruit. Found in higher rainfall areas, karri is commercially important for its timber.

<i>Ocotea bullata</i> Species of tree

Ocotea bullata, is a species of flowering tree native to South Africa. It produces very fine and valuable timber which was formerly much sought after to make furniture. Due to over-exploitation it is now a protected species. Other names for it are Cape Walnut, Cape laurel, and laurel wood. The name "stinkwood" comes from a strong smell that is released when it is fresh felled.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Robertson Sim</span> South African botanist (1858–1938)

Thomas Robertson Sim was a botanist, bryologist, botanical artist and Conservator of Forests in Natal, best known for his monumental work The Forests and Forest Flora of the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope which appeared in 1907. He was the eldest of five children of John Sim (1824–1901), a noted bryologist and Isabella Thomson Robertson (1823-).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saasveld Forestry College</span>

Saasveld Forestry College is a South African college for the training of foresters, situated on the Garden Route in the Western Cape between George and Knysna. Before moving to its present location in 1932, it was located at Tokai, Cape Town.

Charles Edward Lane Poole was an English Australian forester who introduced systematic, science-based forestry practices to various parts of the Commonwealth, most notably Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Spurgeon Henkel</span> South African botanist and forester (1871 - 1962)

Johannes Elias Spurgeon Henkel aka John Spurgeon Henkel, was a South African botanist and forester. He was deeply involved in the conservation of forests in southern Africa and the introduction of exotic species such as Eucalyptus to Zululand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Forests of KwaZulu-Natal</span> Forest vegetation type in South Africa

Areas of forest which grow in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa mostly on south facing slopes in higher rainfall areas, and along the humid coastal areas. Different types of forest can be identified by their species composition which depends mostly on the altitude, latitude and substrate in which they grow. South facing slopes are favourable for the development of forest as they are more shaded, and therefore cooler and retain more moisture than the northern slopes. The extra moisture on the south slopes is not only favoured by forest trees, but also helps to prevent or subdue wildfires. Fires can also be blocked by cliff faces and rocks or boulders on these slopes, and by streams or rivers at the base of the slopes. The coastal regions are conducive to forest formation, because of high rainfall and humidity which are favoured by forest trees and also help to prevent or subdue fires. The rivers of the coastal areas are also broader than further inland, which may often prevent fires from spreading long distances, and fires generally burn uphill and therefore more often away from areas at low altitude.

Christopher Harison was a British military officer and forestry official in South Africa. He served as Conservator of Forests and was an authority on forest practice in the region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cape Flats Sand Fynbos</span> Vegetation type endemic to the City of Cape Town

Cape Flats Sand Fynbos (CFSF), previously known as Sand Plain Fynbos, is a critically endangered vegetation type that occurs only within the city of Cape Town. Less than 1% of this unique lowland fynbos vegetation is conserved.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tamil Nadu Forest Department</span>

The Madras Forest Department, now officially, Tamil Nadu Forest Department, is a government department of Tamil Nadu. The department is responsible for managing all the protected areas and forests plus environmental and wildlife related issues of Tamil Nadu state in South India. The objective of the Tamil Nadu Forest Department is to conserve biodiversity and eco-systems of forests and wilderness areas to ensure water security and food security of the state.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cecilia, Table Mountain</span> Section of the Table Mountain National Park

Cecilia is a section of the Table Mountain National Park on the lower eastern slopes of Table Mountain in Cape Town, located just to the south of Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden. It was previously used for commercial logging and known as Cecilia Forest or Cecilia Plantation, but has now been given protected status and integrated into the National Park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Médéric de Vasselot de Régné</span>

Comte Médéric de Vasselot de Régné was a French-born forest officer trained at the National School of Forestry in Nancy, France, and appointed as Superintendent of Woods and Forests in South Africa in 1880. Médéric and his elder brother Marin Gabriel were sons of Jean Gabriel Charles Auguste de Vasselot de Régné (1780–1842) and Eugénie Gabrielle Elisabeth Selima Vasselot de la Chesnaye (1807–1879).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tokai Park</span> Small section of Table Mountain National Park in Cape Town, South Africa

Tokai Park, previously known as "Tokai Forest", is a small wing, about 600 ha, of the greater Table Mountain National Park in Cape Town, South Africa. Tokai Park is made up of two sections: upper and lower Tokai Park. Lower Tokai Park is flat, and characterized by the threatened Cape Flats Sand Fynbos. Upper Tokai Park is on the slopes of Constantiaberg Mountain, and consists of conservation area as well as the Tokai Arboretum. Upper Tokai Park is characterized by Peninsula Granite Fynbos, Peninsula Sandstone Fynbos and Afromontane Forest and noted for its diversity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Forests Commission Victoria</span> Government authority managing forests in Victoria, Australia

The Forests Commission Victoria (FCV) was the main government authority responsible for management and protection of State forests in Victoria, Australia between 1918 and 1983.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Victorian School of Forestry</span> School in Victoria, Australia

The Victorian School of Forestry (VSF) was established in October 1910 at Creswick, in the Australian state of Victoria. It was located at the former Creswick Hospital, built in 1863 during the gold rush. The creation of VSF was one of the many recommendations of a Royal Commission held between 1897 and 1901 into forest degradation. The first tertiary forestry school in Australia, VSF was administered by the Forests Commission Victoria (FCV) until 1980, when VSF amalgamated with the University of Melbourne to become that institution's School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences. From 1910 to 1980, 522 students completed the Diploma of Forestry at VSF.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tokai Arboretum</span> Silviculture experimental station in Cape Town, South Africa

The Tokai Arboretum was the first large-scale silviculture experimental station in Cape Town, South Africa. The area of the main Arboretum, at Tokai Park, is 14 ha. Several adjacent compartments extend the area to 26 ha. The Arboretum was declared a National Monument in 1985, on its 100th anniversary. It contains stands of Eucalyptus and other trees from the original silviculture experiments in South Africa. In the 1990s a Gondwana Garden was created to display the plants typical of the Cape 100 million years ago.

Forestry in Sudan includes both traditional gatherers of firewood and producers of charcoal—the main sources of fuel for homes and some industries—and a modern timber and sawmilling industry, the latter government-owned. Forestry activities started with Condominium rule in 1899, when the government commissioned an Indian forester to produce a comprehensive report on the state of forests in the country. As a result, the Woods and Forests Ordinance was published in 1901, and the Department of Woodlands and Forests established. The First Forest Act replaced the ordinance in 1908, and legislation continued to evolve over the next century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tree plantation</span> Tree farming

A tree plantation, forest plantation, plantation forest, timber plantation or tree farm is a forest planted for high volume production of wood, usually by planting one type of tree as a monoculture forest. The term tree farm also is used to refer to tree nurseries and Christmas tree farms.

This article deals with forest conservation in South Africa.

References

  1. Immelman, W.F.E., C.L. Wicht, & D.P. Ackerman. 1973. Our Green Heritage: The South African Book of Trees. Tafelberg. ISBN   978-0-06-240037-6.
  2. Standard Encyclopaedia of Southern Africa (NASOU, 1972)