The Chronicles of a Contractor (Rhodesiana Reprint Library Gold Series Vol. 04)

Being the autobiography of the late George Pauling. An autobiography by a colourful and dynamic late-Victorian engineer who won international repute for his accomplishments, not least of which was the building of many of southern Africa's major railway links. George Pauling came to South Africa from Britain at the age of 20, founded Pauling & Co. in 1877 with his brother, and completed his first construction job in 1881 the 65 mile Port Alfred Railway. Thereafter, contracts came thick and fast: Sterkstroom to Aliwal North, Orange River to Kimberley, Springs to Krugersdorp, Johannesburg to Pretoria and, the most herculean project of all, the first stage of the line between Beira, on the Mocambique coast, to Umtali in the highlands of eastern Rhodesia. On this undertaking he lost 60 per cent of his labour force in each of the first three years through malaria, blackwater fever and the depredations of marauding animals.

Hardcover. English. Books of Rhodesia, Bulawayo. 1969. 264 pp with illustrations and fold-out map. In the original red cloth, no dw; some light corrugation at bottom of book. Book No: 2505705