Andrew Geddes Bain

(1796-1864): Scottish born South African road-builder, geologist, explorer, author, artist and dramatist. He designed a variety of famous passes in the Cape and his drawings of flara and fauna are valuable Africana. He lived in Grahamstown and became involved with amateur theatre there through his "habit of dashing off doggerel rhymes" and his friendship with George Rex and his fourth son Frederick Rex. It is generally assumed that he and George wrote a sketch in verse and prose called Kaatje Kekkelbek or Life Among the Hottentots, the first publically performed piece of dramatic writing in Afrikaans (Grahamstown 25 October 1838). However Binge (1969) argues that is was his son, Frederick Rex, who was the co-author of the piece.

Sources

See: Binge 1969; Bosman 1928; Bosman, 1981; Fletcher, 1994; De Beer,1995

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