George Herbert Farrar Sir George Herbert Farrar , 1st Baronet , DSO ( 17 June 1859 Chatteris , Cambridgeshire – 20 May 1915 Kuibis , South West Africa , was a South African mining magnate , politician and soldier - Colonel and assistant Quartermaster General - Central Force , Union Defence Forces , Hon . Colonel South African Light Horse . Son of Charles Farrar , a Chatteris medical doctor and Helen Howard , the daughter of John Howard of Cauldwell House Bedford and sister of Sir Frederick Howard of Bedford and James Howard MP of Bedford . George Herbert Farrar was educated at Bedford Modern School after which he joined Howard , Farrar & Co . , the engineering business of his uncle , Sir Frederick Howard , travelling to South Africa in 1879 to work at the firm ' s branches in Port Elizabeth and East London . In 1887 , shortly after the discovery of gold on the Reef , he and his brothers established themselves in Johannesburg . Here he became one of the leading figures in the mining sector on the East Rand . His main creation was forming the East Rand Proprietary Mines ( ERPM ) , remaining chairman of the company throughout his life . In 1893 Farrar sold 1 , 300 claims to the ERPM and received ERPM shares to the value of £705 , 000 for his claims in the south of Boksburg , excluding Boksburg Lake . Farrar later received further ERPM shares for his claims over Boksburg Lake , and became effectively the controlling shareholder of the ERPM . He was a member of the Legislative Assembly of the Transvaal and Leader of the Opposition . For his part in the Jameson Raid he was sentenced to hang , but the sentence was commuted to a fine of £25 , 000 , paid by cheque by Farrar ' s brother Sydney . During the Boer War he raised two regiments of South African Horse , and on 1 December 1900 was appointed Major in the Kaffrarian Rifles . He saw service in the Orange River Colony , took part in the defence of Wepener and saw action at Wittebergen , south of the Orange River . He was mentioned in despatches and was awarded the Queen ' s South Africa Medal with 4 clasps , a DSO for his military service during the Boer War and was knighted in 1902 . He became chairman of the Chamber of Mines . Farrar was an ardent supporter of the scheme to solve the labour problems of the mines by importing poorly paid Chinese workers on 3 - year contracts . Despite strong opposition , the plan was implemented in 1904 and over 60 , 000 Chinese were brought into the country over a period of three years , resulting in even further ethnic tensions on the Reef . With the attaining of autonomy for the Transvaal in 1906 , he represented Boksburg East in the Legislative Assembly and was leader of the Opposition . He represented Georgetown in the first parliament of Union of South Africa in 1910 - 11 and was created a baronet on 2 February 1911 . In December 1911 he withdrew from politics and devoted all his time to his enterprises on the East Rand . With the outbreak of World War I he was visiting England and about to join the staff of General Sir Hubert Hamilton in Belgium , but instead was ordered to German South West Africa as Assistant Q . M - General to Brigadier - General Duncan McKenzie ' s force with the rank of Colonel . From Lüderitz Bay he was in charge of the restoration of the railway and of supplying the forces with water , critically important in the semi - desert region . On 19 May 1915 while returning from a tour of inspection , his motor trolley collided with a construction train at Kuibis , near Gibeon , and he succumbed to his injuries the following day . He was buried in Bedford Farm Cemetery east of Johannesburg - Bedford Farm was named for his boyhood hometown . Farrarmere , a suburb of Benoni in the East Rand of Johannesburg , South Africa is also named after him as his hunting lodge was located there . He married Ella Mabel Waylen ( c . 1869 – 1922 ) on 3 June 1893 and had six daughters : Helen Mabel b . 1894 ; Muriel Frances , Viscountess Lowther b . 1896 ; Gwendoline b . 1897 ; Kathleen Elizabeth b . 1907 ; Ella Marguerite b . 1911 . Farrar was a champion athlete in his youth , a member of both Boodle ' s and White ' s , two gentlemen ' s clubs in London and the founder of the Johannesburg Turf Club . He was the brother of John Percy Farrar , soldier and mountaineer .