death_date birth_place image_size birth_date image article_title name occupation
29 september 1893 graaff-reinet frameless 30 september 1830 file : thomas bain00.jpg thomas charles john bain
 thomas charles john bain road engineer
thomas charles john bain

thomas charles john bain -lrb- 29 september 1830 , graaff-reinet -- 29 september 1893 -rrb- was a south african road engineer .
as a prolific road building pioneer , bain was responsible for the planning and construction of more than 900 km of roads and mountain passes , many of them still in use today , over a career spanning from 1848 until 1888 .
these passes through the mountain ranges between the thin coastal plain and the interior of the former cape colony in south africa , played a major role in opening up the vast hinterland of south africa .
