Christopher Harison (c. 1825 - 8 November 1897) was a British military officer and forestry official in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. He served as Conservator of Forests and was an authority on forest practice in the region. Harison was born at Sutton Place,

Seaford, East Sussex Seaford is a town in East Sussex, England, east of Newhaven, East Sussex, Newhaven and west of Eastbourne.OS Explorer map Eastbourne and Beachy Head Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton B2 edition. Publishing Date:2009. I ...

. He first arrived in the

Cape of Good Hope The Cape of Good Hope ( ) is a rocky headland on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa. A List of common misconceptions#Geography, common misconception is that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Afri ...

in 1849 as a captain in the Perthshire Regiment (later the 2nd Battalion of the

Black Watch The Black Watch, 3rd Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland (3 SCOTS) is an infantry battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland. The regiment was created as part of the Childers Reforms in 1881, when the 42nd (Royal Highland) Regiment ...

, Royal Highland Regiment) to take part in the Eighth Frontier War (1850–1853). He resigned his commission on returning to England, married Louise Marie Millett Moorman, the daughter of a naval officer, and returned to

Cape Agulhas Cape Agulhas (; , "Cape of Needles") is a rocky headland in Western Cape, South Africa. It is the geographic southern tip of Africa and the beginning of the traditional dividing line between the Atlantic and Indian oceans according to the In ...

to breed horses. The stud farm was not a success, and Harison joined the Government Forest Service. In 1856 was appointed Conservator over a large section of the Southern Cape forests, namely the

Tsitsikamma The Tsitsikamma National Park is a protected area on the Garden Route, Western Cape and Eastern Cape, South Africa. It is a coastal reserve well known for its indigenous forests, dramatic coastline, and the Otter Trail. On 6 March 2009 it was ama ...

forests eastward to

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

. His headquarters were located at Witelsbos near

Storms River Storms River () is a river in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. The river mouth is located in the Tsitsikamma National Park. The 5 day Otter Trail starts at the Storms River mouth. See also * Tsitsikamma National Park * Paul Sauer ...

. In 1874 he became Conservator of a newly created conservancy including the forests of

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Knysna Knysna (; ) is a town with 76,150 inhabitants (2019 mid-year estimates) in the Western Cape province of South Africa. It is one of the destinations on the loosely defined Garden Route tourist route. It is situated 60 kilometres east of the c ...

and Humansdorp. In 1888, he transferred to Tokai in

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as Conservator over the Western Conservancy. Thomas Bain and Christopher Harison first explored the feasibility of the

Grootrivier Pass Grootrivier Pass, is situated in the Western Cape province of South Africa on the R102 road (South Africa), R102 regional road. The Groot River (Southern Cape), Grootrivier (Afrikaans for "Great River") is one of various mountain streams that ov ...

near

Nature's Valley Nature's Valley is a holiday resort and small village on the Garden Route along the southern Cape coast of South Africa. Nature's Valley lies between the Salt River, the foothills of the Tsitsikamma Mountains, the Indian Ocean and the Groot Rive ...

in 1868. Harison's interest in the building of the road stemmed from his belief that it could be used to halt the runaway destruction of the forest started by

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woodcutters in 1777 and carried on by their descendants. During his career as Conservator he was tireless in his efforts to preserve the forests and wildlife for posterity. A giant yellowwood in the Tsitsikamma Forest is named in his honour. He retired to Knysna in 1895, and died two years later. His son, Launcelot Malcolm Harison, attended St Andrew's College in

Grahamstown Makhanda, formerly known as Grahamstown, is a town of about 75,000 people in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is situated about northeast of Gqeberha and southwest of East London. It is the largest town in the Makana Local Mun ...

from 1869 to 1874. He was finally attached to Lord Methuen's staff and became president of the Military Court. His daughter, Eliza 'Bessie' Georgiana Harison, married Charles Wilhelm Thesen (1856–1940) of Knysna and produced ten children. She died in 1901 of complications during pregnancy at the age of thirty-eight.

References

*''Standard Encyclopaedia of Southern Africa'' 1820s births 1897 deaths Foresters Cape Colony people {{forester-stub