Sir John Frost (8 August 1828 – 2 April 1918) was an Anglo- South African landowner, cabinet minister and Member of the

Parliament of the Cape of Good Hope The Parliament of the Cape of Good Hope functioned as the legislature of the Cape Colony, from its founding in 1853, until the creation of the Union of South Africa in 1910, when it was dissolved and the Parliament of South Africa was establi ...

Early life

Frost was the son of William and Maria Frost, landowners in Leicestershire.Family Search birth of siblings. He immigrated to the

Cape Colony The Cape Colony (), also known as the Cape of Good Hope, was a British Empire, British colony in present-day South Africa named after the Cape of Good Hope. It existed from 1795 to 1802, and again from 1806 to 1910, when it united with three ...

in 1849 where he built up an estate, Thibet Park, on the upper Black Kei River. He was one of the leading farmers in the Queenstown district and served as an officer in the Frontier Wars of the

Eastern Cape The Eastern Cape ( ; ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, and its largest city is Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth). Due to its climate and nineteenth-century towns, it is a common location for tourists. It is also kno ...

, including the quelling of the Transkei Rebellion. Lady Frost, his wife, was born Frances Cordelia Powell (born 20 September 1834, died 20 October 1927). She was a niece of Colonial Secretary Richard Southey. Sir John and Lady Frost lived at their country estate, Thibet Park on the Kei River. They also had a house in

Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

, Eastbrooke House in Rondebosch. They had three daughters and five sons.

Political career

In 1874 he was elected a member of the

House of Assembly House of Assembly is a name given to the legislature or lower house of a bicameral parliament. In some countries this may be at a subnational level. Historically, in British Crown colonies as the colony gained more internal responsible g ...

, representing the Queenstown district for nearly 40 years in total. In politics he was a pro-imperialist, associated with Sir

Gordon Sprigg Sir John Gordon Sprigg, (27 April 1830 – 4 February 1913) was an English-born colonial administrator and politician who served as prime minister of the Cape Colony on four occasions. Early life Sprigg was born in Ipswich, England, into a ...

, in whose cabinet he served without portfolio. He was a

Cabinet Minister A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ' prime minister', ' p ...

as Secretary for Native Affairs in 1893 in the ministry of

Cecil John Rhodes Cecil John Rhodes ( ; 5 July 185326 March 1902) was an English-South African mining magnate and politician in southern Africa who served as Prime Minister of the Cape Colony from 1890 to 1896. He and his British South Africa Company founded ...

and later Secretary for Agriculture. During the Anglo-Boer War he was an advisor of the ill-fated Sir Redvers Buller. He was knighted as a KCMG in 1904.

References

* ''Dictionary of South African Biography'' 1828 births 1918 deaths Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George British emigrants to the Cape Colony Members of the House of Assembly of the Cape Colony {{EasternCape-politician-stub