Harold Basil Christian (28 October 1871 – 12 May 1950) was a Cape Colony-born Rhodesian farmer, horticulturist, and botanist. Christian attended Eton College in the United Kingdom, where he was a distinguished athlete. He served in the Imperial Light Horse of the British Army during the Second Boer War, during which he fought in the Siege of Ladysmith. In the decade after the war, he worked in what is now South Africa for De Beers and later as an engineer for a mining company. In 1911, Christian moved to Rhodesia (today Zimbabwe). There, he purchased a sizable farm, which he named Ewanrigg. He was best known for his study and cultivation of aloe on his extensive estate, which was donated to the state upon his death and became a national park. Christian initially attempted to grow imported European plants on his farm, but these tree species, which tend to be conifers, were not well-suited to the region's heat, dryness, and low altitude. In 1916, after it proved impossible to remove an unsightly rock from a spacious lawn in front of the house, Christian took an Aloe cameronii from a nearby hill and planted it in front of the stone. He was very impressed when the aloe flowered the next year despite not having been watered, and decided to focus thereafter on aloes rather than imported trees. During the 1930s, he expanded his garden and publishing his research on aloes in periodicals like the Rhodesian Agricultural Journal. Over the years, he became recognized by botanists around the world as an authority on African aloe species. One species was named Aloe christianii in his honor. In his later years, Christian focused on the cultivation of cycads as well.
Early life, family, and education Harold Basil Christian was born on 28 October 1871 in Port Elizabeth, Cape Colony (today South Africa). His father Henry Bailey Christian, was prominent in the city's agriculture, trade, and politics. Christian's grandfather, Ewan Christian, arrived at the Cape of Good Hope on his uncle Admiral Hugh Cloberry Christian's ship. His family was of Manx, English, and Welsh descent. Christian's paternal ancestors were descended from the Cumberland family of deemsters, or judges, on the Isle of Man. One of his notable ancestors was Fletcher Christian, a participant in the mutiny on the Bounty. Fletcher was one of the mutineers who in 1790, settled on Pitcairn Island and established an isolated community. Christian's father, Henry Bailey Christian, a veteran of the 1846 Xhosas War, was a successful farmer and merchant and a prominent public figure. Christian grew up Kragga Kama, the family farm, located 12 miles outside Port Elizabeth. He had three older brothers and four sisters. He studied at Eton College in the United Kingdom. There, he was a skilled athlete. The Eton College Chronicle in 1887 and 1888 reports his success in Association football (soccer), sculling, and rowing. In South Africa, he was an award-winning equestrian, an activity he shared with his father, who owned racehorses.
Military service and early career
Second Boer War After graduating from Eton, Christian returned to South Africa and served in the British Army in the Second Boer War. He served in the Imperial Light Horse and was the second to ride into battle at the Siege of Ladysmith. He later carried an injured comrade through heavy gunfire for 1.5 miles at the Battle of the Tugela Heights.
Work in mining After the war until around 1910, Christian worked for De Beers in Kimberley, and later as an engineer for a mining company in the Witwatersrand. During this period, he met Cecil Rhodes while working in Kimberley. Christian said that on Rhodes' instruction, he became the first man to write "Rhodesia" on a map. An article in the journal Rhodesiana wrote that this story is "reasonably possible", as the British South Africa Company had used the term "Rhodesia" since 1895.
Life in Rhodesia
Farming, discovery of aloes, and marriage While working in the Northern Cape during his career in the mining business, Christian likely heard much about the colony of Rhodesia to the north. Christian emigrated to Rhodesia in 1911. Three years later, he purchased Mount Shannon Farm from Gerald Ernest George Fitzgibbon. The farm was located about 40 kilometers northeast of Salisbury (now Harare), in what today is Mashonaland East Province. He paid £5,000 for the 662-morgen farm, and renamed it Ewanrigg, after an old family property in the Isle of Man.
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