John Hyacinth Power
Encyclopedia
John Hyacinth Power was the second Director of the McGregor Museum
in Kimberley
, South Africa
.
Born in Waterford
, Ireland
on 2 November 1884, Power emigrated to South Africa in 1904 to take up a post as school master at Kimberley’s
Christian Brothers’ College (now known as St Patrick’s College). From 1920 he headed the South African School of Mines (later the Northern Cape Technical College).
as museum director only in 1947, his close association with the museum began at the time of its inception in 1907. From 1917, moreover, he became the museum’s honorary curator of reptiles and amphibians, herpetology
being the field in which he achieved wide renown as a regional specialist. He had been encouraged in this direction by Dr Louis Péringuey
, Director of the South African Museum
in Cape Town
. The first of some forty publications he wrote in various fields appeared in the Annals of the South African Museum in 1913. Amongst the specimens he collected are type specimens that are housed at the McGregor Museum, including Bufo poweri which was named in his honour.
He also collected enthusiastically in other fields of museum science, notably archaeology
, being one of the most prolific donors in this field over many decades. A major Acheulean
site on the farm of Pniel on the Vaal River
near Kimberley is known as “Power’s Site”.
These included the erection of a new building across the road from the original McGregor Museum, made possible by a generous donation by the daughter of Alexander and Margaret McGregor, Helen Jessie Crawford. De Beers
lent its support as well. Here Power was responsible for a set of state-of-the-art natural history dioramas, constructed with the help of artist Nellie Steenkamp.
Just months before his retirement in 1958 the Cape Provincial Administration took on the McGregor Museum as a Province-Aided institution, providing an annual grant for the running of the museum, and paying the salaries of its still small staff at public service levels. The Board of Trustees continued to run the museum as it had from the start, but was now able to look to the appointment of exra professional staff. For instance, Dr Gerhard Jurgen Fock was appointed at the McGregor Museum in 1958 as South Africa’s first professional full-time museum archaeologist.
of the Royal Society of South Africa
, in 1931. In the same year he was elected a Fellow of the Zoological Society of London
. He was also a Fellow of the Linnaean Society. Power was President of Section F of the South African Association for the Advancement of Science in 1929 and of Section E in 1949; a founder member of the South African Archaeological Society in 1945; and a founder of the Wildlife Protection Society.
before settling in Pietermaritzburg
. He died suddenly at his son’s home in Johannesburg
on 21 December 1964.
McGregor Museum
The McGregor Museum in Kimberley, South Africa, originally known as the Alexander McGregor Memorial Museum, is a province-aided museum established in 1907.- Overview :...
in Kimberley
Kimberley, Northern Cape
Kimberley is a city in South Africa, and the capital of the Northern Cape. It is located near the confluence of the Vaal and Orange Rivers. The town has considerable historical significance due its diamond mining past and siege during the Second Boer War...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
.
Born in Waterford
Waterford
Waterford is a city in the South-East Region of Ireland. It is the oldest city in the country and fifth largest by population. Waterford City Council is the local government authority for the city and its immediate hinterland...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
on 2 November 1884, Power emigrated to South Africa in 1904 to take up a post as school master at Kimberley’s
Kimberley, Northern Cape
Kimberley is a city in South Africa, and the capital of the Northern Cape. It is located near the confluence of the Vaal and Orange Rivers. The town has considerable historical significance due its diamond mining past and siege during the Second Boer War...
Christian Brothers’ College (now known as St Patrick’s College). From 1920 he headed the South African School of Mines (later the Northern Cape Technical College).
Early association with the McGregor Museum
Although Power would succeed Maria WilmanMaria Wilman
Maria Wilman was the first Director of the McGregor Museum in Kimberley, South Africa.Born in Beaufort West on 29 April 1867, she matriculated at the Good Hope Seminary in Cape Town before going on to complete a natural science tripos in geology, mineralogy and chemistry at Newnham College,...
as museum director only in 1947, his close association with the museum began at the time of its inception in 1907. From 1917, moreover, he became the museum’s honorary curator of reptiles and amphibians, herpetology
Herpetology
Herpetology is the branch of zoology concerned with the study of amphibians and reptiles...
being the field in which he achieved wide renown as a regional specialist. He had been encouraged in this direction by Dr Louis Péringuey
Louis Péringuey
Louis Albert Péringuey was a South African entomologist who specialised in Coleoptera and prehistorian.He was Director of the South African Museum in Cape Town from 1906 to his sudden death in 1924....
, Director of the South African Museum
Iziko South African Museum
The Iziko SA Museum is a South African national museum located in Cape Town. The museum was founded in 1825, the first in the country. It has been on its present site in the Company's Garden since 1897...
in Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
. The first of some forty publications he wrote in various fields appeared in the Annals of the South African Museum in 1913. Amongst the specimens he collected are type specimens that are housed at the McGregor Museum, including Bufo poweri which was named in his honour.
He also collected enthusiastically in other fields of museum science, notably archaeology
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
, being one of the most prolific donors in this field over many decades. A major Acheulean
Acheulean
Acheulean is the name given to an archaeological industry of stone tool manufacture associated with early humans during the Lower Palaeolithic era across Africa and much of West Asia, South Asia and Europe. Acheulean tools are typically found with Homo erectus remains...
site on the farm of Pniel on the Vaal River
Vaal River
The Vaal River is the largest tributary of the Orange River in South Africa. The river has its source in the Drakensberg mountains in Mpumalanga, east of Johannesburg and about 30 km north of Ermelo and only about 240 km from the Indian Ocean. It then flows westwards to its conjunction...
near Kimberley is known as “Power’s Site”.
Director of the McGregor Museum in Kimberley
Power succeeded Wilman as Director of the McGregor Museum in 1947 and oversaw major expansion and changes in the administration of the institution during the decade that he was at the helm.These included the erection of a new building across the road from the original McGregor Museum, made possible by a generous donation by the daughter of Alexander and Margaret McGregor, Helen Jessie Crawford. De Beers
De Beers
De Beers is a family of companies that dominate the diamond, diamond mining, diamond trading and industrial diamond manufacturing sectors. De Beers is active in every category of industrial diamond mining: open-pit, underground, large-scale alluvial, coastal and deep sea...
lent its support as well. Here Power was responsible for a set of state-of-the-art natural history dioramas, constructed with the help of artist Nellie Steenkamp.
Just months before his retirement in 1958 the Cape Provincial Administration took on the McGregor Museum as a Province-Aided institution, providing an annual grant for the running of the museum, and paying the salaries of its still small staff at public service levels. The Board of Trustees continued to run the museum as it had from the start, but was now able to look to the appointment of exra professional staff. For instance, Dr Gerhard Jurgen Fock was appointed at the McGregor Museum in 1958 as South Africa’s first professional full-time museum archaeologist.
Fellowships
Power was recognized for his contributions to science by being made a FellowFellow
A fellow in the broadest sense is someone who is an equal or a comrade. The term fellow is also used to describe a person, particularly by those in the upper social classes. It is most often used in an academic context: a fellow is often part of an elite group of learned people who are awarded...
of the Royal Society of South Africa
Royal Society of South Africa
The Royal Society of South Africa is a learned society composed of eminent South African scientists and academics. The Society was granted its royal charter by King Edward VII in 1908, nearly a century after Capetonians first began to conceive of a national scholarly society...
, in 1931. In the same year he was elected a Fellow of the Zoological Society of London
Zoological Society of London
The Zoological Society of London is a charity devoted to the worldwide conservation of animals and their habitats...
. He was also a Fellow of the Linnaean Society. Power was President of Section F of the South African Association for the Advancement of Science in 1929 and of Section E in 1949; a founder member of the South African Archaeological Society in 1945; and a founder of the Wildlife Protection Society.
Retirement
In retirement, Power lived for a time in Northern RhodesiaZambia
Zambia , officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west....
before settling in Pietermaritzburg
Pietermaritzburg
Pietermaritzburg is the capital and second largest city in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It was founded in 1838, and is currently governed by the Msunduzi Local Municipality. Its "purist" Zulu name is umGungundlovu, and this is the name used for the district municipality...
. He died suddenly at his son’s home in Johannesburg
Johannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
on 21 December 1964.