William Burchell

"We often remain totally ignorant of the proportions and perfect symmetry of the whole. In the wide system of created objects, nothing is wanting, nothing is superfluous: the smallest weed or insect is as indispensably necessary to the general good, as the largest object we behold. Each has its peculiar part to perform, conducive ultimately to the well-being of all.”

These words were written over 200 years ago by British explorer and scientist extraordinaire William John Burchell, who spent four years travelling beyond the colonial border between 1811 and 1815, leaving a valuable record of his observations and encounters in the interior in two volumes, and over 500 paintings, drawings and etchings.

William John Burchell

Now more than ever, these words are particularly pertinent in our 21st century world, as we relentlessly continue to destroy those smallest weeds and insects and upset the delicate balance of all things on earth. 

Southern Africa has an incredible diversity of flora, but around one in four South African plant species is at risk, while many are critically rare or endangered, and a number are already extinct in the wild. 

Burchell wrote eloquently of his travels in South Africa, in Travels in the interior of Southern Africa, in two volumes published in 1822 and 1824, with a map detailing his route. But the second volume...

In 2013 Lucille Davie set out on an adventure of a lifetime exploring some of the spaces and places visited by the famous naturalist William Burchell. She compiled a wonderful record of her journey which we are honoured to publish below. The piece first appeared on the Media Club South Africa website on 23 May 2013. Click here to view more of Davie's work.

I found it! I found the remains of the hut that sheltered explorer, scientist and naturalist William Burchell on the final leg of his journey to Graaff-Reinet in 1813.
 
Burchell, the quintessential Renaissance Man, was one of the more celebrated of the early explorers who visited South Africa in the early 19th century. He left vivid accounts of life in the colony, the Khoikhoi and Bushmen he came across, and the fauna and flora of the Karoo and Western Cape.

William John Burchell by John Russell (1800) - Downloaded from Wikipedia

He arrived in Cape Town on a boat from St Helena in November 1810, aged 29, and left on his journey seven months later, travelling beyond the border of the colony, right up to Kuruman and just beyond in today's Northern Cape, before making his way back along the coast to Cape Town four years...