Answer : Back in 1883 the little backwater town, Matjiesfontein was discovered by Jimmy Logan a Scottish immigrant.
Logan arrived in South Africa on board a sailing vessel and with five pounds in his pocket took leave of the ship and made his way to Cape Town. He found a job as a porter earning 5 shillings a day on the station, showed outstanding ability and began his meteoric rise through the ranks.
At 20 he was appointed Cape Town stationmaster.
At 21 he married and was promoted by the railways to district superintendent of the stretch of line between Hex River and Prince Albert Road. He moved to Touwsriver which is about 55 kilometres from Matjiesfontein.
Just then diamonds were discovered in Kimberley and thousands of people were streaming through to the diamond fields.
There were no dining cars on trains. Logan saw the opportunity to provide food for travellers on the trains.
In 1883 to move his whole family to Matjiesfontein.
Once there he obtained the concession for the refreshment room on the Matjiesfontein station.
Over the next 10 years he developed Matjiesfontein from a wayside station into a Victorian health and holiday resort. Matjiesfontein attracted the rich and famous of yesteryear including the likes of Olive Schreiner and Cecil John Rhodes."
This text and more about Laird of Matjiesfontein here
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