Sir Joseph Robinson, 1st Baronet

Who was Sir Joseph Robinson, 1st Baronet?

Sir Joseph Benjamin Robinson, 1st Baronet was a South African mining magnate and Randlord. Born in Cradock, Eastern Cape, died Wynberg, Cape Town.

The son of an 1820 settler, he fought on the side of the Orange Free State in the Basuto War, and later became a general trader, wool-buyer and stock-breeder at Dordrecht. On the discovery of diamonds in South Africa in 1867 he hastened to the Vaal River district, where, by purchasing the stones from the natives and afterwards by buying diamond-bearing land, notably at Kimberley, he soon acquired a considerable fortune. His rather forceful business tactics came in for a lot of criticism, earning him the title of "Old Buccaneer", but even so he became a member of the Mining Board and later chairman. He raised and commanded the Kimberley Light Horse. He was Mayor of Kimberley in 1880, and for four years was a representative of Griqualand West in the Cape parliament. On the discovery of gold in the Witwatersrand district in 1886, Alfred Beit financed a partnership with ₤25 000. Robinson purchased the Langlaagte and Randfontein estates, but Beit soon dissolved the partnership because of Robinson's temper and business methods.