Henry Taberer

Who was Henry Taberer?

Henry Melville Taberer was a South African cricketer who played in one Test in 1902. He was born at Keiskammahoek, Cape Province and died at Colesberg, Cape Province.

Taberer played cricket in England for Oxford University but failed to win a blue, and he also appeared for Essex before the county achieved first-class status. He appeared for Oxford against Cambridge in both athletics and rugby union.

Taberer had an intermittent cricket career in South Africa, appearing for Natal, Transvaal and Rhodesia. On his one Test appearance he captained the side, but he scored only two runs and took just one wicket, that of Victor Trumper. The match was his last first-class cricket appearance. He was later prominent in South African cricket administration.

Taberer was born on a mission station and was a fluent speaker of the languages used by the local population: he claimed to speak them more fluently than he did English. He was able to use this talent effectively when he became manager of the South African government's Native Labour Bureau and adviser to the Native Recruiting Corporation for the Chamber of Mines at a time of increasing industrial unrest.