Frank Oates
Encyclopedia
Frank Oates was a British naturalist, explorer and uncle to Antarctic
explorer Lawrence Oates
. He was one of the first Europeans to see the Victoria Falls
.
, Yorkshire
, in 1840. He was educated at Christ Church, Oxford
, which he entered late in 1860, but left before taking a degree. This was due to severe ill health, and he was an invalid for some years after 1864.
Oates' first significant expedition was to Central America
and North America
, and lasted one year, from 1871-1872. Most of this time was spent collecting bird and insect specimens in Guatemala
, though he traveled widely and spent some weeks camping in the mountains of California
. Upon his return to Britain, he was elected a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society
.
in 1873, leaving Southampton
in March and arriving in Natal
two months later. His original plan was to travel to the Zambesi and explore the terra incognita north of the river. This territory was occasioning much interest at the time: in King Solomon's Mines
, published in 1885, Haggard
locates the fictional land of Kukuanas there.
After outfitting his party in Pietermaritzburg
, Oates traveled to the Transvaal
, reaching Pretoria
in June. He was not impressed with the town – which, he claimed, lacked even a book shop – or the people: "I fear the English who are here are a bad lot, with few exceptions. One man who cheated me I asked if he had a conscience. He replied that no one here had one."
Traveling north-west to Shoshong
in the Bamangwato
region, the next leg of the journey took the brothers to Tati
and then Gubulweyo. From here Oates explored the central portion of Matabeleland
, traveling to Inyati
and finally reaching the Umgwanya River in October 1873. W. E. Oates returned to England at the end of 1873.
The Baobab
tree is one of the curiosities described by Oates in his journals: "The tree was perfectly gigantic in girth, thickening as it got higher, though of no great height. It was swolen and bloated in a most extraordinary manner ... Though still flourishing, it was a mere shell, and, looking in at a hole in the side, I saw that it was open to the sky at the top. Inside is a good-sized chamber, strewed with minute bones of rats or some small mammalia. No doubt generations of owls have long had their abode here; one flew out at our approach."
The final leg of Oates' journey took him to through western Matabeleland
to Victoria Falls
. Delayed by poor weather and the hostility of local tribes, he finally reached the falls on 31 December 1874. Oates was one of the first few Europeans to see the falls in full flood. He died of a fever on 5 February, while returning to Tati
.
Oates' legacy, a voluminous set of journals and letters home, was collected and edited by his brother, Charles George Oates and published in 1881 as Matabele Land and the Victoria Falls; A Naturalist's Wanderings in the Interior of South Africa (ISBN 0955393647). This work contains detailed descriptions of flora and fauna plus drawings and detailed maps based on Oates' observation. There is a permanent exhibit dedicated to Frank Oates at The Oates Museum
at Selborne
in Hampshire
.
Frank Oates is much admired for his indomitability of spirit. "I like anything," he once said, "that seems difficult of attainment".
Antarctic
The Antarctic is the region around the Earth's South Pole, opposite the Arctic region around the North Pole. The Antarctic comprises the continent of Antarctica and the ice shelves, waters and island territories in the Southern Ocean situated south of the Antarctic Convergence...
explorer Lawrence Oates
Lawrence Oates
Captain Lawrence Edward Grace Oates was an English Antarctic explorer, known for the manner of his death, when he walked from a tent into a blizzard, with the words "I am just going outside and may be some time"....
. He was one of the first Europeans to see the Victoria Falls
Victoria Falls
The Victoria Falls or Mosi-oa-Tunya is a waterfall located in southern Africa on the Zambezi River between the countries of Zambia and Zimbabwe.-Introduction:...
.
Early life
Oates was born in Meanwoodside, near LeedsLeeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
, Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
, in 1840. He was educated at Christ Church, Oxford
Christ Church, Oxford
Christ Church or house of Christ, and thus sometimes known as The House), is one of the largest constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England...
, which he entered late in 1860, but left before taking a degree. This was due to severe ill health, and he was an invalid for some years after 1864.
Oates' first significant expedition was to Central America
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
and North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
, and lasted one year, from 1871-1872. Most of this time was spent collecting bird and insect specimens in Guatemala
Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
, though he traveled widely and spent some weeks camping in the mountains of California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. Upon his return to Britain, he was elected a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society
Royal Geographical Society
The Royal Geographical Society is a British learned society founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical sciences...
.
African Expedition
Accompanied by his brother (W. E. Oates)Oates set sail for AfricaAfrica
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
in 1873, leaving Southampton
Southampton
Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...
in March and arriving in Natal
Colony of Natal
The Colony of Natal was a British colony in south-eastern Africa. It was proclaimed a British colony on May 4, 1843 after the British government had annexed the Boer Republic of Natalia, and on 31 May 1910 combined with three other colonies to form the Union of South Africa, as one of its...
two months later. His original plan was to travel to the Zambesi and explore the terra incognita north of the river. This territory was occasioning much interest at the time: in King Solomon's Mines
King Solomon's Mines
King Solomon's Mines is a popular novel by the Victorian adventure writer and fabulist Sir H. Rider Haggard. It tells of a search of an unexplored region of Africa by a group of adventurers led by Allan Quatermain for the missing brother of one of the party...
, published in 1885, Haggard
H. Rider Haggard
Sir Henry Rider Haggard, KBE was an English writer of adventure novels set in exotic locations, predominantly Africa, and a founder of the Lost World literary genre. He was also involved in agricultural reform around the British Empire...
locates the fictional land of Kukuanas there.
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...
, Oates traveled to the Transvaal
South African Republic
The South African Republic , often informally known as the Transvaal Republic, was an independent Boer-ruled country in Southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century. Not to be confused with the present-day Republic of South Africa, it occupied the area later known as the South African...
, reaching Pretoria
Pretoria
Pretoria is a city located in the northern part of Gauteng Province, South Africa. It is one of the country's three capital cities, serving as the executive and de facto national capital; the others are Cape Town, the legislative capital, and Bloemfontein, the judicial capital.Pretoria is...
in June. He was not impressed with the town – which, he claimed, lacked even a book shop – or the people: "I fear the English who are here are a bad lot, with few exceptions. One man who cheated me I asked if he had a conscience. He replied that no one here had one."
Traveling north-west to Shoshong
Shoshong
Shoshong is a town in Botswana, formerly the chief settlement of the eastern Bamangwato.-Physical location:Shoshong is located at latitude -22.95, longitude +26.48, in the Central District, about N.N.E. of Mafeking and N. of Shoshong Road Station on the Cape Town-Bulawayo railway. It is 40 km...
in the Bamangwato
Bamangwato
The Bamangwato can be said to be one of the eight 'principal' Tswana tribes of Botswana, and just like any other Tswana tribe in Botswana, constitutes a small percent in the central district even in their capital serowe. They ruled over majority Bakalangaand other tribes such as the san,bitwa and...
region, the next leg of the journey took the brothers to Tati
Tati Concessions Land
The Tati Concessions Land was a concession created in the borderlands of the Matabele kingdom and the Bechuanaland Protectorate. The concession was originally made by the Matabele King to Sir John Swinburne...
and then Gubulweyo. From here Oates explored the central portion of Matabeleland
Matabeleland
Modern day Matabeleland is a region in Zimbabwe divided into three provinces: Matabeleland North, Bulawayo and Matabeleland South. These provinces are in the west and south-west of Zimbabwe, between the Limpopo and Zambezi rivers. The region is named after its inhabitants, the Ndebele people...
, traveling to Inyati
Inyati
Inyati is a village in Matabeleland North, Zimbabwe and is located about 60 km north-east of Bulawayo in the Inyati communal land. The village grew up around the Inyati mission, which established in 1859 by on land given to Robert Moffat and William Sykes of the London Missionary Society by...
and finally reaching the Umgwanya River in October 1873. W. E. Oates returned to England at the end of 1873.
The Baobab
Baobab
Adansonia is a genus of eight species of tree, six native to Madagascar, one native to mainland Africa and the Arabian Peninsula and one to Australia. The mainland African species also occurs on Madagascar, but it is not a native of that island....
tree is one of the curiosities described by Oates in his journals: "The tree was perfectly gigantic in girth, thickening as it got higher, though of no great height. It was swolen and bloated in a most extraordinary manner ... Though still flourishing, it was a mere shell, and, looking in at a hole in the side, I saw that it was open to the sky at the top. Inside is a good-sized chamber, strewed with minute bones of rats or some small mammalia. No doubt generations of owls have long had their abode here; one flew out at our approach."
The final leg of Oates' journey took him to through western Matabeleland
Matabeleland
Modern day Matabeleland is a region in Zimbabwe divided into three provinces: Matabeleland North, Bulawayo and Matabeleland South. These provinces are in the west and south-west of Zimbabwe, between the Limpopo and Zambezi rivers. The region is named after its inhabitants, the Ndebele people...
to Victoria Falls
Victoria Falls
The Victoria Falls or Mosi-oa-Tunya is a waterfall located in southern Africa on the Zambezi River between the countries of Zambia and Zimbabwe.-Introduction:...
. Delayed by poor weather and the hostility of local tribes, he finally reached the falls on 31 December 1874. Oates was one of the first few Europeans to see the falls in full flood. He died of a fever on 5 February, while returning to Tati
Tati Concessions Land
The Tati Concessions Land was a concession created in the borderlands of the Matabele kingdom and the Bechuanaland Protectorate. The concession was originally made by the Matabele King to Sir John Swinburne...
.
Gilbert White
Gilbert White FRS was a pioneering English naturalist and ornithologist.-Life:White was born in his grandfather's vicarage at Selborne in Hampshire. He was educated at the Holy Ghost School and by a private tutor in Basingstoke before going to Oriel College, Oxford...
at Selborne
Selborne
Selborne is a village in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England. It is south of Alton. It will be just within the extreme northern boundary of the proposed South Downs National Park, which is due to take effect in mid-2010....
in Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
.
Frank Oates is much admired for his indomitability of spirit. "I like anything," he once said, "that seems difficult of attainment".
Sources
- Oates, C G (1881). Matabele land and the Victoria Falls : a naturalist's wanderings in the interior of South Africa. London: C. Kegan Paul (ISBN 0955393647)
- G. C. Boase (2009-05), "Oates, Francis (1840–1875)" in The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Retrieved 2006-04-02.