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Finding Aid for the Robert Gardner Warton Papers, 1892-1929
1214
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Title: Robert Gardner Warton Papers,
Date (inclusive): 1892-1929
Collection number: 1214
Creator:
Warton, Robert Gardner
Extent:
2 boxes (1.0 linear ft.)
Repository:
University of California, Los Angeles. Library.
Dept. of Special Collections.
Los Angeles, California 90095-1575
Abstract: Lieutenant Colonel Robert Gardner Warton of the Staff College, Camberly (F.R.G.S.) was the first Englishman in North Rhodesia
(Zambia). He undertook three expeditions between 1892-1898, successfully receiving land concessions which he brought to the
British Commissioner, and which were among the last areas to be linked with the British Commonwealth. The collection consists
of correspondence, letter book, reports with accounts, diaries including sketches, maps, photographs, and clippings relating
to Warton's activities as a pioneer member (later Administrator and Managing Director in Africa) of the North Charterland
Exploration Company.
Physical location: Stored off-site at SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact the UCLA Library, Department
of Special Collections Reference Desk for paging information.
Language:
English.
Restrictions on Use and Reproduction
Property rights to the physical object belong to the UCLA Library, Department of Special Collections. Literary rights, including
copyright, are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds
the copyright and pursue the
copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.
COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF: Open for research. Advance notice required for access. Contact the UCLA Library, Department
of Special Collections Reference Desk for paging information.
Provenance/Source of Acquisition
Purchased from E.A. Wharton, 1968.
[Identification of item], Robert Gardner Warton Papers (Collection 1214). Department of Special Collections, Charles E. Young
Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.
UCLA Catalog Record ID:
4233961
Lieutenant Colonel Robert Gardner Warton of the Staff College, Camberly (F.R.G.S.) was the first Englishman in North Rhodesia
(Zambia); undertook three expeditions between 1892-1898, successfully receiving land concessions which he brought to the British
Commissioner, and which were among the last areas to be linked with the British Commonwealth.
Lt. Col. Robert G. Warton (b. 16 Jan. 1847, d. 20 Sept. 1923) of the Staff College, Camberly (F.R.G.S.) represented the North
Charterland Exploration Co. in its dealings with Portuguese and other trading companies in Mozambique and Northern Rhodesia
(later Zambia) in the late 19th century. He negotiated the purchase of land concessions from Carl Wiese (a German citizen
who received the land from a native Zulu chief),and which were among the last areas to be linked with the British Commonwealth.
He was appointed by Cecil Rhodes to act as the British South Africa Company's Commissioner and Magistrate for the North Charterland
Exploration Company in Northern Zambesia under Forbes, the Administrator for the area, and was the first Englishman (but not
the first European) to enter the area, setting up telegraph stations that would eventually link to the Cape in South Africa.
In 1888 he also brought the first English cricket team to South Africa for a test match.
Collection consists of correspondence, letter book, reports with accounts, diaries including sketches, maps, photographs,
and clippings relating to Warton's activities as a pioneer member (later Administrator and Managing Director in Africa) of
the North Charterland Exploration Company, a mining and trading venture in Rhodesia.
Expanded Scope and Content Note
Materials consist of handwritten daily diaries detailing several of Warton's expeditions from England to Zambia via Mozambique
between 1892 and 1896 (including shipboard life, trade negotiations with Portuguese, dealings with natives (including customs,
language, religion, vocabulary, etc.), surveying for the construction of telegraph lines and stations, overseeing prospectors
searching for gold); a typed transcription of the 1893 diary; sketches done by Warton; 2 maps of the grant from the British
South Africa Co. to North Charterland Exploration Co. in Northern Rhodesia, west of Lake Nyassa, east of Muchinga Mountains;
one hand-drawn map of the telegraph line from Gambe (near Beira) to Inyamuriho; annual reports of the North Charterland Exploration
Company; business correspondence; personal correspondence; photographs taken by Warton; and legal documents (1895).
Arranged in the following series:
- Diaries (box 1)
- Photographs, correspondence, reports, maps, legal documents, newspaper clippings (box 2)
- Oversized material (box 3).
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
Warton, Robert Gardner--Archives.
North Charterland Exploration Company.
Zambia--History--1890-1924.
Diaries.