| Activity | He started his career as a supervisor for his father on the Bain's Kloof Pass and went on to build 20 mountain passes, three major roads and many minor roads in his 46-year career.
Bain the younger was a very well-respected man during his lifetime and was skilled in many fields. He qualified as an associate member of the Institute of Civil Engineers, was a road magistrate, became Justice for Peace in the Cape Colony, spent 20 months as a railway engineer, was an irrigation engineer and a skilled mineralogist. Thomas also wrote for several publications.
Like his father, Thomas Bain's interest in geology and archaeology was sparked by working on roads. Botany was another of his passions and he discovered four types of stapelias.
The maps and drawings Bain did of his roads and flowers are beautiful - works of art in their own right. |