- Persona
- c1877 - 1960
Daniel Fargher Corlett emigrated to South Africa in 1897 from Ballaugh on the Isle of Man in the United Kingdom. He served time with his father, taking charge of the family business. Like many other young fellows possessed of energy and ambition, he realised the limited opportunities in his native land, coming direct to Johannesburg. He secured employment with Messrs. Prentice & Mackie, the well-known contractors, and was with them at the outbreak of the Anglo Boer War in 1899. During the conflict, Corlett served as a sergeant in Bethune's Mounted Infantry of the British Army. On his return he took up his old position with Messrs. Prentice and Mackie.
Before long, he formed he formed his own construction company: Corlett Construction and joined the Witwatersrand Master Builders' Association. The building in the Maboneng precinct in Johannesburg which housed his company offices still remains and is is now a Blue Plaque Heritage building. Through his connections with the Methodist Church and with Gilbert Tucker, Collins's accountant and his involvement with the Trust, Corlett's construction company was contracted to erect the first school buildings at the College.
Corlett was elected a member of the executive of the Association in 1909, eventually becoming president in 1916. Mr. Corlett's keen business abilities were at that time directed towards the establishment of the National Federation of Building Trade Employers upon a sound foundation, and at this period the organisation was greatly in need of his skills. Mr. Corlett was appointed hon. treasurer of the National Federation in 1916, at which time the Federation was working under a bank overdraft. When he had occupied this position for three years, such was his organising, that he was able to hand over the finances in a flourishing condition to the newly-appointed honorary treasurer. The National Federation owes its present successful position in no small way to Mr. Corlett's foresight and business acumen. Mr. Corlett occupied the position of vice-president to the Federation in the years 1919 and 1920, and was elected president in 1921, so that including the year of his presidency, he was actively engaged as an officer of the Federation for six years.
Not only was Mr. Corlett involved in the construction industry, but he also gave much of his time to social organisations: he became vice-chairman of the Juvenile Affairs Board in Johannesburg, was a member of the Witwatersrand Government Apprenticeship Committee, vice-chairman of the Governing Body of the Johannesburg, High School for Girls, a director of the Rand Provident Building Society, and a member of the Committee of the Rand Aid Association. In 1941 he became a founding Trustee of the St Stithians Trust, which he served until 1959, shortly before his death. He was also involved in civic life and became Mayor of Johannesburg from 1931 - 1932. Corlett's favourite hobby was golf, and he was a member of the Country Club and of several other golf clubs.
Corlett's name is immortalised in one of Johannesburg's most well-known streets, Corlett Drive, which goes past the Wanderer's Cricket grounds. It is also inscribed on the foundation stone of the landmark Johannesburg Library and it is painted on his old office which is now home to the popular Arts on Main in the Maboneng Precinct. But who was D.F. Corlett? The following article published in the gives some insight into the man.
Corlett House and the Corlett Gates (on Bram Fischer Drive) are named in his honour.
His descendants include the Mitchell, Cresswell and Angus families, a few generations of which have been pupils at the College.
Sources:
- South African Builder, September 1923 (https://www.artefacts.co.za/main/Buildings/archframes.php?archid=2798)
- The Heritage Portal (https://www.theheritageportal.co.za/article/who-was-corlett-corlett-drive)