Abel Chapman

Abel Chapman (4 October 1851 – 23 January 1929) was an English, Sunderland-born artist, hunter-naturalist and travel writer. He contributed in saving the Spanish Ibex from extinction and helped in the establishment of South Africa's first game reserve. He published several popular travelogues which made use of his illustrations and photographs.

Early life

Chapman was born at 212 High Street, Bishopwearmouth, on 4 October 1851. He was the eldest child of Edward and Jane Chapman, née Crawhall and came from a long line of sportsmen who were both accomplished hunters and acclaimed naturalists.

His grandfather, Joseph Crawhall, was an accurate grouse shot in Hexhamshire, as well as being a founder member of the National History Society of Northumbria. His uncle, George Crawhall, was described by Chapman as "a typical sportsman of the old school – the mentor to whom I owe the best grounding in field-craft."

Chapman's first experiences of hunting were in Northumberland, where he fell in love with nature at the same time as shooting. He often made drawings of the birds he saw and shot there. But it was a friend he made at Rugby School (1864-1869), F. C. Selous, who inspired his lifelong love of travel and adventure – a world away from the moors of Northumberland. Years later, he co-authored a hunting book with Selous, called The Big Game of Africa and Europe. Today his stuffed animals can be seen on display at Sunderland Museum, the National History Museum in London and the Great North Museum in Newcastle.

Chapman and Buck visited South Africa for the first time in 1899, to take part in big-game hunting. The trip, cut short by the Boer War, proved disappointing, as the Transvaal border (now the Kruger area) was over-hunted. After returning to Britain, Chapman drew up plans to protect the Kruger site from further harm by creating a nature reserve. His proposals were sent to the International Convention for the Preservation of Wild Animals in London in 1900 and, shortly after, the Sabi Game Reserve was established. In 1922 he was awarded an honorary degree by the University of Durham. In 1928 he wrote about his life in Retrospect. Chapman died at Houxty in January 1929.