Ignatius Ferreira

alt=Ferreira's Gold Mine in 1886. The mine was named after Colonel Ignatius Ferreira who was a founder of Johannesburg. The mine is an extension of the Main Reef. Ferreira's Gold Mine in 1886. The mine was named after Colonel Ignatius Ferreira who was a founder of Johannesburg. The mine is an extension of the Main Reef. Colonel Ignatius Philip Ferreira, (5 July 1840, Grahamstown, Cape Colony – 13 May 1921, Kranspoort, Louis Trichardt district, Transvaal) was a South African soldier, fortune hunter, miner and farmer of Portuguese descent. He is more commonly known for having the earliest gold mining camp on the Witwatersrand named after him called Ferreirastown (Ferreirasdorp), which was on the edge of the farm Randjeeslagte soon to be proclaimed as the site of a new town called Johannesburg.

Early life He was born in Grahamstown in 1840 to father Ignatius Ferreira and mother Hendrika Pohl. He would take up farming before moving to Kimberley where he attempted to prospect unsuccessfully for diamonds but met Sam Wemmer. The British and Native force under the command of Colonel Baker Russell would attack the stronghold of the Pedi tribes leader, King Sekukune in the Sekhukhuneland. In late 1880s, Ferreira and his horseman would take part in the Basuto War. It was raised for a third time outside Pretoria, also known as the Transvaal Horse, and would assist the Cape Colony to put down the Basuto rebels and took with it two 9-pounder field guns. It was disbanded in 1881 and at that time had a strength of 450 men.