Sydney Harold ('Stacey') Skaife

Skaife, Sydney Harold ('Stacey') (1889-1976)

Entomologist whose main research interest was social insects; also a school inspector, author, broadcaster, and conservationist. Of his many achievements his greatest was probably his leading role in the creation of the Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve. Lived most of his life in Hout Bay on the Cape Peninsula.

Chronology

Date	Age	Event
12 Dec 1889		Born in London, England, to Katherine and John Skaife. Boyhood spent in Bath, Somersetshire.
		Went to St Marks (?) Grammar School.
		Educated at Reading University College, England. Studied in the Arts, even though his passion lay with Biology.
1911	22	Took the Intermediate BA examination of London University because Reading at that stage was not a university and could not confer a degree.
1911	22	Studied for Teacher's Diploma and passed it with distinction.
Jan to Dec 1912	22-23	Went to Leizig in Germany, at the suggestion of his uncle, to learn German. Stayed with the Schober family. Taught English to earn some extra money.
Jan 1913	24	Came to Cape Town to teach biology at Rondebosch Boys High School.
1914	25	Tried to enlist for service in the First World War but turned down on medical grounds (an irregular heart beat, later found to be harmless)
1914?		Offered and accepted post as entomologist at the Rosebank Research Station in Cape Town. Worked on stored grain insects which were a particular issue at the time because, with the war being on, large quantities of grain were being stored at the Cape. 29 September
1917	27	Married Elsie-Mary Croft, a pianist. 1918?. Transferred to the Cedara College of Agriculture in Natal where he worked on wattle bagworm and bees.
1918	29	The first South African to receive a Carnegie Grant for further study.
1920	31	Obtained an M.Sc. at the Natal University College.
Jan 1921- 1945	31-55	Inspector of Science in the Cape Department of Education.
1922	33	Obtained a Ph.D. from the University of Cape Town for his research on bean weavils.
1924-1931	35-42	Editor of Nature Notes.
1925	36	One of the first people to make a radio broadcast in South Africa - talked on scorpions.
1929	40	Establised the Wild Life Protection and Conservation Society (now called the Wildlife Society of Southern Africa) largely as a result of his alarm at the widespread destruction of game in Zululand as part of the tsetse fly control campaign. In his capacity as chairman, he helped to establish the Outeniqua Mountain Zebra Reserve, the Bontebok Park, and the Addo Elephant Reserve.
1935-1945	46-56	Director of the School Broadcasting Service.
1939	50	Largely through his efforts, the Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve was established.
1940	51	President of the Entomological Society of Southern Africa.
1945-1951	55-61	Chairman of the newly created Fisheries Development Corporation. and during this same period was a member of the Board of Governors of the South African Broadcasting Corporation.
1950	61	President of the Royal Society of South Africa.
1950-1957	61-68	Vice-Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the South African Museum.
1951	62	Chairman of the Fisheries Commission of Northern Rhodesia.
1952 onwards	63	In his retirement did extensive research from his home in Hout Bay on the social behaviour of ants, bees and wasps which resulted in the publication of a book on termites, a book on ants, and a number of scientific publications.
1952	63	Awarded the South African Medal and Grant for scientific research by the South African Association for the Advancement of Science.
1953	64	Visited the U.K. where he spoke about his research work over the BBC and attended the Annual Congress of the British Association in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
1957	68	Awarded a D.Sc. (honoris causa) by the University of Natal.
1960	71	President of the Zoological Society of South Africa.
6 Nov 1976	87	Died at Hout Bay, Cape Peninsula.

?		Birth of Bunty.
?		Birth of son.
?-?		Lecturer in Medical Entomology at the University of Cape Town.
?-?		President of the Owl Club.
?-?		President of the South African Association for the Advancement of Science.

Smit (1987): "A public-spirited man, with a wide range of interests, Skaife was not only a brilliant scientist, but also intensely practical, always interested in machinery and do-it-yourself activities. He lived a life of devotion to his subject and his interests. An agnostic, who believed that man was not intended to know the mystery of life, he was not a planner and did not give much thought to the future. Money was always a minor consideration with him".

Specimens collected

SAM ants: 1957 (Tiervlei, Cape Peninsula); Lepidoptera in Transvaal Museum.

References

Skaife, S.H. 1963. A Naturalist Remembers. Longmans, Cape Town.
Smit, B. 1987. Skaife, Sidney Harold. In: Dictionary of South African Biography V (Eds C. J. Beyers and J. L. Basson). Human Sciences Research Council, Pretoria.
Obituary: J. ent. Soc. sth. Afr. (1977) 40: 123-125.

Text by Hamish Robertson