CONTENTS

Introduction by MD 03 The pioneers 04 Crookes Brothers established 06 A burgeoning industry 08 The specialist farming company 12 Into Africa 16 25 year club 18 Crookes and the community 20 A bright future 21

GEORGE CROOKES JOHN CROOKES VERNON CROOKES CHARLES CROOKES 1913-1948 1948-1962 1962-1970 1970-1985

IVAN GILLATT DENNIS CROOKES FRED PALMER GUY WAYNE 1985-1993 1993-1998 1998-2008 2008-current

02 INTRODUCTION BY MD

Crookes Brothers Limited was registered as a joint stock company 100 years ago in June 1913 by brothers George, Fred and John Crookes. To mark the company’s centenary we have compiled a short e-book which chronicles the history of the Crookes family in and the company itself, from the arrival of Samuel Crookes in in 1860 to the present day. We, the management, employees and shareholders, are extremely proud of the history, traditions and reputation established by Crookes Brothers as a pioneering company in the South African sugar industry. While the demands and challenges of the 21st century business environment are very different from those faced by the pioneer farmers of the early Natal colony, we remain committed to the values of integrity, excellence and fairness championed by our founders 100 years ago. Guy Clarke

Johannesburg Stock Exchange One of the original plaques from the prices board of the trading One of the many floor which closed on 7 June 1996 Top Hundred Companies awards

03 THE PIONEERS

The story of Crookes Brothers is intricately woven into the story of the growth of the South African sugar industry and the development of the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast which became the home of the Crookes family. Crookes Brothers Limited officially came into being in 1913 when the company was formally registered as a joint stock company. But the story of Crookes Brothers dates back to the mid 1800s and the Byrne Settlers, in particular British immigrant Joseph Landers, a farmer and brick maker; and to the arrival of another English immigrant, Samuel Crookes, in 1860. Both Joseph Landers and Samuel Crookes were from Finningley in Yorkshire.

Joseph Landers and his family left the Byrne Valley in 1858. He and his son Thomas established themselves on two portions of wild virgin land of 600 acres (243 hectares) each obtained on favourable terms from the British Crown under a scheme to encourage new immigrants. They chose their land on the Mpambanyoni River, at what is now on the South Coast of Natal.

Samuel Crookes’ properties in the 1890s

Samuel Crookes, the patriarch of the Crookes family, arrived in Durban at Fanny and they duly produced three the age of 21, where he was apprenticed sons, George, Fred and John, and three as a wainwright or wagon builder. In daughters, Clara, Helena and Emily. the same year the first 600 indentured In 1878 Samuel Crookes registered a Indian labourers arrived in Natal to company, S Crookes & Sons, to house work in the cane fields. At the age of 26, his farming and milling interests. At the after completing his apprenticeship, he age of 16 John, who was the youngest, moved south to Scottburgh to work for left the Berea Academy in Durban to the Landers’ and soon started his own become an overseer in the cane fields. cane farming venture. Within a year The company prospered and expanded its he married Joseph Landers’ daughter farming and milling activities. 04 The early Crookes’ company set the pace for innovation in the sugar industry. As early as 1894 Samuel Crookes developed a hill plough to deal with the steep gradients on the Renishaw farm. Ploughing, which had earlier been scorned, was now becoming accepted as farmers looked for greater efficiency. Working the fields at Renishaw in the early 1900s

Samuel Crookes died at the age of 67 in 1906 and left the business in equal shares to his three sons along with £6 000 each. George was Managing Director, Fred ran the factory and John managed the farms. Fred had excellent mechanical and financial skills. Following his persuasion the brothers decided that they needed a market agent in Durban, namely Charles George Smith, the founder of CG Smith & Co.

Samuel Crookes and his children at Cypress Hill, 1905 (front, from left) Emily, Samuel and Lena; (back) John, George and Fed 05 CROOKES BROTHERS ESTABLISHED

The early South African sugar industry consisted The inaugural board meeting took of an exclusive circle of family businesses all place on July 8, 1913. At the time pioneered before the turn of the 19th century. the board was acting for only 17 The major powers in the agricultural industry shareholders. George, Fred and John were Natal Estates (the Campbells), Tongaat Sugar between them held 79% of the 95 000 (the Saunders’), Illovo Estates (the Pearces), shares in issue, CG Smith 7% and Reynolds Brothers, Sir JL Hulett and Sons and the Frank Reynolds 5%. Lena and Emily Crookes’. These were all planters-cum-millers and Crookes held 2% each, while other their output was sold through agencies such as family members held token quantities CG Smith. of shares. In 1909 shares in Illovo Sugar Estates became Crookes board meetings were held available as James Renault Saunders wanted out. monthly and are said to have been Fred and George bought in and were appointed short and sharp with the three to the Illovo board (along with CG Smith, William brothers in full control. CG Smith had Pearce and Frank Reynolds). high praise of the new company and congratulated the brothers on the In 1913 the brothers consolidated the family “extraordinarily satisfactory condition farms and milling operation into Crookes Brothers of everything in connection with Limited. The first board of directors included the the company”. In his capacity as a three brothers as well as Frank Reynolds and shareholder Smith wrote that he was CG Smith. By then the mill production had perfectly sure that it was impossible increased from 100 tons produced by Samuel for anyone to have a straighter deal in the 1870s to around 3 000 tons of sugar per than the shareholders had had from annum. the inception of the company.

Renishaw as it looked in 1911. The mill is to the left, Renishaw House is on the hill to the right and the building in the foreground is a rum distillery 06 John Crookes’ Restilridge, completed in 1913

Crookes Brothers’ first foray into foreign land was in 1914 when they invested in a sugar venture in the north of Mozambique, Beira-Illovo Sugar Estates. The motivation was that this sugar could be imported into the Transvaal free of duty. But things did not turn out as expected and in 1916 the Crookes sold their share to CG Smith at a loss and then helped bail him out in 1917 when floods destroyed the estate. An interesting note in the history is the 1915 establishment of Natal Cane By- products Limited which extracted wax from the caked waste on sugar mill filters. The company was a co-operative venture by Smith, Reynolds, Pearce and George and Fred Crookes who were all appointed to the board. The manufacture of vehicle fuel, called Natalite, from molasses as a substitute for petrol was also planned and the company erected a distillery at Isipingo. Fuel was supplied to the railways and military authorities in support of the war effort in the Middle East. In 1917 CG Smith & Co was reconstructed with the constituent miller-planters subscribing for shares according to their size. Reynolds had 15 000, Illovo 8 000 and Crookes Brothers 5 000. The shares gave the three companies a direct interest in CG Smith’s assets. Among the assets were two cane farms, Umzimkulu Estates near and Chaka’s Kraal near Stanger. In 1919 all the companies in the industry came together to form a new organisation, the SA Sugar Association (SASA), to be followed several years later by the SA Cane Growers Association. This was also the year in which the next generation came into Crookes Brothers, cousins Fred Gillatt and Victor and Vernon Crookes. 07 A BURGEONING INDUSTRY

The early history of the company is inextricably tied to that of CG Smith and Co and Reynolds Brothers, which were linked not only by complex cross-shareholdings, but also by shared management, with the Crookes family playing a dominant role in the management of the farming and milling operations. The group was a significant force in the sugar industry. It owned mills at Chaka’s Kraal and Gledhow on the North Coast and Illovo, Renishaw, , Esperanza and Umzimkulu on the South Coast, as well as Natal Cane By-products and the Smith marketing and distribution business. 1929 was marked by the Wall Street crash. It also signalled a sugar price slump - by 1932 the price had dropped by 40% and several companies were forced out of business. Crookes Brothers’ profits were down, yet it was in better shape than most industry players with cash in the bank and it declared a dividend. At the same time the Uba variety across trying terrain. Crookes Brothers of cane, which had served the sugar experienced its fair share of these industry since the 1880s, was fighting a mishaps. losing battle with Mosaic disease. Crookes Brothers were the first to experiment In 1934/35 farmers were dealt one with the new varieties being developed at blow after another. Locusts appeared the Mt Edgecombe experiment station. in great swarms in 1934, moving from A 1934 board meeting noted that the area to area, leaving behind eggs that best of the new cane produced a third hatched into hoppers blackening the higher tonnage per acre and stood up ground. Trenches were dug and filled with to drought and locusts better than the treacle, but these trapped only the front traditional Uba. ranks. A poisoned bait of arsenic and mealie meal was thrown on the ground Weather, natural disasters, pests and and arsenic was sprayed with stirrup disease are unavoidable in agriculture and pumps. It destroyed grazing and killed the early history of agriculture tested dairy cows. In 1935 the locusts were back the ingenuity, spirit and perseverance and farmers used home-made flame of the farming community. There were throwers in a futile attempt to hold neither roads nor bridges to speak of them back. and cane was transported on ox wagons

W0men planting the fields on Renishaw Locust swarm in 1935

08 Renishaw 1929

At the same time the region was plagued The Renishaw mill was again upgraded in by Malaria and “death was everywhere”. 1943. It now had a 19-roller crusher plant, Stagnant water was sprayed with oil and including a primary double crusher to gum trees were planted in swampy areas. improve sucrose extraction, and there were Quinine was the only antidote. Farmers were 27 centrifugals, of which eight produced mill also hit by a drought so severe that the white sugar. The mill was crushing 150 000 Mpambanyoni River was bone dry and water tons of cane a season and produced more for the mill had to be brought in from than 17 000 tons of sugar, of which 60% was a dam on the Isonti River. Finally, when mill white. The mill was preparing to expand the drought was broken the rains were as soon as wartime sugar restrictions were of such magnitude that the Mpambanyoni lifted. New machinery was on order and new River reached heights never seen before at fields were being planted. Renishaw, cutting off railway and road. In 1948, on the day before the June 29 The outbreak of World War II in 1939 saw Crookes Brothers AGM, George Crookes died. many of the young sugar men, including The following month at the board meeting Crookes family members, go off to war John Crookes was elected chairman, Vernon in Africa, leaving many farms depleted of as joint MD and Charles as a director. As staff. It was during the war that Crookes a public company it was time for a stock Brothers took another major step. This time market quotation with a change in the it was driven by a new Income Tax Act in company’s Articles of Association, in line terms of which shareholders became liable with the JSE rules. At this point Crookes for super tax. The 1942 plan was to go public Brothers had been incorporated for 35 years and the family members would contribute and was one of the older companies listed 50 000 shares to a pool for disposal. The on the JSE. scheme was approved and all were well compensated. The public offering was well received and shares snapped up as the company continued to report strong results.

09 A BURGEONING INDUSTRY

The Mpambanyoni River flooded in 1956 and again in May 1959 when heavy rain caused it to rise six metres and change its course destroying roads and rail bridges. While damage to the Renishaw mill was limited by reinforcing the river bank with sandbags and brick work, several pump houses were swept away and the mill had to close for a couple of weeks. Following this flood many more anti-flooding measures were put in place to protect the Renishaw Mill.

The pioneering spirit of Crookes Brothers came to the fore once again in 1957 when the company considered options in Swaziland. It needed more cane land in order to expand but its Renishaw farms were hemmed in by Illovo and Sezela belonging to Reynolds Brothers. The opportunity arrose to move the Renishaw mill to Big Bend, an irrigation scheme in Swaziland which at that stage produced rice with sugar as a back-up, If the mill was moved it could expect a quota of 40 000 tons, double its existing output, and it could be increased later. The board voted in favour of the move. With the proposed relocation of the mill, there was the option to buy 740 hectares of land at Big Bend, of which 400 hectares was under cane and 100 hectares under citrus. The price was £250 000. Two companies were formed, Crookes Plantations Limited to manage the farming and Big Bend Sugar Milling Company for the mill. As well laid as the plan might have been, it was not to be. The application for a sugar quota was rejected. Nevertheless Crookes Brothers now owned an irrigated plantation on the Usutu River and intended to make it profitable. In 1962 the industry was shaken up by a hostile takeover bid by Sir JL Hulett and Sons of Natal Sugar Estates and the successful counter-strike by the CG Smith consortium,

Mill in 1955

The Crookes family celebrate 100 years in South Africa in 1960 10 Stitching filled sugar packets carrying the Crookes Brothers label

Harvesting oranges on Crookes

Plantations, Big Bend

including Crookes Brothers. Huletts had a was later widely adopted by the sugar marketing agreement with Natal Estates industry. which was preparing to rationalise its business and there was a possibility that In 1974 the Renishaw mill was small by it may “defect” to CG Smith. Natal Estates industry standards and needed a substantial also owned valuable cane fields close to injection of capital to make it competitive. Durban. It was suspected that Tongaat It also needed a larger throughput, which Estates would be on the Hulett shopping list. was impossible as its plantations were Natal Estates turned to CG Smith and its hemmed in by Reynolds and Illovo. The five milling affiliates, which included Crookes answer lay in selling Crookes Brothers’ Brothers, for help. In the first round of the milling rights for R1 487 299, paid for by frantic buying battle Huletts won control the issue to Crookes of 338 000 fully paid of Natal Estates. The CG Smith consortium shares or five percent in Reynolds Brothers. immediately launched a counter-takeover bid Transfer took place at the start of April 1975. and 22 days later emerged the successful At that stage the Renishaw Mill was owners of Huletts. producing 35 000 tons of sugar per annum Throughout its history innovation and and had been in operation for 115 years. It adaptability have been a proud tradition of was one of the oldest surviving mills in Natal. the company. Among the company’s notable The main remaining assets of the company advances that have been adopted by the were some 2 000 hectares of cane around industry was the 1972 production of a three- Scottburgh and 550 ha at Big Bend, capable wheeled cane loader built specifically for of producing around 150 000 tons of cane per Crookes by Bell in Empangeni. This machine, annum, as well as large shareholdings in which is now well-known as the Bell Loader, CG Smith, Reynolds Brothers and Tongaat.

11 THE SPECIALIST FARMING COMPANY

After hours at Renishaw hostel

The period since the closure of the Renishaw Mill in 1975 has been dedicated to the refocus of the group as a specialist farming company, the only such company listed on the main board of the JSE. Dudley Crookes, the grandson of John, was appointed as General Manager (and subsequently Managing Director) in 1980, with Charles Crookes as Chairman. They rapidly set about establishing an impressive portfolio of farming assets, producing a variety of crops throughout South Africa. Unlike his predecessors, Dudley did not automatically join the Crookes Brothers company. His career started at Illovo Sugar; then he did a stint of farming with his father and running his own labour-contracting business. He had joined the multinational Lonhro group when it bought the Big Bend mill in Swaziland and had worked his way up to General Manager of the group’s Malawian company when he resigned to join Crookes Brothers at the request of Charles Crookes. Lonrho were surprised by Dudley’s move and up until the last minute expected him to change his mind. They told him he was used to much bigger things and that he would be “bored as hell”. During his tenure Dudley was supported by several progressive and proficient Chairmen; the astute Ivan Gillat who succeeded Charles Crookes in 1991, the visionary Dennis Crookes, previously an executive director of CG Smith and the affable Fred Palmer, well-known in Natal cricketing circles. Charles and Jean Crookes with Dudley Crookes 12 This period also marked significant farm was also acquired in the Nkwalini changes in the structure and economics Valley near Eshowe. In 1989, with the of the sugar industry. Takeovers and announcement that TSB was to build a mergers reshaped the industry, with the new mill at Komatipoort, the company disappearance of the old family empires. acquired prime property adjacent to the CG Smith was acquired by the Barlow new mill to establish cane. The latter Rand Group and Tongaat-Huletts by Anglo farm was subsequently expanded to American. Both groups subsequently include a total of 2 000 hectares under unbundled their assets, CG Smith to cane and 450 hectares under bananas. form the independent Illovo Sugar in 1999 While diversifying, the company was and Anglo American to form Tongaat also pushing for greater efficiency on Hulett Sugar in 2009. Crookes Brothers’ its sugar plantations. Previously it had shareholdings in CG Smith and Reynolds been said that profits were not made in Brothers were gradually disposed of, the field but at the mill. Now, without either for cash or by distribution to the a mill, profits had to come from the shareholders. fields. Some years previously field men As labour, fuel and other inputs became on horseback had been swopped for increasingly costly and the profitability overseers on motorbikes and shallow of dryland cane farming on the hilly cane planting had been introduced. slopes around Scottburgh diminished, Crookes introduction of controlled Crookes Brothers expanded its irrigated burning prior to harvesting rather than cane farming activities. In 1981 a major trashing was a giant change in thinking expansion of the cane farm in Swaziland for the industry. Of the three F’s in the was undertaken with the acquisition of sugar growing world (frost, flood and the 6 700 hectares neighbouring property. fire), fire was by far farmers’ greatest A 1 400 hectare irrigated cane and citrus danger and fear.

Percy Crookes (uncle Percy) was a regular visitor at the Crookes head office for many years Flooding on the Komati properties 13 THE SPECIALIST FARMING COMPANY

At an early stage it was determined that the company should produce a range of crops in a variety of locations, to mitigate climatic and market risks. In 1992 a run-down deciduous fruit farm at Vyeboom near Grabouw in the Western Cape was acquired and the company immediately set about replanting old orchards to new varieties and the latest technological standards. Quarrie farm near Napier in the Western Cape was purchased in 1989 and gradually expanded to include 3 200 hectares of arable land on 7 000 which 2 000 hectares of grain and 1 200 hectares of lucerne are cultivated today, with grazing for a flock of 7 000 sheep. sheep Other diversification included the establishment of the well-known Crocworld crocodile farm and conservation centre at Scottburgh. In the development process odd failures occurred too; avocados, coffee, cotton, proteas and even barbel were tried at one time or another, but discarded.

Charles Crookes at Crocworld

The same strategic approach was always In 2000 the company sold its last shares followed. Start on a small scale and, if in CG Smith Limited, generating a capital successful, expand over time as the surplus of R41,2 million and a special company’s expertise and experience grew, dividend of R3,00 per issued share was paid whether venturing into a new area or to shareholders, amounting to R36 million. establishing new crops. In this manner Farming is anything but plain sailing. A formidable business units have been severe three-year drought that started built in cane and banana production at in 2003 in Mpumalanga, resulting in water Komati and Swaziland, in deciduous fruit and irrigation restrictions, severely at Vyeboom and in grain and sheep at affected cane and banana production. Napier. 14 By 2004 the impact of the drought was The last decade of the 20th century showing in the company’s financials, with delivered a momentous change in the a note in the 2004 annual report that affairs of South Africa, with a change in read: “In summary, as a result of the government from the Nationalist Party lower estimated returns from sugar cane, to the African National Congress (ANC). together with increased interest costs, it This change brought with it numerous is anticipated that the company’s headline new opportunities and challenges. One earnings for the interim period ended piece of legislation that had an impact 30 September 2004 will be materially lower on agriculture was the Land Restitution than the headline earnings for the interim Act. Intended to rectify the wrongs of period ended September 2003.” the past and return land to those who 2005 brought little relief. The difficult had been dispossessed, it brought a series farming conditions continued to impact of land claims against farmers, including on production and the strong Rand meant Crookes Brothers. From the outset lower prices were received for exports of Crookes Brothers made the decision cane, grapefruit and deciduous fruit and to co-operate with and assist the locally for wheat. Headline earnings were authorities in their development 75% down on those of 2004 and at their efforts, and this strategy has shaped lowest since 1994. Fortunately the drought the company’s development in the broke in 2006 and, with a lot of hard work, modern era. 700 hectares of cane were replanted on the Komati estate and the company returned to its steady growth path.

Crookes head office fire, 1993

Lightning struck the brand new upper story of the Crookes head office two weeks after it was completed.

Crookes Board at Komati in 1994

15 INTO AFRICA In 2006 Dudley retired after 26 years at the helm of the company. For the first time in its history the Crookes board broke with tradition and appointed Guy Clarke as the first Managing Director who was not from the Crookes family.

Dudley’s retirement

Two years later (2008) the Board went a step Two highly successful ventures with the further and appointed Guy Wayne, previous KwaCele community (800 households) Managing Director of Deloitte South Africa, as on the Langespruit farm and the Libuyile Chairman on the retirement of Fred Palmer. community (600 households) near Malelane These changes were the inevitable result of have been established on this basis. The a need to adjust to the changing nature of latter venture is leased land previously the local and global agricultural economy owned by private farmers and comprises and the ever-increasing governance demands 750 hectares of irrigated cane with plans placed on listed companies. to expand as further claims are settled in favour of the community. Several farms were sold to the government in support of land restitution, including A key and vital feature of these joint the 1 200 hectare Cedars farm inland of ventures is the development of farming Scottburgh which had been in family hands and general management skills in the for well over 100 years. The 1 600 hectare community. These companies are directed Langespruit dryland cane farm near Stanger by a board of directors, with equal followed in 2008 and in 2009 a momentous representation from Crookes and the decision was made by the Board to sell the community, and are alternately chaired by company’s flagship estate near Komatipoort, representatives from each shareholder. comprising 2 000 hectares of irrigated cane Such has been the success at KwaCele that and 450 hectares of bananas. the shareholders are now investigating a major dilution of the management It has been the company’s strategy where agreement to allow the company to reduce possible to establish joint venture farming its dependence on Crookes Brothers. operations with the communities. These ventures, which are jointly owned by In the Western Cape a similar joint venture Crookes Brothers and the community, lease is being established on a small apple farm back the land from the community under a near Villiersdorp and, in time, it is expected that the Komati farms, which have been 16 management contract with Crookes. leased back from government for a 10-year period, will be managed on the same basis. The Board and management are convinced Apple sorting that the joint ventures, structured, on Ouwerf Farm pioneered and perfected by Crookes, are the most effective way of achieving large-sale land transformation and developing a black commercial farming community. As the economics of dryland cane farming at Renishaw became increasingly marginal, energy; the supply of undeveloped land and the group established Renishaw Property water resources is becoming limited and Developments (Pty) Ltd in 2008 to evaluate unprecedented climatic episodes periodically its 1 800 hectare Renishaw and Clansthal cane wreak havoc in major production areas. farms on the south coast of KwaZulu-Natal Sub-Saharan Africa is one of the last areas for commercial, industrial or residential in the world that offers untapped land and development. This is a long-term project water resources for large-scale agricultural with a 20-year horizon. In keeping with the development to meet global food security group’s values the project team’s brief is concerns. Crookes Brothers’ expansion to ensure that any proposed development strategy addresses this opportunity enhances the Crookes family legacy in while being ever-mindful of the the area, complements and upgrades the community and environmental needs natural environment and contributes to the in the modern business environment. upliftment of local communities. Following this theme, in tandem with its The 21st century also marked a change support for transformation in South in the global balance between supply and Africa, Crookes Brothers has also embarked demand in the food and agricultural sectors. on an ambitious southern African expansion A subtle increase in demand has resulted programme with a view to becoming a major in rising food prices that had generally been force in agriculture in the region. In 2009 subdued since the 1970s. the company acquired a 440 hectare cane Food security has become a worldwide farm at Mazabuka in Zambia and in 2011 concern and along with climate change is a acquired a long-term lease over a hotly debated topic. The world’s population 3 200 hectare property in Mozambique that continues to increase; Africa, India and is being planted to macadamias, oilseeds China’s burgeoning middle classes are and potatoes. Many other possibilities have changing their eating patterns from grain been investigated and rejected and several to meat products; agricultural production is promising opportunities are currently in the increasingly diverted to produce renewable process of evaluation and negotiation. Directors at Komati, April 2013

Fred Palmer and Peter Campbell at

a Crookes AGM 17 THE 25-YEAR CLUB

Crookes Brothers Limited began a hundred years ago and, as a family- based company, loyalty was one of its founding values. Over the decades each succeeding generation of employees has embraced this value, so that the Crookes family, the company’s shareholders, its directors, its management and its employees have always benefitted from and contributed towards a thriving and steadfast enterprise and environment. It is this culture of constancy that led to the establishment of the 25-Year Club, a club that annually celebrates the loyalty and commitment of the company’s longest-serving employees. One might legitimately imagine that this would be a small exclusive club, but that is far from the case! Crookes has been blessed over the decades with many faithful employees, and its 25-Year Club currently consists of 40 excellent men and women. Once an employee has reached a minimum of 25 years of service, he or she becomes a lifetime member of the club. While working for a single employer for a quarter of a century is a daunting prospect, amazingly there are a handful of employees who have given more than 40 years of service to the company. In fact, the total service of all the living members of the 25-Year Club exceeds an astonishing 1 300 years! Now that’s loyalty.

Retired members with long service, Willie Bell (30 years), Dudley Coventry (33 years), Tony Diplock (35 years), chatting with Percy Crookes, at the time Chairman of the 25-Year Club, at its annual luncheon

18 Michael (40 years) and Jessie Pillay Johnny Govender (39 years) with his gold watch The 25-Year Club is not only a symbol thirds of the club’s members are of the loyalty between company and descendants of indentured labourers staff, but it also highlights the long- who came to South Africa’s east standing loyalty between company coast from India over 100 years ago. and community. For the first 70 When asked for the reason behind years of its existence, Crookes Crookes Brothers’ longevity and Brothers was largely based in the success, current Chairman Scottburg area, and it has always Guy Wayne’s response is to point been dedicated to support, uplift and to the determination of its founders, work together with the communities the closeness of the family, the in the area. Of the 25-Year Club’s sometimes gritty resolve of living members, more than half were the company’s leaders, but also, born or raised in the little village and perhaps above all else, the of Chinatown. Still others come exceptional commitment of the staff. from The Cedars, another tight- knit community. Remarkably, two

Dudley Coventry (33 years), past Chair of the 25-Year Club, with Glen Hayes (45 years), Dudley Coventry, President of the Crookes’ own Crocodile Dundee 25-Year Club, presenting Dudley Crookes with his 25-year Award in 2005

19 CROOKES AND THE COMMUNITY

The Crookes family established a tradition of supporting the communities in which they operate and this tradition has been continued by the company. In these communities you will encounter many public amenities, from school boarding houses to gymnasia, a nature reserve, church building and sports fields which can be attributed to the generous George (third left) looks on as Herbet Gordon- donations of various Crookes family Watson (second right) lays the foundation stone of members. Renishaw (today the GJ Crookes) Hospital

In particular, the Crookes family and R10 million in Crookes Brothers shares. company have left an indelible stamp on The dividends or earnings from the trust the community of Scottburgh, in the will be invested in projects, primarily in area in which the family first settled healthcare and education, so as to enhance and started their sugarcane business. the communities in which the company The GJ Crookes government hospital is a operates and from which it draws its permanent memorial to the generosity of labour. This fund will ensure that the the founders of Crookes Brothers. legacy of Crookes Brothers continues. During 1936, George Crookes approached the Much of the effort of the company in Natal Provincial Council offering to build uplifting and supporting local communities a hospital at Scottburgh. At that time is focusses on its joint venture there was no hospital between Durban partnerships and on investing in other and Port Shepstone. The only facilities sustainable community-minded projects. available were small dressing stations on While many a farming enterprise has each sugar estate and a small hospital run seen land restitution as an “irritation”, the by the Indian Immigration Department at ingrained values of Crookes Brothers have Esperanza. seen the company embrace it as a means The offer was accepted by the Provincial to support the community in which they Administration, which described it as “the farm, and help them to become effective most generous ever made by a single farmers. In these joint ventures the individual for hospital purposes in Natal”. community owns the land but partners Little has changed over the years except with Crookes in farming the land. In this perhaps for the approach by the company way the community gains the farming as to how best to support communities. know-how and becomes involved at all levels in ensuring that the ventures are This year the company’s Board approved successful. the establishment of a Crookes Centenary Trust, with an initial donation of

20 A BRIGHT FUTURE

Today Crookes Brothers owns and manages some 8 500 hectares under cane, 5 000 irrigated and 2 500 dryland, 2 000 hectares under grain, 400 hectares of banana plantations and 470 hectares of deciduous fruit orchards. Commitment to the company’s core values of integrity, excellence and fairness, that have shaped the success of the company and its predecessor, S Crookes and Sons, for well over 100 years, is as strong today as it was in 1913. The pioneering spirit of old lives on in the new, as the company, with sights firmly focused on the Southern African Development region, continues to explore exciting agricultural opportunities in foreign lands. In spite of the challenges in the industry Crookes Brothers’ future prospects are promising. The group has a strong portfolio of core farms, a full pipeline of promising projects, substantial cash resources and is well-positioned to exploit growth opportunities. In the words of John Crookes, on the occasion of the 100 years’ commemoration of Samuel’s arrival on the shores of South Africa, “Let us all be proud of our traditions, through our capacity for honest work and consideration for others. Above all, let us always be prepared to take the lead so that we may continue to build on the foundations we have inherited.”

Mthayiza day function, 2011

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