HomeMy WebLinkAboutGoderich Signal Star, 2017-05-10, Page 23Realm of the Ambush Predator
A memoir by
Bill Ferguson
on life and work
in Tanzania
Kathleen Smith
Goderich Signal Star
Born in Randfontein,
Transvaal (now Gauteng),
South Africa in 1938, -Bill Fer-
guson attended South Afri-
can College of Mining and
went on to work for De Beers
in July 1960.
Working as a geological
field officer for one of the
largest diamond companies
and in one of the richest and
deepest gold minds in the
world, Ferguson experi-
enced life in the bush.
Drawing from his experi-
ences stemming from his
first day in 1960,.Ferguson
wrote his second self -pub-
lished memoir titled "Realm
of the Ambush Predator':
"De Beers decided to
prospect the whole of the
country, to see if there were
any other diamond mines.
They had camps every-
where," explained Ferguson.
"This is the story of how I
moved around - where we
were, what we did, what
happened, the characters I
met in those years, animals I
had lucky escapes from. It's
two years of an experience in
that bush."
This included encounters
with local natives, predatory
animals such as crocodiles
and snakes, and the dangers
that working inside a mine
involve.
Ferguson's career in the
mining business for gold in
South Africa and uranium,
nickel, tantalum in Canada,
provided him with 47 years
of adventure, when he
retired in June 2007.
Bill Ferguson and his wife
Margie, who has family in
Ontario, are both retired
from the mining industry
Bill Ferguson, pictured here, has self -published two books, "My
Mother's Cousin" and "Realm of the Ambush Predator", with
plans to publish more in the near future.
and are -currently residing in
Goderich.
"I have always liked writing
and I thought I better do it
now, because you don't know
how long you have, and once
I'm gone, these stories are
gone," Ferguson explained
his main inspiration to write
his memoirs into a book.
It took Ferguson approxi-
mately -six years to com-
plete this book, which
encompasses his
experiences living and
working in diamond pros-
pecting camps.
Ferguson explained why
he chose the title "Realm of
the Ambush Predator'; with
the reason being that the
natural environment
around him during the time
working for De Beers was as
dangerous as the likes of an
ambush predator.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 24
Wednesday, May 10, 2017 • Signal Star 23
les of adventure in the wilds of Africa at a time when
the bush environment was largely undisturbed. Unfor-
t r* 4f, thanks to man's greed and stupidity, to wit,
thepoaching of elephants and rhino for their tusks and
horns respectively, the days when these magnificent
:animals could wander about in relative safety are now
mere memory. Unless a cohesive, international effort
made to bring a halt to these poaching activities, it
not be long before the elephant and rhino become
_. •ct. What aii-indictment on man's stewardship of
Bill 'Snakebite Ferguson
Photos by Kathleen Smith/Goderich Signal Star
The author's preface in Bill Ferguson's self -written and self -
published memoir, "Realm of the Ambush Predator".
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