James Bisset (mayor)

He trained as an engineer at London University and did his early work on Crystal Palace, Sydenham station as well as a range of railway projects and public buildings around Europe.

This railway stretched from Cape Town to Wellington, and his team began work on it on 31 March, 1859.

During this time, he also worked on a range of architectural and engineering projects throughout the Cape, including the old Mutual Assurance building in Cape Town, Dutch Reformed Churches and several other buildings in Beaufort West and Graaff-reinet, as well as the Town Hall and principal churches of Port Elizabeth.

The few existing rudimentary lines were to be turned into a nationwide network, connecting the country's ports to the diamond fields of Kimberley and the agricultural hinterland.

He also succeeded in making Wynberg the first municipality in the greater Cape Peninsula area to get electric street lighting.