growing of tobacco and cotton. However, Arthur failed to settle and headed in 1871 to the newly discovered goldfield in the eastern Transvaal.The fledgling Boer Republic was close to bankruptcy in this period of the 19th century, beset with debt and hostility from the Zulu inhabitants, and the prospect of a gold rush was encouraged. It does not seem to have proved a fruitful period for the young Neumann, who had returned to Natal by 1872.

The subsequent acquisition