Cornelius Frederik Delfos
Cornelius Frederik Delfos (c1868-1933)
1934 Obituary [1]
C. E. DELFOS died in Pretoria, South Africa, on October 23, 1933, at the age of sixty-five.
He was born in Amsterdam, and went to Pretoria about forty years ago, starting work there as an engineer. Some fifteen years later he began to plan the establishment of an iron and steel industry, for he had become convinced that all the raw materials requisite for such an under- taking could be found in the immediate neighbourhood of Pretoria; at that time it was thought that South Africa did not possess coke suitable for the purpose. With the help of friends, sufficient capital was raised to erect an experimental plant, which was known as the Pretoria Iron Mines, Ltd.; it manufactured 5,000 tons of pig iron.
In 1928 Mr. Delfos' efforts were at last successful, Parliament passing the Iron and Steel Act, whereby sufficient money was provided to start the industry.
At his death Mr. Delfos was a director of the South African Iron and Steel Industrial Corporation, Ltd.
He had joined the Iron and Steel Institute in 1920.