John Thomas Eustace

Lieutenant Colonel John Thomas Eustace (March 9, 1825 - December 25, 1919) was an influential member of the Parliament of the Cape of Good Hope.

Early life, military and business
Born in 1825, he was the son of Lieutenant General Sir William Cornwallis Eustace, and his wife Caroline Margaret. He joined the army, as much of his family had, and, commanding Turkish irregular cavalry in the Crimean War, was appointed Lieutenant Colonel in the 60th rifles, before emigrating to the Cape Colony. Here, he briefly served as commanding officer of the Cape Town Rifles in 1858, and lieutenant colonel of the Cape Town Volunteers. He also became the civil commissioner for Mossel Bay. He was one of the Directors of the Cape Town Railway and Dock Company (an early predecessor of the Cape Government Railways) when it was formed in 1857.

He married Edith Twentyman in 1860, settled in Wynberg, Cape Town, and had twelve children.

Parliament
He served as one of the four members representing Cape Town in the Cape Parliament. Although Cape Town was a predominantly liberal constituency, Eustace himself was a strong conservative.

In this capacity he was prominent in fighting the rising movement for "responsible government" (local democracy) and supporting stronger links with the British Empire. This dispute reached its height in the 1869 with the suspension of the Cape constitution and Governor Wodehouse's attempt to assume a more direct rule of the colony. Though he had the support of many of the conservatives in Parliament, the overwhelming majority opposed this move and at the end of the struggle, the Governor returned to London defeated and the Cape was permitted to elect its first executive government and Prime Minister in 1872.

Diplomatic agent
In later life, he served as magistrate or resident for several neighbouring territories surrounding the Cape Colony, serving effectively as a minor ambassador.

Gcaleka Xhosa agent
In November 1876 he assumed the duty of resident for the Gcaleka tribe of the Xhosa nation. At the time, a drought and famine was commencing, and conflict broke out between the Fengu people (Cape citizens) and the neighbouring Gcaleka people.

The Colonel withdrew with his staff to Ibeka, as the conflict escalated. Initially, the Gcaleka made it clear that they were only at war with the Fengu; however, as the Fengu were Cape citizens, escalation followed as the Cape Government was drawn in. On 26 September a Gcaleka force of several thousand crossed the border and attacked a Cape Colony police station which was manned predominantly by police of Fengu origin. The 9th Frontier War commenced.

Great Namaqualand
Later, he served as magistrate at Springbokfontein, in the Great Namaqualand (modern Namibia), where he informed the Cape Government of the early movements of the future German colonizers. The Cape had a political institution, the Palgrave Commission charged with investigating a possible union between the Namaqualand and the Cape Colony. In December 1883, John X. Merriman MLA sent him on a secret mission to gather information on the German settlements.