Well-known ichthyologist Professor Mike Bruton’s recent account of Charles Darwin’s life and times enthralled audiences of U3A at Settlers Park’s Don Powis Hall.
The former director of the JLB Smith Institute of Ichthyology at Rhodes University is a prolific writer especially as it concerns marine life and coelacanth conservation. He has worked extensively in South Africa and the Middle East developing interactive science centres, and is an in-demand speaker around the world.
Bruton’s fascination with the works of English naturalist, Darwin, whose studies gave rise to the theory of evolution in the 1800s, took root during his formative school years.
Darwin’s theory states that all species of organisms arise and develop through the natural selection of small, inherited variations that increase the individual’s ability to compete, survive, and reproduce.
“The lifespan of Darwin born in 1809, is one of the most exciting eras in the history of Western civilisation,” Bruton told his audience. Darwin had written in his diary as a young man: “School is a means of education but to me it’s a complete blank,” said Bruton.
He then set off on a lifelong journey to teach himself science and especially naturally history.
“His father, Robert, was a country doctor who had great hopes for his son, and he wrote at the time about Charles: ‘You care for nothing but shooting dogs and rat-catching and you’ll be a disgrace to yourself and your family,’ said Bruton.
“What Charles (Darwin) was doing as a hobby was hunting specimens, initially small animals and birds, minerals, stones and fossils … he started to develop his skills as a field worker but his father was unimpressed.”
His father punished him by removing him from school two years early and sending him to Edinburgh University to study medicine – one of the family traditions.
“Unfortunately, this experiment was a failure.
“Darwin didn’t complete his degree in medicine and his father withdrew him from Edinburgh and sent him to Cambridge University to study theology.
“Many people don’t realise that the originator of evolution by natural selection was a qualified theologian. He upped his field work skills; and became an expert horseman and shot, and would go hunting for foxes and rabbits.
“Many of the people who influenced him could never completely accept the theory that he would propose many years later … they were so indoctrinated into the church of England, they couldn’t just separate themselves from that doctrine,” said Bruton.
His most famous journey began in 1831 when he boarded the HMS Beagle as a naturalist. The five-year voyage took him around the world, including to the Galápagos Islands, where he noticed subtle variations among species of finches and tortoises from different islands. These observations, along with years of study and reflection, led to his ground-breaking theory of evolution.
In 1859, Darwin published On the Origin of Species, a book that challenged traditional views about creation and sparked both admiration and controversy. His work suggested that species change gradually over time, shaped by environmental pressures, said Bruton.
During the voyage, the Beagle arrived in Cape Town, South Africa, in 1836. Struck by the beauty of Table Mountain and the rich biodiversity of the Cape region, he explored the local flora and fauna, visited farms and geological sites, said Bruton.
“His journals reflect his fascination with the unique fynbos vegetation.”
“In 1839 he chose his first cousin, Emma, as his bride … they had a very happy marriage and had 10 children together, three of who died in childhood. The death of his children had dented his belief in religion and faith in medicine,” said Bruton.
“Darwin concluded that evolution was too cruel and wasteful to have been the work of a beneficent God. His theory did eventually threaten the power of the church of England and he died an agnostic (in April 1882 aged 73).”
Bruton said the only commemoration of Darwin’s visit to South Africa was a badly vandalised plaque at Sea Point and a temporary exhibit at Iziko Museum.
“This wasn’t enough and we started a campaign to raise funds to put a bronze bust of Charles Darwin at Simonstown Jetty just a few hundred metres where the boat had dropped anchor. We eventually got support of the Simonstown Historical Society.”
Bruton said accomplished sculptor Johan Steyn completed the bust of a 27-year-old Darwin when he visited Cape Town. He got everything spot on Darwin’s facial features and hairstyling. It took three days of hard work (and was unveiled in April).”
- This article was first published in Talk of the Town, November 13, 2025. The newspaper serving the communities of Ndlambe and the Sunshine Coast, with a weekly wrap of Makhanda news, is available at stores from early on Thursdays.
