 Mathews was rewarded for his service in Zanzibar by the British government which appointed him a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George in 1880 and a Companion of the Order of the Bath on 24 May 1889 . Despite becoming renowned in East Africa as a man who ran a fair administration and was strict with criminals , <unk> with effective British rule and his halting of the slave trade led some Arabs to petition the Sultan for his removal in 1892 . In 1893 Mathews purchased the island of <unk> for the government . He intended it to be used as a prison but it never housed prisoners and was instead used to quarantine yellow fever cases before its present use as a conservation area for giant <unk> . Mathews was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George in 1894 . He was also awarded membership of the Order of the Crown by the German government . 
