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BackgroundFrederick Courteney Selous needs no introduction to readers interested in the history of...
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BackgroundLieutenant-Colonel H. Vaughn-Williams (the author, who I shall call ‘H’...
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Why has so little been written about the Southern Column’s campaign?Many readers may not be...
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IntroductionThis synopsis is taken from The Northern Goldfields Diaries of Thomas Baines (1869...
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IntroductionThis synopsis is taken from The Northern Goldfields Diaries of Thomas Baines (1869...
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IntroductionJ.P.R. Wallis in his introduction to Volume 1 of the Northern Goldfield Diaries of...
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IntroductionMuch of the biographic information below is from the excellent book Thomas Baines of...
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This article forms one of a series of six articles covering the 1893 Matabele War. It begins with...
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IntroductionThis article does not attempt to describe in any detail all the feiras that were...
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Innocent Pikirayi states that the feiras and other trading settlements established in the late 16th...
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The Portuguese explorer Pêro da Covilhã first visited Sofala in 1489 and by 1505 they were given...
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IntroductionIn August 1945, the same month that the United States dropped the first atomic bombs on...
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SourcesI have used mainly Robert Cary’s book The Pioneer Corps and Colonel A.S. Hickman...
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This article is a tribute to William Thomson and celebrates his connection and all those who served...
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Gold fever prior to 1890Galbraith reminds us that the young men who made up the Pioneer Column in...
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IntroductionThe events leading up to the ‘Victoria incident’ are included in the...
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BackgroundMuch of the material quoted below is sourced from the comprehensive articles by Ana Roque...
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The cultural, political and military decline of the Mutapa state had probably begun from the 1590...
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In most parts of Southern Africa the landowner had the sole right to prospect on their farm, but...
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SourcesMuch of the detailed information used here and in the article on Francisco Barreto is taken...
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IntroductionA number of historical articles on the Portuguese in Mozambique have been written in...
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IntroductionThe Jameson Raid caused enormous interest and controversy at the time and arguably was...
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Edwin Colin Harding had a very distinguished career being promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel and...
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The Selous Road from Fort Salisbury to Old Mutare and beyondSelous cut many roads in Matabeleland,...
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BackgroundThe title of the book relates to two of the most dramatic events in Southern Africa. The...
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BackgroundThe Adendorff or Banyailand trek was made up of Afrikaners who ...
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Much of the detail, particularly quotes, contained below comes from the article by Dave Collis...
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Background The article Edward Carey Tyndale-Biscoe who raised the flag at Salisbury, now Harare on...
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His life as we know it is summed up by Hugh Tracey in his Rhodesiana article: “Brought to...
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A summary of his remarkable careerOn 10 December 2014 an important set of medals awarded to...
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Of the men who made up the Pioneer Column Adrian Darter writes: “The Pioneers were men who...
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The accounts below are based primarily on David Tyrie Laing's book The Matabele Rebellion...
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George Westbeech did keep a diary but sadly most of it has been lost except for those parts...
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This account from Tyrie Laing’s book The Matabele Rebellion, 1896 with the Belingwe Field...
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This article is intended to provide an overview of the route and the men who made the journey in...
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The book by Alfred James Bethell is compiled from a series of articles that he wrote up for The...
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IntroductionHenry Stabb’s meticulously kept diary provides a wealth of information on the...
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IntroductionThis article is about two subjects; George Westbeech and the road which he built and...
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Background For biographical details see the article Thomas Leask’s Life and Diaries...
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Background For biographical details see the article Thomas Leask’s Life and Diaries...
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For background on the life of Thomas Leask visit the article Thomas Leask’s Life and Diaries...
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Some backgroundThomas Leask (1839 – 1912) was born at Aglath, Stenness in the Orkney Islands...
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To those unfamiliar with the term ‘the Hunter’s Road’ a brief explanation for an...
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Sir John Norton-Griffiths, First Baronet, KCB, DSO (13 July 1871 – 27 September 1930)...
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Why is this article relevant?Recently the Natural History Museum of Zimbabwe in Bulawayo managed to...
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Field Marshall Herbert Charles Onslow Plumer, 1st Viscount Plumer, GCB, GCMG, GCVO, GBE and his...
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Frewen’s journal was copied from the original into a manuscript volume along with many of his...
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The narrative is taken from the book Zambezia and Matabeleland in the Seventies published in 1960...
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The article Were Lobengula and the amaNdebele tricked by the Rudd Concession? under Bulawayo on the...
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IntroductionThis article is largely based on Eleanor Mabin’s thesis for an MA at Simon Fraser...
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IntroductionThis article explores the preliminary manoeuvres prior to the formation of the British...
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The Wood-Chapman-Francis syndicate appealed to Lobengula, King of the amaNdebele for a mineral...
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Many concession-seekers had petitioned Mzilikazi and Lobengula over the years for the right to mine...
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Neil Parsons in an essay entitled “No longer rare birds in London” explored the...
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First – a tributeIn carrying out the background research I have been greatly impressed by the...
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Reality is described as the state of things as they actually exist, as opposed to an idealistic or...
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Boer War disasters for the British Army resulted in the formation of the Imperial YeomanryThe...
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The railway was an important element of the country’s development and many excellent articles...
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In the article on the Mazowe Patrol, under Mashonaland Central, I have noted that Dan Judson, the...
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Rhodes travelled through Penhalonga on his second trip to what would become Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe...
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Migration of the amaNdebele to MatabelelandWhen Mzilikazi left the Transvaal[1] they all came...
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Three oral history statements were made in 1937 by amaNdebele warriors present at the killing of...
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IntroductionThe notes below are from the handwritten reminiscences of Percy Crewe (1862 –...
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For the associated articles on the battle of Ntaba zika Mambo and the Manyanga Monument ruins and...
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In addition to the above names, the battle is also called Thabas Amamba, or Thabas a Mambo,...
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Lieutenant-Colonel Edward Graham Pennefather (1850 – 1828) first commander of what became...
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Much of the detail has been covered by Fraser Edkins of the killing of Ebenezer Crouch Edkins at...
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William Filmer (his mother’s maiden name) Usher was born on 16 September 1851 and baptised at...
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There a number of direct and indirect nineteenth century references to the feira at Maramuca. In...
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Background In late March 1896 many isolated prospectors and traders were killed in the...
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The earliest mail service was by runner through Bechuanaland (modern-day Botswana) between Mafeking...
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Stanley Portal Hyatt came to Rhodesia on the Great northern Road when railhead was at Palapye...
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Lyn Mullin writes that the hanging tree is an average-sized specimen of a false Marula, or Lannea...
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This eight horsepower single cylinder Engine No. 2554 was built by Charles Burrell and Sons of...
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Robey & Co. Ltd Portable Steam Engine There are three portable engines at...
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Eton and Cambridge (1859 – 1881)Hubert Hervey was born on 19 May 1859 at Eaton Place, London...
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IntroductionToday there are almost no memorials monuments and plaques within Zimbabwe to mark the...
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Zimbabwe timeline Pre 200 ADZimbabwe is populated by groups of San hunter-gatherers...
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Henry Francis “Skipper” Hoste was one of the older officers when at the age of 37 he...
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Lord Randolph’s party journeyed by sea to Cape Town and then by rail to Kimberley where they...
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Note: only Fort Martin and the cemetery have been visited at this time, the other sites will be...
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EE Burke was the first to try and trace the gravesite of Willie Hartley, who he says died to the...
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For a summarised account of Mzilikazi’s life see the article on the Mzilikazi Memorial under...
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The most comprehensive descriptions of this 2 foot (61 cm) light railway is to be found in Robin...
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Grain-bins are relatively common in the Matobo Hills, a World Heritage Site in south western...
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AmaNdebele tacticsThere is every reason to believe that the Matabele uprising or First Umvukela was...
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The Memorial is on the site of Mzilikazi's royal town of Mhlahlandleia after he left Inyati and...
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Amongst the most renowned of the big game hunters including Baldwin, Cumming, Finaughty, Hartley,...
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General Carrington had been sent by the British Government to take over the military command of the...
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The van der Byl trek of 1891 was sponsored as part of the policy to unite Boers and British in the...
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Fort Watts and Castle Zonga EstateThe position of Fort Watts was given by Mike...
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Background This article is from several sources. The first resulted from a visit to the Old Umtali...
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Most soldiers contracted fever in the unhealthy swamps of PEA and received medical attention at the...
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Most of the material for this article comes from R. Hodder-Williams’ very useful articles in...
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In June 1896 the Mashona Rebellion or First Chimurenga broke out.Four companies of mounted infantry...
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The inventor of the Ivel was Dan Albone (1860-1906) the youngest of eight children. On his ninth...
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This story would have remained as newspaper articles if Col. A.S. Hickman had not written The Siege...
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List of Victims named on the Gweru MemorialNamesDate of DeathDetailsMilitary ...
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I would like to dedicate this article to the Rev Edward D. Hamer, who sadly died in 2012, and whose...
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HistoryChief Mbari lived on the site of Harare kopje before the occupation in 1890, his brother...
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Arcturus the nameThere are a number of articles on place names in Zimbabwe, but none mention the...
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'Lion' and his brothers were from a family of seven children, and he was born in Port...
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In Mashonaland the Uprising / First Chimurenga which broke out in June some three months...
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Percy Clark in his book Autobiography of an Old Drifter tells how Charles Fox, nephew of Sir...
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In 1874 Edwin Arnold, an editor with the London Daily Telegraph, had coined the phrase...
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I am very grateful to Gary Haynes for letting me quote from his article cited at the end of...
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The Summer House is where Cecil Rhodes’ coffin rested on the night before the final trek to...
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These fine late Victorian Stables are on the west boundary of Rhodes Estate Preparatory School, now...
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No women were included amongst the Pioneers, but it soon became clear they would be needed for...
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The Victoria Cross is the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy...
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Doel Zeederberg used passenger coaches built by the Abbot Downing Company based in Concord, the...
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William Finaughty, “Old Bill” knew Mzilikazi well. Born in Grahamstown in 1843 he left...
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Below is a time line of the sequence of events, particularly in relation to the sites of the king...
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By 1918, British aircraft were capable of carrying a fair load in addition to their crew and the...
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The displays in the Upstairs Gallery cover a number of topics relevant to Zimbabwe’s history...
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Originally opened in 1903 and called the Queen Victoria Museum, it mainly focuses on archaeology...
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The grandiose obelisk of National heroes Acre or simply Heroes' Acre, overlooking the town, was...
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Arthur Leonard commanded “E” Troop of the BSA Company Police which was stationed at...
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In Claudius Ptolemy’s Geographia, a general atlas of the world is the first map of Africa....
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The Salisbury and Fort Victoria columns joined together at Iron Mine hill on the morning of 16th...
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The Thuli Safari area is a protected area in south-western Zimbabwe. It comprises four reserves...
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The British South Africa (BSA) Company was granted its Royal Charter on 29th October 1889 and...
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According to Wikipedia Massospondylus( (mas-oh-spon-di-las); from Greek massōn, "longer...
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The memorial names the following civilians on the north face:To the memory of James Cunningham, his...
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Dr. Hans Sauer in Ex Africa published by Geoffrey Bles in 1937 and reprinted by Books of Rhodesia...
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Following the Battle of Shangani River (called Bonko by the amaNdebele) on 25th October, the...
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The Memorial is situated to the west of the Shangani River Bridge and it’s a mystery why it...
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The terminus, now in a very dilapidated state is on the old rail route into the Matobo Hills. By...
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Below is a Rhodesia 1898 One Penny Duty stamp with an Orton’s Drift Post Office agency...
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IntroductionThis paper is based on a survey carried out by J.K.G. Borcherds, B.Arch., RIBA in...
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A summary of events leading up to the establishment of Fort Gibbs are described by Ian Tomes....
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Situated some 58 kilometres from Gweru on the railway line to Masvingo is a remote siding called...
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Within the grounds of the National Mining Museum stands a relic of the boom gold mining days called...
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Fort Ingwenya (either from Ngwena (chiShona for crocodile) or Ingwenya (isiNdebele for hippo)...
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The Zimbabwe Military Museum began with a collection of historic aircraft stored at Thornhill Air...
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Felixburg serves an area of small communal farms and commercial farms and small gold mines in...
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When Stephanus Barnard, better known by his Shangaan nickname of Bvekenya "the one who...
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In 1900 there were no properly constructed roads in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) and when travelling on...
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In 1891 Dunbar Moodie travelled through Chief Gungunhana's country in Gazaland, on the borders...
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One of the earliest groups of trekkers was Laurence van der Byl and his party of twenty five young...
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The River’s proper name is Mutsave or Save (pronounce Sah-veh) and it has played a major role...
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For the country to progress at all it was necessary to build an adequate transport system with...
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C.M. Hulley in his fascinating History of Manicaland states; “everyone has admired the...
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The previous year the pioneer column on 11 July 1890 had crossed the Shashi River at the beginning...
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Letter from Beira dated October 15th 1897The most amazing thing happened the other day. I am with...
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The name "Umtali" is derived from the African word “Mutare" meaning”...
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What follows is a shortened description of the journey from Beira to Penhalonga in 1891 by Rosanna...
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The first permanent settlement of Umtali was at the camp site of the BSA Police in November 1890...
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Under this tree on what is called Sabi Ophir Hill, Machera we Hondo [Cloth of War] Chief of...
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In 1888 Baron de Rezende, the Mozambique Company’s Director of Operations on Africa...
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Mutare Museum was initially established by local enthusiasts as the Umtali Museum Society in 1954,...
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The Museum building itself, now known as Rhodes’ stables was built by a stonemason, R. Marks...
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The Park was once the private estate of the nineteenth century businessman and politician Cecil...
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Luanze was the site of an important trading fair, called a feira, which was established in the 1580...
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The Museum office was the station building for Shamva from 1931 until moved and re-erected in...
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The Natural History Museum of Zimbabwe came into being in 1901 as the Rhodesian Museum before being...
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Bulawayo is Zimbabwe’s second largest town after the capital Harare; it is twinned with...
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DescriptionThe main building is made up of two large platforms, the western one covering 900 square...
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Cecil Rhodes, Dr. Leander Starr Jameson and several other leading early white settlers, including...
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Below is a general map at 1:250,000 scale showing the principal places of interest referred to in...
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William “Curio” Harvey Brown describes how on 1st October 1890 the Pioneers were...
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For general background refer to the article Pre-Colonial Mining in Zimbabwe on the website www....
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