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We lived in Rhodeisa from 1971 to 1976
Rhodesia was the name of the British colony of Southern Rhodesia after 1965. Landlocked and located in southern Africa, it was governed by white minority rule until 1979. The colony was named after Cecil Rhodes, whose British South Africa Company acquired the land in the nineteenth century. The colony gained internationally-recognized independence from Britain in 1980 and became the Republic of Zimbabwe. At an earlier period, the name "Rhodesia" was used to refer to a larger region that corresponds to both Zimbabwe (Southern Rhodesia) and Zambia (Northern Rhodesia).
We lived in Bulawayo which comes from the Sindebele word Kwabulawayo meaning 'place of the persecuted one' or 'place of slaughter'. It is also known as the 'City of Kings', 'Skies' or 'Bluez' or 'Bullers'. The city is on the site of the kraal of Lobengula, king of the Ndebele, who founded the settlement in 1871, about 15km south-east of the present city centre, over the site formerly known as Gibixhegu. In 1881, the king moved the royal settlement further north, to an area roughly corresponding with Bulawayo's modern northern suburbs one of them was Richmond where we lived.
During the 1893 Matabele War the advance of British troops led the king to burn his capital and flee north, and troops occupied the town. The American Scout, Frederick Russell Burnham, witnessed the burning of old Bulawayo and later encountered Lobengula while serving as lead scout for the Shangani Patrol.
On 4 November 1894, Leander Starr Jameson declared Bulawayo a settlement under the rule of the British South Africa Company and Cecil John Rhodes ordered that the new settlement be built on the ruins of Lobengula's royal town, which is where the State House stands today. In 1897, the new town of Bulawayo acquired the status of municipality, and in 1943, Bulawayo became a city.
We moved here in 1971 and I started working for Dunlop Tires, Rhodesia. We had a lovely 4 bedroom house and 3 acres of land on 8 Princess Road in Richmond, which was about 5 miles north on the Victoria Falls road past Government House where King Lobengulas old kraal used to be.
We had a general store and a butcher and Mike used to spent his 25c allowance every Saturday at the General Store... not on sweets but string for dragon traps and other interesting stuff.
The butcher had the best beef in Rhodesia and we bought all our meat from him. The steaks were awsome!
LINKS TO PHOTO'S
Photos of Wildlife
Elephants and "tigers" which Mike saw a lot of and other wildlife that we encountered during our travels around Rhodesia.
Photos of Victoria Falls
The local Batonga people had known about Mosi-Oa-Tunya for many years, but it was after David Livingstone "discovered" them that people from all over the world travelled to Rhodesia to see the stunning attraction.
Photos of People and Places
From the Eastern Highlands, Kariba and Umtali to Plumtree, Serowe (Botswana) and Durban (RSA). Trip from Capetown to Southhampton with Pendennis Castle 1976.
