My former homeland...

LEFT: The Old Notebook

Albany, September, 1968: Good evening ladies, and may I begin by thanking you for inviting me along to tell you something about my former homeland, though this I might add, is a mixed pleasure! Mixed, because whilst I love Rhodesia and telling about it, I am not accustomed to doing so in front of people this way, therefore I hope you will not mind that I read from my notes as this makes it easier for me all round. We have only been in Australia some 9 months, but previous to this have lived in Denmark, Scandinavia for nearly 11 years, so you see it is quite a long time since I lived in Rhodesia, though I have been fortunate enough to be able to return there on two occasions during those 11 years for a visit, the last visit being during October and November last year.

I was born in Bulawayo, formerly called Gu-Bulawayo, the place of slaughter, by Lobengula, a former ruling native King. Bulawayo was a frontier town in the old days and has been founded on the site of King Lobengula's kraal, and in Government House grounds, the "Indaba" tree still stands. Lobengula used to dispense his gory judgments beneath its branches. Not far from Bulawayo is a low hill called Thabazinduna - The Hill Of The Chiefs, and it was here that rebellious chiefs were executed, at the time of Moselikatze, the father of Lobengula.

King Lobengula

Nowadays, Bulawayo has a population of about 214,000 people, black, white, Indian and the coloured and is as such, the second largest city in Rhodesia, Salisbury the capital, being the largest. Bulawayo is also a major industrial centre. Cecil John Rhodes, founder of Rhodesia is buried in the Matopos Hills, high on a granite summit overlooking the magnificent countryside below. Thousands of tourists visit his grave yearly, the view from the summit is aptly called World's View. The Matopos National Park which stretches from near the outskirts of Bulawayo City, is some 108,300 acres in extent. A number of dams exist in the park and provide fishing and boating, with picnic and caravan sites. The building of the Matopos Dam was actually started by Cecil Rhodes and present day planners have enhanced the beauty and attraction of the area by introducing many varieties of wild game, including the White Rhinoceros, which roam freely in the bush.

Pages from my mother's old notebook

Following after Matopos for scenic grandeur, probably comes the Zambesi escarpment, some 200 miles north of Salisbury. Standing on the edge of this enormous valley, one feels a sense of human insignificance. Far down below spread the bushveld in a purple and grey shimmer, and beneath the trees roam big game like elephant, buffalo, leopards, buck, giraffe, wild pigs and so on. Yet, viewed from the escarpment there seems to be a great peace, a stillness that broods over the bushveld. I have experienced a similar sight and feeling here, whilst touring through the Stirlings and stopping right in the middle of the road, to stand in awe of the scenic grandeur there which too, is so vast.

The Stirling Ranges, near Albany, Western Australia

Blog owners Notes:

The Stirling Ranges are a range of mountains and hills in the Great Southern region of Western Australia, 337 km south-east of Perth.

Rhodesia is now known as Zimbabwe and the city Salisbury is known as Harare.