1948 The Standard Bank Limited, Victoria Falls 1973 THOMAS MEIKLE, 1864-1939 The founder of the Meikle Organisation sailed from Scotland with his parents in 1869. The family settled in Natal where Thomas and his brothers John and Stewart gained their first farming ex­ perience. In 1892 the three brothers set off for Rhodesia with eight ox- wagons. Three months later they had completed the 700 mile trek to Fort Victoria. Here they opened a store made of whiskey cases and roofed over with the tarpaulins that had covered their wagons. Progress was at first slow, nevertheless, branches were opened in Salisbury in 1893, Bulawayo and Gwelo in 1894, and in Umtali in 1897. From these small beginnings a vast network of stores, hotels, farms, mines and auxilliary undertakings was built up. These ventures culminated in the formation of the Thomas Meikle Trust and Investment Company in 1933. The success of these many enterprises was mainly due to Thomas Meikle's foresight and his business acumen, coupled with his ability to judge character and gather around him a loyal and efficient staff. His great pioneering spirit lives on: today the Meikle Organisation is still playing an important part in the development of Rhodesia. THOMAS MEIKLE TRUST AND INVESTMENT CO. (PVT.) LIMITED. Travel Centre Stanley Avenue P.O. Box 3578 Salisbury i ii iii iv V vi RHODESIANA Publication No. 29 — December, 1973 THE RHODESIANA SOCIETY Salisbury Rhodesia vii Edited by W. V. BRELSFORD Assisted by E. E. BURKE Copyright is reserved by the Society Authors are responsible for their own opinions and for the accuracy of statements they make. viii CONTENTS December 1973 Page INTRODUCTION TO THE BULAWAYO LECTURES ON ASPECTS OF RHODESIAN HISTORY, BY L. W. BOLZE 1 LECTURE NO. 1. THE STONE AGE IN RHODESIA, BY C. K. COOKE 3 LECTURE NO. 2. PREHISTORY—IRON AGE, RUINS PERIOD, BY THOMAS N. HUFFMAN 9 LECTURE NO. 3. AFRICAN HISTORY, BY H. R. G. HOWMAN ........ 16 LECTURE NO. 4. THE IMPACT OF THE VARIOUS INVASIONS FROM SOCIOLOGICAL AND ECONOMIC ANGLES, BY E. GREENFIELD 27 LECTURE NO. 5. EUROPEAN PRE-PIONEERS, 1500-1890, BY E. T. HEPBURN 38 LECTURE NO. 6. EUROPEANS, NINETEENTH CENTURY ONWARDS, BRITISH, DUTCH, PORTUGUESE, BY O. N. RANSFORD .. ...... .. 46 LECTURE NO. 7. CONCESSION-SEEKERS AND THE SCRAMBLE FOR MATABELELAND, BY P. R. WARHURST 55 LECTURE NO. 8. SOME NOTABLE INDIVIDUALS, BLACK AND WHITE, AND THEIR IMPACT : PART 1. THOMAS BAINES, BY H. A. D. SIMONS .. .. 65 PART 2. THE GO-BETWEEN—JOHN GROOTBOOM, BY GWENDA NEWTON 68 PART 3. MRS. TAWSE-JOLLIE, BY MRS. PADDY VICKERY 76 LECTURE NO. 9. PRESENT AND FUTURE ACTION TO PRESERVE THE PAST, BY C. K. COOKE 82 GREAT ZIMBABWE: A REVIEW ARTICLE, BY T. N. HUFFMAN 88 SOME RECENT ADDITIONS TO THE LIBRARY OF THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES, COMPILED BY C. COGGIN 93 PERIODICALS AND ARTICLES OF INTEREST. A SURVEY BY DOROTHEA ROWSE 96 SOCIETY ACTIVITIES 98 NOTES 103 CORRESPONDENCE 109 REVIEWS 114 LIST OF MEMBERS 131 The cover picture shows old Rhodesian buildings in Manica Road, Salisbury, ix The Rhodesiana Society Founded 1953 The Society exists to promote Rhodesian historical studies and to encourage research. It also aims to unite all who wish to foster a wider appreciation and knowledge of the history of Rhodesia. There is no entrance fee; the subscription is $3,00 Rhodesian currency ($5,00 U.S.A. or R3,30) a year, and this entitles paid- up members to those numbers of Rhodesiana issued during the year. There are two issues in each year, dated July and December. For further information and particulars concerning membership please write to: The Honorary National Secretary, Rhodesiana Society, P.O. Box 8268, Causeway, Salisbury, Rhodesia. For information about Branch activities please write to: Matabeleland Branch, P.O. Box 192, Bulawayo. Manicaland Branch, P.O. Box 136, Umtali. Mashonaland Branch, P.O. Box 3946, Salisbury. Manuscripts will be welcomed by the Editor. They should preferably be typed in double spacing and be complete with any illustrations. Copies of published works for review will also be welcomed. National Executive Committee Members G. H. Tanser, National Chairman R. W. S. Turner, National Deputy Chairman C. W. H. Loades, National Honorary Secretary W. V. Brelsford, Editor Colonel A. S. Hickman, M.B.E. E. E. Burke R. D. Franks x T. W. H. Kennedy Grant J. Kerr M. J. Kimberley H. G. Robertson, Mashonaland Branch Representative L. W. Bolze, Matabeleland Branch Representative R. A. R. Bent, C.B.E., Manicaland Branch Representative Matabeleland Manicaland Mashonaland Branch Branch Branch Committee Committee Committee Members Members Members Chairman Chairman Chairman H. V. Vickery R. A. R. Bent, C.B.E. R. W. S. Turner Honorary Secretary and Treasurer Honorary Secretary Vice-Chairman B. Lovemore, O.L.M. Miss A. Cripps M. J. Kimberley L. W. Bolze R. Y. Armstrong Honorary Secretary P. B. Gibbs, M.B.E. D. J. Chadd Mrs. Wendy Hedderick E. T. Hepburn P. M. Hutchinson W. Parry Honorary Treasurer P. W. Porter Mrs. R. M. T. Barker H. A. B. Symons Mrs. M. Waddy R. D. Franks G. Zacharias T. W. H. Kennedy Grant J. M. Leach H. G. Robertson xi xiii Matabele warriors, 1896 (Lecture 4). (Photo: National Archives) xiv INTRODUCTION Lectures on Aspects of Rhodesian History Since it was formed on 14th January, 1968, the Matabeleland Branch of the Rhodesiana Society has held 31 outings to places of historic interest in the precincts of Bulawayo, with a total attendance of 4 500 to 5 000. The majority of these have been all-day Sunday occasions, of an average round-trip of 60 to 100 miles, although members once travelled to the Shangani River, site of the last stand of Allan Wilson and his party, a distance of some 280 miles. Excep­ tions to the day trips were long-week-end camps held at Tuli and Hartley. These numerous and varied site visits, all of which have been backed by informative talks, have given members an intimate, first-hand knowledge of local historical events. The programme, although ambitious, has always been well supported and it has stimulated follow-up reading of the Journal and of the many excellent works of Rhodesiana now available. Seeking to offer its members even greater variety, the Branch Committee decided, towards the end of 1972, to launch a series of mid-week lectures during the winter months of this year. Doubt was at first expressed as to whether lec­ tures would have the same appeal as the popular outings; however, the small City Hall in Bulawayo was hired for lunch hours on Tuesdays, nine lectures being arranged between 15th May and 24th July. A sub-committee under the chairmanship of Mr. E. T. Hepburn, planned and organised the programme, and publicised it widely to the public, as well as to members of the Society and members of the Rhodesia Pioneers' and Early Settlers' Society. The lecture programme covered a broad canvas, starting from the Stone Age, Iron Age and Ruins periods, the Bushmen, early African peoples, and the Portuguese ot the fifteenth century, to the pre-Pioneers, the impact of various invasions, the concession-seekers, and some notable individuals, and finishing with a round-up of the organisations which work to preserve the past. Ten of the most authoritative speakers in these fields were enlisted, including Dr. P. R. Warhurst, Mr. T. N. Huffman and Mr. H. R. G. Howman, who kindly came from Salisbury to participate. Bulawayo speakers, in order of appearance, were Mr. E. T. Hepburn, Mr. C. K. Cooke, Dr. O. N. Ransford, Mr. E. Greenfield, Mr. H. B. Simons, Dr. J. Shee and Mrs. Paddy Vickery. The three last-named speakers gave a three-part lecture on one Tuesday on Thomas Baines, Jan Grootboom*, and Mrs. E. Tawse-Jollie. Mr. C. K. Cooke spoke for a second time when he wound up the series on 24th July. A charge of 20c was made per lecture and refreshments were available for 1 purchase. The programme proved extremely successful with a total of 1 300 paid attendances, plus a number of scholar guests. The average attendance was 150 per lecture. All the talks were recorded for the Society by Mr. James Robinson of the R.B.C. and were later transcribed with a view to being made available to those who attended. However, the National Executive Committee of the Society kindly offered the entire December 1973 issue of the Journal for their publica­ tion, and it is with the greatest pleasure that the Matabeleland Branch now presents the full texts of the complete programme to all members of the Society. L. w. BOLZE, Matabeleland Branch Representative (The lectures are not printed in the order in which they were delivered. The order here is roughly chronological according to subject. Various amendments and additions have been made in order to adapt the lectures more to the printed than the spoken style.—Editor.) * The researching for this lecture, delivered by Dr. J. Shee, was done by Mrs. Gwenda Newton. 2 LECTURE No. 1 The Stone Age in Rhodesia by C. K. Cooke The subject "The Stone Age" is a rather dry one and I am not dealing with it in any great detail. An archaeologist is concerned in wresting facts of historical meaning out of the intractable materials left behind by man. It is very difficult for most people to visualise the man behind the manufacture of these things and the history of an individual—or individual persons—can never be found, particularly in the Stone Age periods. Therefore, the pre-pioneers of whom I am going to talk can usually be recognised by their implements or very, very occa­ sionally by bones and skulls that have been preserved in suitable situations.