PUBLICATION No. 23 DECEMBER, 1970 , ~ !\,'-=~"" s,...~""'.:..;.g, .~.~:~~i: . --:~,:.!. tt":.=.=~:J~. ~- ... 19S3 The Standard Bank Limited, Chipinga 1969 AN EVALUATION OF TH E SHANGANI PATROL WR5Vl'r tJrTIIE K/NG JOHN O'REILLY We have pleasure in announcing publication of this useful work on the Shangani Patrol. Authoritative, and folly documented and anno­ tated, it is probably the most detailed published account of the heroic stand of the Nian Wilson Reconnaissance Party. Accounts from fourieeo African sources give balance to the evaluation and enhance its usefulness, as doJs interl:Sting new material on Commandanl Raatf whose important role in the retreat is put in proper perspective. Over 200 pages, plus 5 n1aps and. 30 illustrations. $3.00 from Booksellers -BOOKS OF RHODESIA P.O. BOX 1994, B ULAWAYO PIONEER HEAD BOOKS HERITAGE SERIES ln Print. Volume l Selous, Frederick Courteney AFRICAN NATURE NOTES AND REMINISCENCES A quality facsimile reprint of the original 1908 edition with additional coloured frontispiece and end papers. Price $7.50 Volume 2 Balfour, Alice Blanche TWELVE HUNDRED MILES IN A WAGGON A facsimile reprint with additional end papers, frontis­ piece and dust-cover by the author from a portfolio in the National Archives of Rhodesia. Edition limited to 1,500 copies, of which I 00 will be in de luxe binding. Ordinary Edition Price $8.00 De Luxe Edition Price $25.00 Due April 1971: Volume 3 Oates, Frank MATABELE LAND AND THE VICTORIA FALIS An outstanding facsimile reprint of the 1881 edition. 1,000 numbered _copies. Ordinary Edition Price .S20.00 De Luxe Edition Price .$40.00 THE PIONEER HEAD Kingstons Limited P.O. Box 2374 SALISBURY ii CHARTER HOUSES: PAST AND PRESENT Charter House on the corner of Jameson Avenue and Kings Crescent is the headquarters of Anglo American Corporation in Rhodesia. The name Charter House was given by The British South Africa Company to its administrative offices. Altogether there have been seven Charter Houses in Rhodesia of which two remain, one in Salisbury and one in Bulawa;yo. The first Charter H ouse, in 1890, was a hut in the area now bounded by Third and Fourth Streets and Union and Central A venues. The Rhodesian interests of The British South Africa Company were merged with those of Anglo American Corporation in 1965 to form one­ of the la.rgest groups in the country. t Below: Charter House was occupied by The British South Africa Company from 1926 to 1958. It is now the Appellate Division of the High Court. ' ::\ ;. ::~~¥t1i/:-_- • • . INTO THE ?O's Rhodesia Railways enter a new decade better equipped than ever before to meet tomorrow's challenge. Mode rn methods of management, signalling, train and traffic control, and the rapid technological advances made in the mechanical and scientific fields, will be used to meet every challenge that is encountered. With confidence, then, INTO THE ?O's to meet Rhodesia's growing trans­ port needs. RHODESIA RAILWAYS iv RHODESIANA Publication No. 23 — December, 1970 THE RHODESIANA SOCIETY Salisbury Rhodesia (scan/ocr: www.rhodesia.nl 2011) 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. vi CONTENTS Page LOBENGULA: SECOND AND LAST KING OF THE AMANDABELE —His FINAL RESTING PLACE AND TREASURE, BY C. K. COOKE 3 LOST ON TREK IN 1895, BY LILIAN EMILY STUTTAFORD ..... 54 BUILDINGS OF HISTORIC INTEREST: NO. 3. "IVANHOE", NORTH AVENUE, SALISBURY, BY MRS. J. B. L. HONEY .. 62 SOME RECENT ADDITIONS TO THE LIBRARY OF THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES, COMPILED BY C. COGGIN 64 SOCIETY ACTIVITIES 67 NOTES 70 CORRESPONDENCE 73 REVIEWS 77 LIST OF MEMBERS 89 The cover picture is from the Illustrated London News of 13th December, 1890, page 741, and shows—"British South Africa Company Police crossing a stream." vii The Rhodesiana Society 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 R$3.30) 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 50, Penhalonga. Mashonaland Branch, P.O. Box M.P.89, Mount Pleasant, 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 Colonel A. S. Hickman, M.B.E., National Chairman G. H. Tanser, National Deputy Chairman M. J. Kimberley, National Honorary Secretary D. Hartridge, National Assistant Honorary Secretary W. V. Brelsford, Editor E. E. Burke A. M. Ewing Dr. R. C. Howland R. Isaacson R. W. S. Turner, Membership and Advertising L. W. Bolze, Matabeleland Branch Representative P. G. Deedes, C.M.G., Manicaland Branch Representative viii Matabeleland Manicaland Mashonaland Branch Branch Branch Committee Committee Committee Members Members Members Chairman Chairman Chairman H. J. Vickery P. G. Deedes, G. H. Tanser C.M.G. Honorary Secretary Honorary Secretary Deputy Chairman D. C Mason Mrs. E. Hutchinson R. W. S. Turner Honorary Secretary L. W. Bolze B. D. de Beer Mrs. R. M. T. Barker P. V. Clarance F. O. Bernhard C W. D. Pagden Miss A. Cripps R. C. Howland Mrs. P. W. Porter P. Hutchinson C. W. H. Loades G. Zacharias Rev. E. L. Sells T. W. H. Kennedy Grant Malindi Lobengula's grave at Malindi. X Lobengula: An Introductory Note Lobengula, second and last chief of the Matabele, was a son of Mzilikazi, a member of a tribe of the Zulu complex who rose to high rank under the Zulu paramount, Chaka. About 1820 Mzilikazi rebelled against the Zulu authority and with a large number of followers moved across the Drakensberg into what is now the Trans­ vaal. For a time he settled in the present district of Marico and here were born two of his sons, Kulumana and Lobengula, the latter about 1829. The Matabele, as Mzilikazi's people came to be known, were in frequent conflict with the Boers who were penetrating northwards and in the early 1830s Mzilikazi sought relief from attack by migrating across the Limpopo. The resident Rozwi were quickly subjugated in a series of bloody raids and thus was engendered the military state known as Matabeleland. Little is known in regard to Lobengula's early life. At one stage his father had ordered his death, following a principle that any potential source of opposi­ tion to the paramount should be eliminated, but instead Lobengula was spirited away to live in hiding for most of his youth, until such time as it was safe for him to emerge. In an earlier episode Kulumana, an elder brother, had been elected to succeed Mzilikazi when the latter was presumed dead after an absence on a raiding expedition of 18 months during which there was no news of him. Mzilikazi returned unexpectedly and took retribution. The indunas responsible for the election were executed on the hill subsequently known as Thabas Induna. It was ordered that Kulumana should be strangled but it remains uncertain whether the order was carried out or whether in fact he was able to escape to Natal. Mzilikazi died in September 1868 and a regent, Umcumbata, was appointed, pending the election of a successor. One faction of the Matabele favoured Lobengula as the new chief, another, a smaller faction, believed that Kulumana was still alive and that he was the rightful choice and that he should be sought for in Natal. The choice fell on Lobengula but this was unacceptable to the Kulumana faction. Lobengula was installed as chief in February 1870 and in July that year it was necessary, if he was to rule effectively, to march against the dissidents. The resulting battle, fought at Zwanandaba, on the Bembesi, resulted in com­ plete success for Lobengula. It is thus 100 years, within a few months, of Lobengula's consolidation of his authority, that Mr. Cooke's article is published. 1 Lobengula ruled as chief for 23 years during which his country became a major obstacle to the progress of south-central Africa. The Matabele economy was a simple one in which raiding for cattle and foodstuffs played a significant part and Lobengula, who saw the political dangers in which it stood, did his best to temper them. The inevitable clash with the forces of development came with the Matabele War in 1893 which resulted, after a short campaign lead by Dr. L. S. Jameson on behalf of the British South Africa Company, in the occupation of the chief's kraal at Bulawayo. The subsequent events of the pursuit of Lobengula, of the Shangani Patrol and of his flight northwards, are the background to the follow­ ing account. E.E.B. 2 Lobengula: Second and Last King of the Amandabele His Final Resting Place and Treasure by C. K. Cooke Lobengula, son of Mzilikazi, the first king of the Amandabele nation, was a man respected and perhaps feared by European and African alike. But owing to the trust he had in the white man he died a sad and disillusioned man miles away from his people.