Gurúè

Coordinates: 15°28′S 36°59′E / 15.467°S 36.983°E / -15.467; 36.983
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Gurúè
Country
 Mozambique
ProvincesZambezia
DistrictGurué
Population
 • Total145,466 (2,007 census)

Gurúè (also spelt Gurué; known before independence as Vila Junqueiro) is a town located in the northern part of Mozambique, near the center of the province of Zambezia. It serves as the principal town of Gurué District, and is Mozambique's largest tea estate. According to the 2007 census, the town had a population of 145,466, an increase from the 99,335 inhabitants counted in the 1997 census.

History

Portuguese rule

The name Gurúè is said to be local tribal dialect (

Portuguese East Africa. After the death of tea tycoon Manuel Saraiva Junqueiro, in an airplane crash, the town of Gurúè was renamed Vila Junqueiro in October 1959. By the late 1950s the town had grown, the cinema was founded and TAZ airline (Transportes Aéreos da Zambézia) increased its flights in the town's airfield. Under Portuguese administration the town expanded harmoniously in terms of urbanism and architectural landscape.[1][2]

After independence from Portugal

After the independence of Mozambique from Portugal in 1975, Vila Junqueiro returned to its original name, Gurúè, and started a process of deep deterioration and economic and social decline. The exodus of the Portuguese, the eruption of the Mozambican Civil War (1977-1992) and the effects of FRELIMO's communist ideology, transformed the once thriving town in a few years.[2]

Geography

Gurué is located in the North of the

Blantyre, Malawi and also 350 km from Quelimane or Nampula
, two of Mozambique's biggest cities. It is located at longitude 37 degrees 1 minute East and latitude 15 degrees 30 minutes South.

Climate

Gurúè has a

rainy season
. Gurué's climate has much more rainfall than most of the rest of the province due to the effect of the mountains that surround the town. It creates a microclimate which is unusually cool and wet and therefore good for growing tea.

Economy

Gurúè's economy depends mainly on the

plantations (90%), though other plantation types can also be found such as coffee, fruit
, etc. Most people also have small subsistence farms to supplement their irregular salaries.

Demographics

According to Mozambique's Government 1997 census, Gurúè's population was estimated at 99,335 and in the 2007 census at 145,466.[3] Most people in the area speak Lomwe.

Transportation

Gurúè can be reached by car. One aerodrome is available for small aero planes. At present some South African investors engaged in Macadamia nuts use the aerodrome. Chartered planes could land at Gurue. The roads were tarred and in good condition until the floods of 2015.

Wildlife

A 1998 birding expedition to Gurúè re-discovered the country's only endemic bird, Namuli apalis, unseen since it was discovered in 1932. It is now known to be thriving in forests in this area. According to a recent University of Cape Town scientific expedition "in a land of many natural treasures, Namuli (a mount near Gurúè, with 2419m and being the second highest mountain in Mozambique) is the jewel in the crown" and "a high-priority site for birds in Africa".[4]

SDZ Cha, one of the tea plantation companies, maintain amidst their estate a small patch of rainforest, preserving the pristine nature. They also have some camp huts which are rented out for tourists.

See also

References

  1. ^ QUELIMANE, a film of the cosmopolitan port of Quelimane and tea centre of Vila Junqueiro, Portuguese Mozambique, before 1975.
  2. ^ a b Duarte Caires in DIÁRIO DE NOTÍCIAS DA MADEIRA, May 2008 - full text
  3. ^ "Mozambique: largest cities and towns and statistics of their population". World Gazetteer. Retrieved 2008-06-18.[dead link]
  4. ^ "Namuli Apalis". Archived from the original on 2006-10-20. Retrieved 2005-05-14.
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