Masvingo
Masvingo
Fort Victoria | |
---|---|
City | |
UTC+2 (CAT) | |
Area code | 039 |
Climate | Cwa |
Website | http://masvingocity.gov.zw/ |
Masvingo, known as Fort Victoria during the colonial period, is a city in southeastern
History
The city was known as Fort Victoria until 1982, when its name was briefly changed to Nyanda, after a mountain about 10 kilometres south of the town, on the Masvingo to Beitbridge Road. That led to protests, because "nyanda" means "one who has lice", and public sentiment was that Masvingo would be more reflective of the history of the city. Within a few months, the name was changed to Masvingo, which means "fort" in Shona, and the Great Zimbabwe, which is essentially a walled fort, is often referred to as "Masvingo eZimbabwe" or sometimes "Masvingo eVitori", a translation of the original name.
Masvingo is the oldest colonial settlement in Zimbabwe which developed around an encampment established in 1890, when the British South Africa Company "Pioneer Column" of the first European colonists passed through on their way to what became Salisbury, now Harare. The Old Fort national monument is located in the centre of town, and was erected in 1891 as one of a series of fortifications to guard the route from Salisbury to the south. The very first cricket match in Zimbabwe is said to have taken place close by, in 1890.[3]
Demographics
The population was approximately 15,000 in 1970;
Education
Masvingo Polytechnic,
Geography
The landscape in southern Zimbabwe is relatively flat, interspersed with rounded granite mountains. Known as
The town lies near
Masvingo is situated in a drought-prone area, with average rainfall of 600 mm/a.
Climate data for Masvingo (1961–1990, extremes 1951–present) | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Record high °C (°F) | 38.9 (102.0) |
39.0 (102.2) |
37.2 (99.0) |
35.1 (95.2) |
34.0 (93.2) |
31.3 (88.3) |
31.2 (88.2) |
34.9 (94.8) |
38.5 (101.3) |
39.5 (103.1) |
39.0 (102.2) |
39.2 (102.6) |
39.5 (103.1) |
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 28.1 (82.6) |
27.4 (81.3) |
26.9 (80.4) |
25.9 (78.6) |
24.1 (75.4) |
21.5 (70.7) |
21.6 (70.9) |
24.4 (75.9) |
27.4 (81.3) |
29.2 (84.6) |
28.7 (83.7) |
28.0 (82.4) |
26.1 (79.0) |
Daily mean °C (°F) | 22.9 (73.2) |
22.2 (72.0) |
21.4 (70.5) |
19.4 (66.9) |
16.4 (61.5) |
13.9 (57.0) |
13.6 (56.5) |
16.2 (61.2) |
19.6 (67.3) |
21.8 (71.2) |
22.9 (73.2) |
22.7 (72.9) |
19.4 (66.9) |
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 17.2 (63.0) |
16.9 (62.4) |
15.4 (59.7) |
12.7 (54.9) |
8.7 (47.7) |
5.8 (42.4) |
5.4 (41.7) |
7.7 (45.9) |
11.4 (52.5) |
14.8 (58.6) |
16.1 (61.0) |
17.1 (62.8) |
12.4 (54.3) |
Record low °C (°F) | 9.7 (49.5) |
10.0 (50.0) |
8.1 (46.6) |
2.4 (36.3) |
0.0 (32.0) |
−4.6 (23.7) |
−3.6 (25.5) |
−0.3 (31.5) |
2.5 (36.5) |
3.2 (37.8) |
6.3 (43.3) |
8.3 (46.9) |
−4.6 (23.7) |
Average rainfall mm (inches) | 128.7 (5.07) |
107.2 (4.22) |
65.6 (2.58) |
27.9 (1.10) |
12.8 (0.50) |
5.7 (0.22) |
2.7 (0.11) |
6.4 (0.25) |
10.4 (0.41) |
29.6 (1.17) |
77.2 (3.04) |
140.2 (5.52) |
614.4 (24.19) |
Average rainy days | 10 | 8 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 54 |
Average relative humidity (%)
|
70 | 74 | 71 | 73 | 67 | 65 | 61 | 53 | 47 | 54 | 66 | 71 | 64 |
Mean monthly sunshine hours | 248.0 | 207.2 | 244.9 | 243.0 | 266.6 | 249.0 | 263.5 | 285.2 | 279.0 | 260.4 | 228.0 | 217.0 | 2,991.8 |
Mean daily sunshine hours | 8.0 | 7.4 | 7.9 | 8.1 | 8.6 | 8.3 | 8.5 | 9.2 | 9.3 | 8.4 | 7.6 | 7.0 | 8.2 |
Source 1: World Meteorological Organization,[6] NOAA (sun and mean temperature, 1961–1990),[7] | |||||||||||||
Source 2: Deutscher Wetterdienst (humidity, 1968–1974),[8] Meteo Climat (record highs and lows)[9] |
Industry and transport
The town used to have large cattle ranches, but the country's Land Reform Programme is sometimes blamed for decimating that industry. Small scale farmers now make up the majority of suppliers of agricultural produce. Masvingo is mainly a residential city. The informal sector also dominates industry in town.
Tourism
There are a variety of tourist attractions within a thirty-mile (48-kilometre) radius of the town. Within 20 kilometres (12 miles) of Masvingo are the
Film and theatre
Masvingo is known in the country for producing film and theatre productions that compete with those from Harare and Bulawayo. The city's film and theatre hub is located at the Charles Austin Theatre found at the city's Civic Centre gardens. It was run by the Masvingo Drama Circle from 1971 until its decline in 2015.[10] Young artists took over the running of the facility under the name Masvingo Theatre and Arts Clubs and that resulted in film and theatre productions that have put Masvingo on the map in the arts industry. One notable play that came from Masvingo was a stage play by playwright Charles Munganasa titled Operation Restore Regasi which made international headlines and told the story of Robert Mugabe's fall from power.[11][12] In 2017, a short film titled Seiko directed by Sydney Taivavashe won the outstanding short film production at the National Arts Merit Awards, Zimbabwe's top entertainment award ceremony making it the first film award to be won by a Masvingo artist.[13][14] Sabhuku Vharazipi is a comedian from Masvingo who rose to fame in 2013 with his famous drama comedy titled Sabhuku Vharazipi which won the hearts of many locals. He is known for his signature rural folk dressing, a shiny bald head as well as an unmistakable Karanga tone which distinguishes his productions from the others.[15]
Culture and recreation
The major soccer club in the town is
The Southern Rocks, one of the five first-class cricket teams in Zimbabwe until its disbandment after the 2013–14 season, played its home games at the Masvingo Sports Club.
Africa Talent Publishers is a publishing company based in Masvingo. The company was started in 2018 by two Great Zimbabwe University lecturers, Munyaradzi Mawere and Tapuwa Rubaya, to promote indigenous stories and encourage the growth of a reading culture. It is the first such establishment to be founded in Masvingo.[16]
International relations
Twin towns – Sister cities
Masvingo is
- Kernen, Germany.
The twinning was signed by the town mayors in 1990.[17] This led to the forming of the Kernen-Masvingo association by Kernens Mayor Mr. Haussmann, the school headmaster Franz Miller and its board manager D. Kaiser for 7 years. This organisation has led many projects in Masvingo, including school partnerships, such as that between Karl-Mauch-Schule in Kernen and Bondolfi primary school (25 km), building of a dining room at the old peoples' home in Mucheke, the Runyararo-Frieden day clinic and the construction of 4 buildings at Alpha cottages orphanage. Many other projects have been realised: cholera medicine, water treatment chemicals, many containers with helping goods, introduction of the medicine Viramune/Nevirapin in 2001 to all hospitals in Zimbabwe by D. Kaiser, given free of charge by the German pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim.[18]
- Middlesbrough, England.
Notable people
- Bruce Makovah, cricketer
- Nelson Chamisa, politician
- Brian Vitori, Cricketer
- Simon Muzenda, first Vice President of Zimbabwe
- Eddison Zvobgo, politician
- Elias Mudzuri, politician
- Paul Matavire, musician
- Walter Mzembi, politician
- Stanislaus Mudenge, politician
- Nox Guni, Musician
- Charles Manyuchi, boxer
- Ashley Burdett, women's cricketer
- Garry Mapanzure, Musician
See also
References
- ^ Citypopulation.de Population of cities & urban localities in Zimbabwe
- ^ "Studying Africa through the Social Studies". Archived from the original on 12 October 2007. Retrieved 18 January 2008.
- ^ "International Cricket Council". www.icc-cricket.com. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
- ^ Bridger, P.; House, M.; et al. (1973). Encyclopaedia Rhodesia. College Press. p. 448.
- .
- ^ "World Weather Information Service – Masvingo". World Meteorological Organization. Retrieved 13 May 2016.
- ^ "Masvingo Kutsaga Climate Normals 1961–1990". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved 10 June 2016.
- ^ "Klimatafel von Masvingo (Fort Victoria) / Simbabwe" (PDF). Baseline climate means (1961–1990) from stations all over the world (in German). Deutscher Wetterdienst. Retrieved 10 June 2016.
- ^ "Station Masvingo" (in French). Meteo Climat. Retrieved 10 June 2016.
- ^ "The Mirror | Hear and be Heard: New blood running The Charles Austin Theatre". The Mirror | Hear and be Heard. Retrieved 31 March 2019.
- ^ Mavhunga, Columbus S. "Mugabe is gone and people can now say anything about him". CNN. Retrieved 31 March 2019.
- ^ Herald, The. "'Operation Restore Regasi' back at Theatre in the Park". The Herald. Retrieved 31 March 2019.
- ^ newsday (20 February 2017). "Mixed reactions over Nama winners". NewsDay Zimbabwe. Retrieved 31 March 2019.
- ^ "NAMA Award, A Magnetic Force". Zimbo Jam. 27 February 2017. Retrieved 31 March 2019.
- ^ "Unleashing Sabhuku Vharazipi". The Standard. 8 September 2013. Retrieved 31 March 2019.
- ^ The Herald (Zimbabwe), 7 Feb 2018: “GZU members setting up publishing house"
- ^ "Über uns " Geschichte". Kernen-Masvingo-Gesellschaft. Archived from the original on 26 July 2011. Retrieved 30 December 2009.
- ^ "Projekte". Kernen-Masvingo-Gesellschaft. Archived from the original on 26 July 2011. Retrieved 30 December 2009.