Hwange

Location of Hwange

Hwange is a town in western Zimbabwe, in the province of Matabeleland North. It is named after the chieftain of Zwange, who is now called Chief Hwange. The town was known as Wankie until 1982. According to the 1992 Population Census, the town had a population of 42,581. It is a centre for the coal mining industry with Hwange Colliery being the largest coal mine in Zimbabwe (with reserves for over 1000 years). The Wankie Coal Field, one of the largest in the world, was discovered here in 1897 by the America Scout Frederick Russell Burnham.^[1] A coal power plant was built here in the late 1990s.

Hwange is also a tourism centre due to the presence of the nearby Hwange National Park, the largest National Park in Zimbabwe. The national park is home to a vast number of elephant, giraffe, lion and other wildlife and if you are looking to stay inside the park there is a lodge called Hwange Safari Lodge. An angling and boating club is located close to the town and provides a fisherman's paradise as tigerfish, bream and chessa are amongst the fish found on the Zambezi.

The town lies on the railway line from Bulawayo to Victoria Falls. It is around 100km (an hour's car journey) from the town of Victoria Falls.

Wankie Coal Mine Disaster

In June 1972, one of the greatest natural disasters to hit Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) took place when an underground explosion occurred in Wankie No.2 Colliery. Four hundred and twenty-six miners lost their lives - thirty six Europeans and three hundred and ninety Africans. Apart from the one hundred and seventy-six Rhodesians who died, there were ninety-one Zambians, fifty-two from Mozambique, thirty-seven from Malawi, thirty Tanzanians, fourteen Britons, twelve South Africans, nine from South West Africa, four from the Caprivi Strip, and one from Botswana.^[2]

References

Coordinates: 18°22′S 26°29′E / 18.367°S 26.483°E / -18.367; 26.483

This Zimbabwe location article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v • d • e