Chipinge is a town in

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...

, located in

Chipinge District Chipinge District is a district in Manicaland Province of Zimbabwe. The administrative headquarters is Chipinge. Geography Chipinge District is the southernmost district in Manicaland province. It is bounded on the north by Chimanimani Distr ...

, in

Manicaland Province Manicaland is a province in eastern Zimbabwe. After Harare Province, it is the country's second-most populous province, with a population of 2.037 million, as of the 2022 census. After Harare and Bulawayo provinces, it is Zimbabwe's third-most de ...

, in southeastern

, close to the border with

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Mala ...

Location

The town lies approximately , by road, south of

Mutare Mutare (formerly Umtali) is the most populous city in the province of Manicaland, and the third most populous city in Zimbabwe, having surpassed Gweru in the 2012 census, with an urban population of 224,802 and approximately 260,567 in the s ...

, the nearest large city. This location lies about , by road, east of

Masvingo Masvingo is a city in south-eastern Zimbabwe and the capital of Masvingo Province. The city is situated close to Great Zimbabwe, the national monument from which the country takes its name and close to Lake Mutirikwi, its recreational park, th ...

, on the road (Highway A-9) to

Bulawayo Bulawayo (, ; Ndebele: ''Bulawayo'') is the second largest city in Zimbabwe, and the largest city in the country's Matabeleland region. The city's population is disputed; the 2022 census listed it at 665,940, while the Bulawayo City Council ...

, Zimbabwe's second-largest city, approximately , further west of Masvingo. The coordinates of the town are: 20° 12' 0.00"S, 32° 37' 12.00"E (Latitude:20.2000; Longitude:32.6200). Chipinge sits at an elevation of , above sea level.

Overview

The average annual rainfall in Chipinge is about . The warm climate and high rainfall are well suited to agriculture. The local farmers grow tea, coffee, macadamia nuts and rear dairy cattle. The surrounding mountain slopes are covered with

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family (biology), family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanic ...

and

acacia ''Acacia'', commonly known as the wattles or acacias, is a large genus of shrubs and trees in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the pea family Fabaceae. Initially, it comprised a group of plant species native to Africa and Australasia. The genus n ...

plantations. One of Zimbabwe's most famous landmarks, the Birchenough Bridge is located on the Sabi River about , northwest of Chipinge. The town is the headquarters of Chipinge District and contain the main offices of Chipinge District Administration and the offices of ''Chipinge Town Council''. Royal Bank Zimbabwe, a

commercial bank A commercial bank is a financial institution which accepts deposits from the public and gives loans for the purposes of consumption and investment to make profit. It can also refer to a bank, or a division of a large bank, which deals with co ...

, maintains a branch in the town. Chipinge is also served by

Chipinge Airport Chipinge Airport is an airport serving Chipinge, Manicaland Province, Zimbabwe. See also *Transport in Zimbabwe *List of airports in Zimbabwe This is a list of airports in Zimbabwe, sorted by location. Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of ...

, Telone Exchange telecommunications. Chipinge is divided into five constituencies for election purposes:

Chipinge Central Chipinge Central is a constituency in Zimbabwe. As of 2008, it elects one representative to the House of Assembly. In the parliamentary election the seat was won by the ZANU-PF candidate Chitima Alice Mwaemura defeating the MDC candidate from the ...

Chipinge North Chipinge North is a constituency in southeastern Zimbabwe in the province of Manicaland near the Mozambique border. It is named after Chipinge town. Chipinge is one of the constituencies where the ZANU–PF The Zimbabwe African National Uni ...

Chipinge South Chipinge South is a constituency in southeastern Zimbabwe in the province of Manicaland near the Mozambique border. It is named after Chipinge town. Chipinge is one of the constituencies, where the ZANU–PF The Zimbabwe African National Un ...

, Chipinge East and Musikavanhu.

History

The town was formerly known as ''Chipinga''. A white settlement began here with the arrival of Thomas Moodie's trek in 1893 and was called ''South Melsetter''. Melsetter was the name of his family home in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...

). In 1903 a police outpost was built here and in 1909 a school was built. The settlement was renamed Chipinga after a local chief in 1907 and in 1946 Chipinga received town status. Dairy farming was established early in the 1900s and by 1931 there were two cheese factories in operation. In 1945 a third cheese factory was open in the town but the same year saw the three factories being amalgamated to form one large factory. Cheese production at this facility continued until 1976. In 1983 Dairibord Zimbabwe under Dairibord Holdings opened a dairy factory making sterilized milk "steri" at 323 Ferreira Street. The area around Chipinge was the first place to grow tea in Zimbabwe, when Grafton and Florence Phillips smuggled seeds from

Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

in 1924, while coffee was introduced on a small scale but was not successful until 1950 when a coffee experimental station was established.

Population

According to the 1992 Population Census, the town has a population of 11,582. In 2004, the town's population was estimated at 18,860.Estimated Town Population In 2004
/ref> The results of the 2012 census indicate 25,675 residents in Chipinge Town.

Climate

Notable people

Ndabaningi Sithole Ndabaningi Sithole (21 July 1920 – 12 December 2000) founded the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU), a militant organisation that opposed the government of Rhodesia, in July 1963.Veenhoven, Willem Adriaan, Ewing, and Winifred Crum. ''Cas ...

, ZANU – Ndonga political leader *

Guy Whittall Guy James Whittall (born 5 September 1972) is a former Zimbabwean international cricketer who played 46 Test matches and 147 One Day Internationals (ODIs) and captained Zimbabwe in four ODIs. He played as an all-rounder and was known as an ag ...

, Zimbabwean cricketer * Arthur Mutambara, politician * Lovemore Madhuku, politician

References

{{authority control Populated places in Manicaland Province Populated places established in 1893