Gwelo

Gweru, originally known as Gwelo, is a city in central Zimbabwe. It is on the centre of Midlands Province. Originally an area known to the Ndebele as "The Steep Place" because of the Gweru River's high banks, in 1894 it became the site of a military outpost established by Leander Starr Jameson. In 1914 it attained municipal status, and in 1971 it became a city.

The city has a population of 158,200 as of the 2022 census. Gweru is known for farming activities in beef cattle, crop farming, and commercial gardening of crops for the export market. It is also home to a number of colleges and universities, most prominently Midlands State University and Mkoba Teachers College.

The city was nicknamed City of Progress.

History

Gweru used to be named Gwelo. Matabele settlement was named iKwelo ("The Steep Place"), after the river's high banks. The modern town, founded in 1894 as a military outpost, developed as an agricultural centre and became a municipality in 1914.

Geography

The geographical coordinates for Gweru Urban are 19° 27' 0'' South and 29° 49' 0'' East. This places Gweru at the centre of Zimbabwe. The area coverage is almost 46 166 km². The city is built alongside Bulawayo-Harare railway and the road near the railway spur to Mabuto.

Climate

Demographics

Nature and wildlife

In and around Gweru there are attractive places, some are man-made and some are natural. There is:

* Antelope Park
* White Waters
* Insukamini Ruins

Economy

Situated along the road and railway between Harare and Bulawayo and near the rail spur to Maputo, Mozambique, Gweru has become a busy trade centre with modest industrial development. Its products include ferrochromium, textiles, dairy foods, leather, and building materials. The surrounding area, with its rich deposits of gold, chrome, iron, asbestos, and limestone, supports a number of mines. The training section of Zimbabwe's air force is in Gweru at the Gweru-Thornhill Air Base.

The city is also known for vibrant farming activities in cattle ranching, and farming including, commercial gardening of crops for the export market. The country's oldest shoe manufacturer, the Bata Shoe Company and the Military and Aviation Museums are also some key features for which Gweru is well known.

Culture

The Boggie clock tower, located at the intersection of Main Street and Robert Mugabe Way, was built in 1928 in memory of Major William James Boggie. The clock tower is one of the city's most famous landmarks.

The Nalatale and Danamombe archaeological sites lie approximately 70 and 85 km to the southwest, the known for their patterned stonework. The remains at these sites date back to as early as the Torwa state during the 17th century, the most substantial being a four hundred-year-old stone wall decorated with motifs known to the tradition of stone-building in Zimbabwe. The surrounding area has rich deposits of gold, chrome, iron, asbestos and platinum and supports several mines.

Tourism

The main hotel in the city is the Midlands Hotel, which was opened in 1927 by the Meikles brothers. This hotel was to be demolished but after many protests by the population it was saved. Another important hotel is the Chitukuko (formerly the Hotel Cecil), located in the downtown area of the city. Both hotels were owned by Patrick Kombayi, a former mayor. The Fairmile Motel is just one mile from the city center on the Bulawayo highway .

Sports and stadia

Soccer

* Chapungu Football Club

As of 2025, TelOne play in the Zimbabwe Premier League Soccer League (ZPSL) at the Bata Stadium.

Chapungu F.C was nicknamed Waru Waru and previously played in the ZPSL. Its home was the Ascot Stadium.

There is also Gweru Sports club which has grounds for rugby, bowling and cricket.

Government and politics

Education

Primary education

Group A

*Cecil John Rhodes School
*Lundi Park School
*Riverside School
*Stanley School
*Bata Primary School
*Anderson Adventist Primary School (private)
*Lingfield Academy (private)
* Midlands Christian School (private)

Group B

*Airforce Thornhill Primary School
*Bumburwi School
*Chikumbiro School
*Matongo School
*Mkoba 4 Primary School
*Mpumelelo Primary School
*Muwunga School
*Sandara School
*Senga Primary School
*Takunda Primary School
*Takwirira Primary School
*St. Michael's Primary School (Catholic)
*St. Paul's School (Catholic)

Secondary education

Group A

* Sacred Heart College
* Chaplin High School
*Guinea Fowl High School
*Nashville Secondary School
* Thornhill High School
*Anderson Adventist High School (private)
* Lingfield Christian Academy (private)
* Midlands Christian College (private)

Group B

* Ascot Secondary School
* Fletcher High School
* Mambo High School
* Matinunura High school
* Mkoba 1 High School
* Mkoba 3 High School
* Senka Secondary School

Tertiary education

* Ambassador College
* Central Africa Correspondence College
* Commercial Studies Centre
* Educare College
* Gweru Polytechnic Institute
* Herentals College
*International Correspondence Schools
* Kaguvi National Technical College
* Mkoba Teachers College
* Midlands Christian Training Centre
* Midlands State University
* Rapid Results College
* Senka Technical Training Centre
* Solars College
* TopFlight Secretarial College
* Zimbabwe Distance Education College
* Zimbabwe Open University
*Mount Hermon Theological Seminary

Defunct colleges and universities

* Midlands College of Commerce (closed 1994)

Media

Gweru's local newspaper, ''The Gweru Times'', once ceased publishing in 2015 but now operational.

Industry

Gweru was famous for housing big companies that are no longer operating, and which left thousands of employees jobless. There is hope that future big SME companies will make up for the loss in economic activity created by this situation. These big companies were previously housed in and around Gweru. Below is the list of these companies grouped according to size and type of the industry. The companies that previously flourished in Gweru were Bata Shoe Company, ZimGlass, ZimCast, ZimAlloys, Delta Corporation, Anchor Yeast. Today most of their previous premises are derelict and are a painful reminder of a vibrant industrial city that Gweru once was.

However, Midlands State University is a recent feature of Gweru which has pushed the city to seek positive recognition as an education centre.

Transportation

Railway

Railways arrived in Gwelo (Gweru) in 1902. National Railways of Zimbabwe have the country's largest marshalling yard, Dabuka, on the south side of Gweru. Dabuka plays a pivotal role in rail movement in the country as it is the central hub of the rail links to Mozambique in the east, South Africa in the south and Botswana and Namibia in the south west, lying on the Beira–Bulawayo railway.

Gwelo was once home to the Gwelo & District Light Railway, a 2 ft gauge steam for pleasure railway.

Roads

As a central city (hub), it has direct links to all the other cities and towns of Zimbabwe. It is 164 km from Bulawayo, 183 km from Masvingo, 471 km from Beitbridge, and 275 km from Harare.

Road names used are by destination only, for example the Harare-Bulawayo Road. There are only mainroads, no highways or freeways.

Notable people

* Brendan Ashby, Olympic swimmer
* Patient Charumbira, cricketer
* Shimmer Chinodya, writer
* Edmore Chirambadare, footballer
* Gerald B. Clarke, Rhodesian politician
* Malcolm Grainger, cricketer
* Gregg Haakonsen, cricketer
* Mandy Loots, Olympic swimmer
* Orlando Lourenco, tennis player
* Paddington Mhondoro, cricketer
* Energy Murambadoro, footballer
* Kudakwashe Musharu, footballer
* Luther Mutyambizi, cricketer
* Christopher Muzvuru, Irish Guards piper
* Welshman Ncube, politician
* Rudolf Nyandoro, Roman Catholic bishop
* David Pocock, Australia international rugby union player and politician
* Ray Reed, racing driver
* Nkululeko Mkastos Sibanda, politician
* Alec Smith, Rhodesian Army chaplain, son of Ian Smith
* Thomas Sweswe, footballer
* Gary Teichmann, South Africa international rugby union player

Sister cities

* Basildon, England, United Kingdom
* Manchester, United States
* Tsumeb, Namibia

See also

* List of cities and towns in Zimbabwe

References

{{Authority control

Gweru District
Populated places in Midlands Province
Provincial capitals in Zimbabwe
Populated places established in 1894