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Gweru

City in Midlands, Zimbabwe From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Gweru
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Gweru, historically known as Gwelo, is the capital city of Zimbabwe's Midlands Province. Founded in 1894 as a military outpost by Leander Starr Jameson.[2] the settlement grew from an area originally called "The Steep Place" by the Ndebele people, a reference to the high banks of the Gweru river. It achieved municipal status in 1914 and was declared a city in 1971.

Quick facts Gwelo, Country ...

As for the 2022 census, Gweru has a population of 121 712 in the Rural district and 161 292 in the Urban district.The City Serves as a regional hub for agriculture, particularly beef cattle ranching, crop farming and commercial gardening for export. In addition to its economic role, Gweru is an educational centre home to institutions such as Midlands State University, Mkoba Teachers College and Gweru Polytechnic. The city is nicknamed City of Progress.

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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

More information Climate data for Gweru (1961–1990), Month ...
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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
More information Year, Pop. ...
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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.[4]

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Culture

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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.[2]

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.[2]

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.[5]

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.

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Government and politics

Education

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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

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

Defunct colleges and universities

  • Midlands College of Commerce (closed 1994)
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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.

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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.[6]

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.[7]

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Notable people

See also: Category:People from Gweru

Sister cities

See also

References

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