Shiwa Ngandu

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Situated in Zambia, Shiwa Ngandu, meaning Lake of the Royal Crocodile, is a grand English country house estate in the heart of Africa. It was the life-long project of an English aristocrat, Sir Stewart Gore-Browne who fell in love with the country while working on the charting of the Anglo-Belgian border between what is now Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Construction of the mansion began in 1920. The site was 400 miles from the nearest railhead, a journey of many days over rivers and swamps. Almost everything had to be made on site, including every brick used in the construction. Hundreds of labourers were employed, and with the help of oxen to haul the bricks in scorching heat, a substantial house was constructed within a few years. However, the building work did not stop until the late 1950's; an imposing gatehouse, a tower, colinaded porticoes, courtyards, additional rooms all added to its size and stature.

The house was surrounded by nursery gardens, tennis courts, a walled ladies' garden and much more. The estate followed in the tradition of 19th century utopian model villages like Saltaire and Port Sunlight. The estate had its own schools, hospitals, playing fields, shops, post office and, eventually, an airstrip. Workers lived in brick-built cottages and the estate was ruled as a benevolent autocracy by a man who always wore black tie for dinner, at a table set with family plate and silver - whether he had guests or not.

Gradually, Gore-Browne found himself growing closer and closer to the Black men who served him, and found himself with less and less in common with his fellow White settlers. He began to engage in settler politics, believing he needed to encourage the country to develop in a more collaborative direction than the segregationist Southern Rhodesia and apartheid South Africa.

The estate never managed to make a profit. The soil was too acidic for most crops, and after trying various other sources of revenue, they finally found a stable income in the production of essential oils and citrus blossoms. This source of revenue ended in 1958 when the citrus trees were attacked by a blight.

Stewart Gore-Browne died in Kasama, Zambia in 1967, and to this date is the only white man to have been given a state funeral in the history of Zambia. The eulogy was given by President Kaunda, who had been mentored by Gore-Browne in his youth and supported in his ealy political career and imprisonment by the colonial authorities before independence.

After his death the estate was managed by one of his daughters, Lorna, and her husband John Harvey. They had three children, who grew up at the estate. In 1991, Lorna and John were murdered, probably by ANC members, and in the years afterwards the house fell into disrepair. Recently however it has been partially restored and set it up as a functioning hotel for tourists. Six months before the deaths of the Harveys, they were filmed by the British Broadcasting Corporation travelogue series Pole to Pole, which included actor Michael Palin's visit to the estate.

With the restoration of the house almost complete, its remote beauty is once more accessible to visitors. The grave of Sir Stewart is at rest in the extraordinary African paradise he created. Lorna and John's sons have reintroduced wildlife, and esablished a large cattle ranch. Poaching is under control, and the estate is proving to be a significant source of employment in the area, especially since the house was opened to the public as an exclusive hotel, with just two or three guests at a time.

The life of Stewart Gore Brown is charted in the book 'The Africa House' by Christina Lamb.