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 1895 by the American Scout Frederick Russell Burnham.[1] Zimbabwe's biggest power plant, Hwange Thermal Power Station was built here in the 1980s. Today the coal for the whole country is transported by the mining railway to Thomson Junction, where it is handed over to the NRZ.
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.
The town lies on the railway line from Bulawayo to Victoria Falls. It is around 100km from the town of Victoria Falls.
Contents |
In June 1972, the deadliest mining disaster in Rhodesian (now Zimbabwean) history took place when an underground explosion occurred in Wankie No.2 Colliery. Four hundred and twenty-six miners lost their lives - three hundred and ninety Africans and thirty-six Europeans.[2] Apart from the one hundred and seventy-six Zimbabweans who died, there were ninety-one Zambians, fifty-two from Mozambique, thirty-seven from Malawi, thirty Tanzanians, nine from South West Africa, four from the Caprivi Strip, and one from Botswana.[3]
Botswana, Zimbabwe and Mozambique signed an agreement to develop a railway for the export of coal to Technobanine Point near Maputo.
|
||||||||||||||