Zpv!xfsf! bduvbmmz!cpso! jo!BgsjdB!@! Memories of a Rhodesian Childhood by Janet Mason
Copyright You were actually born in Africa? by Janet Mason Published by InterProjects, www.InterProjects.org © 2020 Janet Elleray (née Mason) All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher ([email protected]) except as permitted by US, UK and EU copyright law. Printed by Book Printing UK of Peterborough PE2 9BF, England Glossary Rhodesia – now Zimbabwe Salisbury – now Harare Umtali – now Mutare Inyanga – now Nyanga Inyangani – now Nyangani Mtarazi – now Mutarazi Vumba – now Bvumba Mandea – now Mandeya Shona – pronounced Shoh-nah Acknowledgements Mason and Elleray families for the historic photos and documents Michael, Sarah and Judith for their contributions Diocese of Mashonaland for ‘The Link’ newsletter September 1967 www.rhodesia.me.uk for use of the point of interest map Judith for her concept for the covers Richard, my husband, for advice and type setting this paperback Not least, to our grandchildren for giving me the title!
Memories of a Rhodesian childhood Is it time to go home now, Daddy? I don’t know how old I actually was, probably under 7. I was sitting in a church made of wattle and daub, under a corrugated iron roof with my Mum and my brother, surrounded by the residents of the local community. The service, conducted by my Dad, was High Mass in an Anglican church, using the local language Shona. It was very, very, very long and boring for a youngster like me. One Sunday I must have been particularly bored because, so I was told, that I interrupted my father’s sermon by asking ‘Is it time to go home now, daddy?’ I can only imagine that Mum turned, and gave me the glare of all glares !
So we find ourselves at St. David’s Mission, Bonda - in the Inyanga district of the Eastern Highlands of what was then Southern Rhodesia. The recollections that follow are my memories of an idyllic childhood in the 1950’s and 1960’s in a fairly remote part of Africa. They may not be totally accurate, but I feel it is necessary to have this period recorded, as an account of how life was like in those days. They start when my parents moved there… However, before we go down memory lane, a brief history of Southern Rhodesia follows: Under the terms of the Royal Charter granted to the British South Africa Company by the Imperial Government in 1889, a pioneer force under Cecil John Rhodes set out from South Africa to occupy land north of the Limpopo River. This land became known as Rhodesia and later, Southern Rhodesia. It was granted full internal self- government in 1923. In 1953 Southern Rhodesia entered into a federation with Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia) and Nyasaland (now Malawi). However the federation was broken up in 1963. After years of negotiations with the British government that ended in failure, the Rhodesian government announced a unilateral declaration of independence in 1965. Years of sanctions followed.
A guerrilla war ravaged the country that had once been the ‘bread basket of Southern Africa’. The government succumbed to world pressure. Following elections Rhodesia became Zimbabwe in 1980.
Points of interest referred to later….
St. David’s Mission, Bonda – 1943 – 1958 This was an Anglican mission station in the Inyanga district of Southern Rhodesia (lat 18.45; long 32.60, alt 5,386ft.), founded around 1910 by Canon Christelow, and became the central mission station for the Inyanga area under Canon Broderick. It was made up of a boarding school for girls and a hospital with the staff living on the site. It nestled in a dip between four mountains – Gomo (and Mrs. Gomo) to the east, Bonda Mountain to the northwest, Cross Kopjie to the west and Lion Rock to the south.
Our nearest town was Umtali (now Mutare) about 50 miles to the south (at the bottom of the map of points of interest). Our neighbours were farmers and forestry landowners. The view from Gomo in 1967 The climate at 5,000 feet was hot summers complete with thunderstorms and it could get very cold in winter noticeably with gutie (Scotch mist).
Our parents, Pat and Estelle Mason, came to Bonda in 1943, having travelled out to East Africa separately in 1939, to work as priest and nurse respectively. They met in what is now Tanzania. Dad was then posted to Gatooma in Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe). They were married in Bulawayo on November 17th 1943 by Humphrey Hugh, a cousin of Dad’s. Engagement, wedding pictures and telegrams
Area around Bonda Mission
As priest-in-charge Dad would have been responsible for the day to day running of the Bonda Mission, as well as overseeing the development of the whole site. During his time there, he oversaw the extensive building programme for the girls’ boarding school, as well as going out to villages and townships in the Inyanga area to develop schools locally and spread Christianity. Anglican missions and parishes are grouped together in Dioceses which are led by bishops. In turn these Dioceses form a larger group called Provinces. Bonda was a leading mission in the diocese of Mashonaland, so when the Province of Central Africa was inaugurated, all the visiting bishops and archbishops came to see the work that Dad, Mum and the staff were doing. We had the Archbishop of Canterbury’s wife who planted a tree in the girls’ school to commemorate the visit. Tree planting
Mum kept a visitors’ book which all our guests signed whether they were visiting on business or pleasure. It’s an interesting record for anyone researching into the early years of the church there, and settled many arguments about who came to stay and when. Pages from visitors' book recording the event the + indicates a bishop
The school at Bonda was built with bricks made on the mission site. Members of staff included Stella Mullett (my god-mother) and Natty Freedman. Other names, unfortunately, I don’t recall. School Sports Day at Bonda
Bonda hospital was run by Dr. Denis Taylor. I remember Helen Hicks and Norah Paylor as nurses. The teaching and medical staff came out from England supported by church organisations. Dad learned very quickly how to be a plumber, carpenter, builder, (because there was no one else nearby to do it for you!) how to look after sheep and grow wattle trees, which were sold to the forestry industry and the bark used for tanning leather. At the new house which was built under his supervision and which we moved into about 1950, we kept our own chickens and ducks. He became fluent in the local language, Shona. My brother and I were both born in Umtali – Michael in 1945 and me in 1949. Michael’s first years were in the ‘old house’ at Bonda. I recall only the ‘new’ house on the other side of the mission since we moved there when I was one. Michael, Dad and Tigger
We had no electricity or mains drainage. All our drinking water had to be boiled because it came from a nearby stream. We were self-sufficient in our own fruit and vegetables. Cooking was done on a wood burning stove which also heated our water, while the fridge was run on a paraffin lamp. Mum, Michael and me Space in the fridge was limited so meat and margarine were kept in it. Milk was powdered milk and eggs were stored in a preservative. We didn’t have a washing machine so all the laundry was done by hand with the help of our maid. When the weather was wet Mum used to run the clothes through a mangle to dry them. We used to heat up flat irons for ironing. Lighting was provided by paraffin lamps or hurricane lamps and we always had to have torches handy in each room. Sewage went into cesspits and rubbish into pits, burned and covered. The telephone was on a party line – all the subscribers shared a common line with individual numbers coming off it.
In the evenings we played board games and cards. One of our favourites was ‘Snap’ but Dad was naughty and used to cheat! Another was Slippery Anne which still is played today when the Masons get together! I remember Mum and Dad listening to the radio a lot. Pictures in and around the old house at Bonda Dad, Mum and Michael
Dad, Michael and Tigger Michael up to antics with his favourite bucket !
` Michael And with me in 1950
Shifting rocks with Gomo in the background and building the ‘New’ house
With Mum and Dad With our maids
The blessing of the ‘New’ house Me (left), and with 3 day old lamb and Michael. Note the water tank And the ‘Mud Pie’ place is behind Michael
You can see Dad behind the Queen Mother in 1953. Dad and Mum used to go shopping in Umtali once a month to buy all the requirements, not only for us, but for the whole mission. These trips became highly organised expeditions which included a dental visit during the school holidays. Mum was in charge of family needs while Dad went off to buy the mission requirements. Very often the orders were rung through in advance to the various building merchants and stores to be collected on a certain date (early form of on-line shopping!!!!)
Most of the drive to Umtali was on dirt roads. We nearly always arrived hot and dusty after travelling for probably three hours in our Standard Vanguard car, having left home very early. Meikles was the main store for groceries and clothing. Mum became well known by the members of staff and was treated with great courtesy. I think her reputation preceded her! Dad was afforded the same courtesy from the hardware stores where they had accounts. We treated ourselves to morning coffee in Meikles tearoom, which was our moment of luxury for the month. Fresh coffee, milkshakes for the kids and delicious sandwiches and cream cakes were the bees’ knees in those days and provided us with much needed rest and sustenance after a very early start and that visit to the dentist. The waiters got to know us really well over the years. Then there was the long journey home, whatever the weather! There was a firm in Umtali called ‘Green Motors’ who delivered all sorts of items from cement and building materials to vegetables and raw meat for customers like farmers and the ‘posh’ hotels in the Rhodes Estate part of Inyanga. Shall we say that their organisational skills were not the best! Time and time again the loads were packed in no chronological or logical order meaning that food could be alongside bags of cement!
During the rainy season there was one particularly muddy hill we all had to negotiate. You nearly always got stuck, even with chains on! We all helped each other out. It became known as ‘Sticky Hill’. Michael and I were tutored at home by Mum until we were aged 7 and then went to boarding school. Michael hated home tutoring and preferred to follow the oxen dragging the dam scoop. So Dad gave him a hiding! Michael went to Ruzawi, a primary church school near Marandelas, and then on to Peterhouse High School nearby. I went to Bishopslea School for Girls in Salisbury (now Harare), also run by the church. I hated the first few weeks at school and cried myself to sleep most nights for a while. Then I went on to Queen Elizabeth School in Salisbury, a government run secondary school. Our education was based on the English system, with three terms a year with a short ‘half- term break’ which we spent with family friends close to the schools. We had very well grounded tuition from all our schools.
Bishopslea School for Girls pictured in 2006
As we didn’t come home during term time, we had plenty of catching up to do and we were never short of things to do in the school holidays. We would watch (and maybe ‘help’) if there were some building works going on. I remember walking behind two oxen that were yoked to a scoop as they dragged it over the ground to level the area in preparation for erecting buildings. The attendant Africans were always pleased to see us and we got on really well with them. Otherwise we passed the time exploring the area, either on our bikes or walking. One of our favourite walks was up to a rocky outcrop called Rabbit Rock to look for the dassies (rock rabbits) that lived there, often accompanied by Stella’s dog, Tinker. (We also had a cat, Blackie, and a dog called Tigger which I don’t remember). Another favourite outing was to climb Gomo Mountain with Dad. Mum only came halfway with us as she became breathless due to the altitude.
Once at the top we could admire the fabulous view and watch the pair of Black (Verreaux’s) Eagles as they rode the air currents around the mountain. Dad was a keen bird watcher and kept a record in his ‘Roberts of Southern Africa’ bird book of those he had seen. Other birds that stuck in my memory were those like the secretary birds (seen here), wattled and crowned cranes, black eagles, martial eagles, augur buzzards and other raptors.
I remember the very colourful sunbirds feeding on the nectar from Mum’s salvias while whydah, widowbird and bishop birds were often seen in the reeds nearby, especially in the summer months when the males were in their bright breeding plumage. As it turned out Dad saw lots LBJs (little brown jobs) which I never knew existed! We sometimes went on our bikes (mine was tiny!) to meet Dad as he came back from church. Michael used to tease me about having to pedal really fast to keep up with them. Occasionally we saw snakes, like cobras, puff adders, mambas and boomslangs, so we had to be very careful and always be alert to the danger. Sometimes during the school holidays we would be joined by clergy families with whom we had become good friends, in particular Peter and Yvonne Spencer and their children. During those visits we would go out for picnics to places like the Mtarazi Falls and Honde View. A couple of family holidays were spent at the Mare (Marie) Dam in the Rhodes Inyanga National park close to Mount Inyangani, the highest point in the country. We climbed to the top – 8,504ft. above sea-level (but you started at around 7,000ft.!).
The Spencer and the Mason clans Michael with the Stella’s dog – Tinker – at the Mtarazi Falls
The view from Mount Inyangani Note the typical Mason stance with pipe and stick.
On other occasions, Mum and Dad used to rent a cottage in the Vumba district, close to Umtali. There we used to get mushrooms from a local farmer as a treat - they were a luxury then. I recall hearing the Livingstone Lourie (now Turaco) –a very pretty bird- in the surrounding forests. About every three years Mum and Dad were allowed a longer holiday, over a period of six weeks. We had two holidays at the Wilderness in South Africa. The journeys in our Standard Vanguard were long and uncomfortable, taking at least three nights, stopping off in various towns on the way there and on the way back. A lot of the roads in the 1950s were still dirt, often very corrugated and rough. Everything got so dusty. I remember more about the second holiday.
We stayed in a house between the beach and the railway station in the Wilderness. The steam train ran from George to Knysna along a very scenic coastal route. Whenever we heard the Outeniqua Choo-Tjoe coming into the station we would rush out to greet it. We took a boat out on the lagoon and watched whales spouting out at sea. In 1967 we had our final family holiday as a farewell to the old haunts. We rented a cottage at the Mare Dam in the National Park so we could go walking up Mt. Inyangani again,
Mare Dam
and also to revisit Honde View , and the Pungwe Falls. My Favourite View I didn’t have vertigo in those days !
From the viewpoint we could look out over the Honde Valley towards Mandea. We cooked sausages and other goodies by the Mtarazi River, close to the Falls. Mtarazi River Mtarazi Falls
Earlier I said that the mission nestled in a dip surrounded by four mountains. One of these was Lion Rock because its shape resembled that of a lion. This place, however, always had a sinister feeling about it, whether you approached on foot or drove by. We all felt that we were being watched whenever we were nearby. We were fairly certain it was not a lion but the resident leopard. We never saw it there. These wonderful carefree days were a dream childhood. The freedom to go almost anywhere with no worries is something today’s children do not have. Imagination was the name when it came to making up games. Stick trains was the top game. It involved breaking up twigs into little pieces, with one a little longer than the rest to be the engine. Then we lined them up, one behind the other. Moving each in turn, we would ‘drive’ the train along the route we had carved out of the bank beside the house, making the appropriate train noises at the same time. Michael had a Hornby clockwork train set which he set up in his room at the start of the holidays and it stayed there for the duration. The track ran everywhere - under the bed, between table legs etc. There were stations and sidings and signals. He had a Meccano set with which he used to construct the most amazing mechanical working objects. Mum couldn’t get into his room to clean it! Another highlight was playing mud pies. There was a particularly squidgy area near the house that was perfect for such a game. Letting the mud squeeze between your toes was a little girl’s idea of heaven!
Shona Villages
The agricultural side to the mission involved keeping sheep. They were looked after by local Africans who would take them out to graze during daylight hours and return them to the kraal (pen) at night where they would stay under a shelter made of mud and daub walls and thatched roof. Quite often the leopard would attempt to gain access for a quick and easy meal. On one occasion it got in through the thatched roof and killed a couple of animals. Dad quickly learned to outwit the leopard by placing wire netting under the thatch. We all knew when the predator was around because of the commotion being made by the livestock. Often in the dead of night Mum and Dad would go out to investigate armed with hurricane lamps. Being a crafty beast the leopard would slink off into the darkness. There was one very funny occasion when Dad, as he was examining the damage, was head butted over the kraal fence by the ram which was not happy at being disturbed by the leopard! Dad’s work involved developing the education of all the indigenous population, who lived in scattered communities throughout the area. As you can see on the previous page, their houses were mostly round and built using local products – wattle and daub (mud) with thatched roofs. It was courteous to call on the village chief during the visit.
Together with the Government School Inspector for the Inyanga district, Dad would go off on treks to the remote regions for a week at a time. He had to leave his car at an agreed place and, accompanied by a team of bearers, they would walk to the designated village along the paths that the locals used to move between villages, taking all their camping equipment with them. Sometimes they walked With a school inspector in Mandea area for two days before reaching the village, camping under the stars as they went and putting up with the weather conditions. When the outstations in the Inyanga North became too numerous to manage from Bonda, St. Mary Magdalene’s Mission was established under the guidance of Rev. Elijah Chitsike, an African priest who worked with Dad for many years. He was a great man and good fun to talk to.
School buildings at St. Mary Magdalene To the east, the area in the Honde valley close to the Mozambique border was being opened up by the Aberfoyle and Inyangani tea estates which meant roads had to be built. In the meantime, Dad used to trek down there on foot. He was one of the first white people to be seen in the Honde Valley and at first the inhabitants used to run away from cars. It became impossible to run St. Peter’s, Mandea as an outstation from Bonda. Eventually St. Peter’s would be our new home. During the trekking ‘season’, Dad would leave on a Sunday afternoon, returning on the following Saturday night, often quite late, to conduct Sunday services – a routine that could go on for weeks at a time – while Mum stayed at home to keep an eye on things around the mission. She said that she sometimes felt very isolated when Dad was away.
Pictures of Bonda Church on Palm Sunday
Religious festivals were an important part of mission life. Advent was strictly adhered to. I think Dad had three services on Christmas morning, having celebrated Midnight Mass. The churches didn’t have Christmas trees like we see nowadays, but there might have been some local flowers arranged. Christmas decorations only went up at home on Christmas Eve, usually whilst listening to Kings’ Carol Service on the BBC World Service. Our tree had candles, which were placed very carefully at the ends of the branches, and lit only once when we were present. Other decorations included baubles and tinsel and streamers. Santa always left a surprise for us. Presents weren’t opened until Dad had finished the services, followed by a light lunch. We had no television. We listened to the Queen’s broadcast on the radio. Traditional Christmas dinner was served in the evening. When I was a boarder at Bishopslea School, we had our carol service on the last evening of term quite early in December. The service was held in the courtyard of the boarding house, with the parents sitting downstairs and the children singing from the upstairs walkways. In my last year, I remember singing the descants to O Come All Ye Faithful and Hark the Herald. There were six of us. It was magical to hear our tunes soaring above the rest of the school. I learned those tunes from memory, not knowing from which books the music came. It wasn’t until I came to the UK did I realise the source of the music!
For Holy Week and Easter, villagers from miles around would walk to the mission in time for Palm Sunday and stay for the whole week. For them it was a pilgrimage. Palm Sunday procession Processions with palms took place on Palm Sunday. Maundy Thursday communion service was followed by an all-night vigil in which the residents took part; followed by a three hour service of devotion on Good Friday from 12 noon to 3 pm. Then on Easter Day the church was packed at all the services with much singing and rejoicing. It was quite an experience for a young child to witness.
It was while we were at Bonda that Dad was appointed as Canon of Salisbury Cathedral by the Bishop, Cecil Alderson. In Salisbury Cathedral at Dad's installation as Canon We were very proud of him. Bonda was a wonderful place to grow up. The climate and the scenery were perfect. We enjoyed very happy years there.
St. Peter’s, Mandea – 1958-1960 Dad was asked by the bishop to establish a mission station in the Honde Valley to the east of the Eastern Highlands because the number of schools was growing rapidly and they couldn’t be administered from Bonda. The altitude was 2,000 ft. (lat. 18.27; long. 32.55;); climate very hot, humid and wet. The mission was about five miles from the border with Mozambique situated on the slopes of Mandeya Mountain. Building our house before moving down
Before we could move there, roads down the escarpment had to be built to enable development of the district. Forestry plantations and tea estates played a big part in this, bringing employment to the indigenous population. Negotiating the road works was very challenging, especially in the rainy season as they were all dirt/mud roads and could only be managed in a 4x4 vehicle. It was a twisting, winding pass and very steep at times. Dad had to oversee the building of our new house on the mission station. As you have seen dense indigenous forest had to be cleared to make way for it. (I believe that most of that forest has completely disappeared now!) The classrooms were already there because St. Peter’s was an outstation.
Like the classrooms, the house was built with bricks and mortar made on site. As at Bonda, the cement came down from Umtali. The church was a thatched building supported by poles with no walls. During September 1958, Mum and Dad moved into the house with only the outside doors in place. The windows still had to be fitted. As each room was finished they gradually moved further down the house. My reason for mentioning this is that a leopard lived on the hill up behind the house and we heard it calling regularly. We lived quite happily with it as our neighbour! Our water supply came from the stream that flowed down the ravine. I remember helping Dad with the maintenance of the furrow and water tanks.
On one occasion Dad and Michael were installing a new ball cock (it controls the flow of water into the tank) when they dropped the split pin inside the tank. As I was the only one small enough, they got me to clamber inside to retrieve it. I was so pleased with myself that I ran to tell my little adventure to Mum! Like Bonda we had no electricity but also no telephone. Cooking, lighting and keeping food fresh continued as before as well as boiling all drinking water. We had to be self-sufficient in fruit and vegetables. The one big difference was the temperature. It was very hot all year, and, in the summer especially, humid. Mum did not like it. One year it was so hot that the candles bent over indoors! In the 1950s the Honde Valley was very wild. Being close to the Mozambique border meant that wild life could easily inhabit the area. We weren’t that far from Gorongosa Game Reserve, which in those days, was a haven for wildlife. Before we moved in, a pride of lions paid the neighbourhood a visit.
They were not very welcome because they were helping themselves to the locals’ cattle. Dad was asked to help scare them off or kill them, if necessary. The lion trap Part of this plan included a trap which was built using timber to make a cage with trapdoor and bait. A few days later Dad was summoned as the lion had been caught in the trap. Alas, there was only one outcome. (Relocation didn’t happen then!) The rest never came back !
We acquired the skin but were unable to keep it because it stank too much! So we buried it! I mentioned our resident leopard earlier. When St. Peter’s was still an outstation, Dad and his guide would sleep in the classroom and wake to find its tracks outside. We knew when it had caught a baboon because all hell would break loose. We heard it often when out and about but never ever saw it. That was something very special and, perhaps, explains my affinity to leopards. As at Bonda, the other hazard was snakes... One of the aims at Mandea was to establish a clinic, run by Mum, and then eventually build a hospital. (I think that was done in about 1964 under Arthur Lewis’ stewardship). Mum ran the clinic from a small room near the house.
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