Colleen Bawn | |
|---|---|
  Colleen Bawn Location in Zimbabwe | |
| Coordinates: 21°00′00″S29°12′36″E / 21.00000°S 29.21000°E Coordinates: 21°00′00″S29°12′36″E / 21.00000°S 29.21000°E | |
| Country |  |
| Province | Matabeleland South |
| Districts of Zimbabwe | Gwanda District |
| Municipality | Colleen Bawn Town Council |
| Elevation | 3,133 ft (955 m) |
| Population (2020 Estimate) | |
| • Total | 2,492 |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (CAT) |
| Climate | Cwa |
Colleen Bawn is located in Gwanda District, in Matabeleland South Province, in southwest Zimbabwe. It is approximately 59 kilometres (37 mi), by road, east of Gwanda, the provincial and district headquarters. [2] This is about 191 kilometres (119 mi), by road, southeast of Bulawayo, the nearest large city. [3]
This location lies on Highway A-6, the main road between Bulawayo and Beitbridge, at the international border with the Republic of South Africa. The coordinates of the town are:21° 0' 0.00"S, 29° 12' 36.00"E (Latitude:21.0000; Longitude:29.2100). [4] Colleen Bawn lies at an average elevation of 955 metres (3,133 ft), above mean sea level. [5]
Colleen Bawn is supplied with water from Geelong Weir on the Mzingwane River, fed by releases of water from Silalabuhwa Dam, on the tributary Insiza River. The town grew up around the Colleen Bawn gold mine. The prospector who pegged claim to the mine in 1895, named it after an Irish girl with whom he had been acquainted. The mine was opened in 1905 but after the Second World War, limestone became the focal mineral in the area. The limestone is mined by Pretoria Portland Cement, who operate a cement factory on the site and have been responsible for recent growth in the town. [6]
According to the 1982 Population Census, Colleen Bawn had a population of 1,427. In 2004, the population of the town was estimated at 2,545. As of 2020, the population of the town was estimated at 2,492 inhabitants. [7]
The Pretoria Portland Cement company, is planning to construct a 32 megawatts solar power plant at the location of its cement manufacturing factory in Colleen Bawn. 16 megawatts of the output of Colleen Bawn Solar Power Station will be consumed by the cement factory, and the remainder will be sold to the Zimbabwean national electricity grid. [8]
Bulawayo is the second largest city in Zimbabwe, and the largest city in the country's Matabeleland. The city's population is disputed; the 2012 census listed it at 653,337, while the Bulawayo City Council claimed it to be about 1.2 million. Bulawayo covers an area of about 1,707 square kilometres in the western part of the country, along the Matsheumhlope River. Along with the capital Harare, Bulawayo is one of two cities in Zimbabwe that is also a province.
Matabeleland South is a province in southwestern Zimbabwe. With a population of 683,893 as of the 2012 census, it is the country's least populous province. After Matabeleland North, it is Zimbabwe's second-least densely populated province. Matabeleland South was established in 1974, when the original Matabeleland Province was divided into two provinces, the other being Matabeleland North. The province is divided into six districts. Gwanda is the capital, and the Beitbridge is the province's largest town. The name "Matabeleland" is derived from Ndebele, the province's largest ethnic group.
Modern-day Matabeleland is a region in Zimbabwe divided into three provinces: Matabeleland North, Bulawayo and Matabeleland South. These provinces are in the west and south-west of Zimbabwe, between the Limpopo and Zambezi rivers. The region is named after its inhabitants, the Ndebele people. Other ethnic groups who inhabit parts of Matabeleland include the Tonga, Bakalanga, Venda, Nambya, and Khoisan. The population of Matabeleland is just over 34% of the national total. The major city is Bulawayo, other notable towns are Plumtree, Hwange and Gwanda. The land is particularly fertile but dry. This area has important gold deposits. Industries include gold and other mineral mines, and engineering. There has been a decline in the industries in this region as water is in short supply. Promises by the government to draw water for the region through the Matabeleland Zambezi Water Project have not been carried out. The region is allegedly marginalised by the government.
Beitbridge is a border town in the province of Matabeleland South, Zimbabwe. The name also refers to the border post and bridge spanning the Limpopo River, which forms the political border between South Africa and Zimbabwe.
Insiza is a constituency of Zimbabwe in the province of Matabeleland South. It is a rural area. Insiza district lies to the South East of Bulawayo in Zimbabwe and borders Gwanda district to the South, Zvishavane to the east and Umzingwane district to the West. The total distance between Insiza and Bulawayo is 77 km and 469 km from Harare. The district is mostly in natural region four. This region experiences fairly low total rainfall (450–650 mm) and is subject to periodic seasonal droughts and severe dry spells during the rainy season. The rainfall is too low and uneven for cash cropping except in certain very favourable localities, where limited drought resistant crops can afford a side-line. The farming system, in accord with natural factors, should be based on livestock production, but it: can be intensified to some extent by the growing of drought resistant fodder crops.
Gwanda is a town in Zimbabwe located 126 kilometers south east of the city of Bulawayo, Zimbabwe's second largest city. It is the capital of the province of Matabeleland South, one of the 10 administrative provinces in the country. Gwanda's largest and oldest suburb Jahunda derives its name from the original Kalanga speaking inhabitants of the region who were known as Majaunda, a name derived from the words "Ja" meaning to eat and "Unda" meaning to move or go; a reference to their nomadic pastoral way of living as observed by later inhabitants. Towns and districts surrounding Gwanda include Mbalabala, West Nicholson, Filabusi, Esigodini and Matobo.
West Nicholson or Tshabezi is a village in the province of Matabeleland South, Zimbabwe. It is located about halfway between Zimbabwe's second largest city, Bulawayo, and the border town to South Africa, Beitbridge, along the main road and rail link to South Africa.
Lonely Mine is a village in Matabeleland North, Zimbabwe and is located about 84 km north-east of Bulawayo, just north of Inyati. It was established in 1906 when gold was discovered in the area. Gold, nickel and tungsten are still mined in the area today.
Brunapeg is a settlement in the Matabeleland South Province of Zimbabwe. It is one of the urban centres in Mangwe District, one of the seven administrative districts in the province.
John Eppel was born in Lydenburg, South Africa. He moved to Colleen Bawn, a small mining town in the south of Southern Rhodesia, at the age of four. He was educated at Milton High School in Bulawayo, and later attended the University of Natal in South Africa, where he completed his English master's degree in 'A Study of Keatsian Dialectics'. He married at the age of 34 and has three children; Ben, Ruth and Joe. His ex-wife, Shari, is a poet and prominent human rights activist. Eppel teaches English at Christian Brothers College, Bulawayo.
The A6 is a highway in Zimbabwe running from Beitbridge to Gwanda and Bulawayo.
Blanket Mine is a village and mine in the province of Matabeleland South, Zimbabwe. It is located about 15 km north-west of Gwanda and 140 km south of Bulawayo. The village grew up around the eponymous gold mine and provides a residential and commercial centre. Its population at the time of the 1982 census was 1,346 people.
Hima Cement Limited (HCL) is a cement manufacturer in Uganda. It is a subsidiary of LafargeHolcim, a building materials manufacturer headquartered in Switzerland, with subsidiaries in over 80 countries.
Hwange District is an administrative district in northwestern Zimbabwe, in southern Africa.
Matabeleland South Volleyball Association (MSVA) is the governing body of volleyball, beach volleyball and other forms of volleyball in Matabeleland South, province of Zimbabwe. It represents the interests of the provincial club volleyball.
Umzingwane is a district in the northern part of Matabeleland South province in Zimbabwe. It was formerly known as Esigodini District and before 1982 as Essexvale District.
Bulawayo Thermal Power Station is a 90 MW (120,000 hp) coal-fired thermal power plant located in the city of Bulawayo in Bulawayo District in the Matabeleland Province of Zimbabwe.
The Colleen Bawn Solar Power Station is a 32 MW (43,000 hp) solar power plant under development in Zimbabwe. The project is owned by Pretoria Portland Cement Limited, who own a cement factory in Colleen Bawn and plan to consume 16 megawatts of the electricity generated and sell the rest to the Zimbabwe national grid.