Fire guts Queen’s Inn

BURNT down to ashes, a once famous hotel that hosted a young Queen Elizabeth II is now ancient history after it was gutted down by a fire last Thursday.

Tucked away in the heart of Bubi District, about 35km from Bulawayo, was an iconic property that hosted the late Queen Elizabeth II in 1947. At the time, she was a young princess when the royal family visited the country.

At the age of 21 in April 1947, the then-princess made her first royal tour of Southern Rhodesia with her parents – the Queen Mother and King George VI and her sister, Princess Margaret.

Part of that visit took the late monarch to a small establishment in Bubi District, which the community fondly calls Queen’s Inn.

The building was razed to the ground after a gas explosion in one of the rooms.

The inn, a property with several rooms, has been under the care of Ms Janet Gumbo for years.

She has been occupying the property since 1973, and renting out some of the rooms.

Ms Gumbo said the gas tank exploded in one of the rooms rented by an artisanal miner and at the time of the incident, he was not at home.

Chronicle last year visited the property for a sit-down with Ms Gumbo.

At the time, she was frothing with anger after a housemaid had burnt boxes with pictures of the Queen’s visit back in the 1940s.

“The boxes contained pictures of Queen Elizabeth II when she was still young during her first ever visit to Queen’s Inn and some documents that the previous owners of this place left many years ago,” said Ms Gumbo.

“The pictures and documents were important to me because every time tourists came to visit here, I would proudly show the pictures as proof that indeed the Queen had stayed here at Queen’s Inn when she was a young lady.

“I understand the owners of the place changed the name to Queen’s Inn after the visit by the royal family.”

Historical pictures and documents are priceless.

Libraries and museums around the world can pay top dollar to be in possession of such treasures and Ms Gumbo blamed naivety on the part of the housemaid for the unfortunate decision to burn the two boxes.

On Thursday, the place was reduced to rubble.

“I have nowhere to go, the house was burnt down to ashes. All we have are the clothes on our backs. Birth certificates, national identity documents and all other critical documents are gone,” said Ms Gumbo.

“The explosion happened in one of the rooms that a tenant was using. I have no home as we speak.

“Last night (Wednesday) I slept outside in the open. Neighbours and well-wishers have been helpful with food and blankets.”

In its heyday, Queen’s Inn must have definitely been a prime ‘hotel’ fit to host royalty judging by architectural design that dated back to almost a century ago.

On that same land that Queen’s Inn sat on, is a grave marked George Wilfred Vernon, who died on 29 October 1918, at the age of 46.

Ms Gumbo said oral history from her father’s generation has it that the late Vernon’s son established Queen’s Inn years after his father died, making the hotel a prime establishment that had the rights to host a King, Queen and two princesses in 1947.

Ms Gumbo’s family has also for years used the grave site to bury its own family members.

The number of tourists visiting the place dwindled over the years and the local residents simply called it ‘Queens’.

A few institutions like Queen’s Mine, Queen’s Primary School and Queen’s Inn in the Bubi District are named after the late British monarch.