Chronicle Editor
Lumbidzani Dima, Chronicle Reporter
BULAWAYO’s Richmond suburb resident Mr Garven Davidson (59) remembers the good olden days like the back of his hand.
He remembers vividly playing with his friends in a nearby bush, which was later turned into a dumping site popularly known as Ngozi Mine.
Mr Davidson has lived in Richmond suburb since 1965 when he was still a toddler.
The Richmond resident was part of the 20 residents who were honoured by the Richmond community and the Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) department of Public Affairs and Religious Liberty recently.
They were presented with recognition certificates and grocery hampers.
Mr Davidson said Glenville Estate, Windsor Park and Richmond were merged to form Richmond suburb.
“This place is a wonderful place to live in because when we were young Bulawayo was not this big.
“Richmond was out of town and was not under the city council,” said Mr Davidson.
He said many people wanted to live out of town because the plots were big and they could engage in farming.
He said the suburb was later incorporated into the Bulawayo City Council area.
Mr Davidson said he was told by his parents and some older neighbours about the first farm to grow tobacco in Southern region
“There was a farm called the ‘Homestead’ at Glenville Estate which was the first in Matabeleland to grow tobacco,” said Mr Davidson.
He narrated how wonderful the place used to be before being taken over by BCC.
“It’s still a nice place to live, but when I was a young boy, it was a very wonderful place because we had space, there were lots of bushes around so we had our freedom. There was a windmill, a tennis court and a caravan park close by. We were those children who knew what fun was. Most people had horses, there were stables, there was actually a horse-riding school in Windsor Park where children from across would go for horse riding lessons. During weekends, there would be a horse race from Fort Street in the city centre to Glenville Estate, but that cannot be possible nowadays as there is no space and there are many cars,” said Mr Davidson.
He said opening a dumpsite near the suburb has reduced the value of their homes.
“However, since change is everywhere and we cannot run away from it, the change in the suburb is the same as what is happening in the whole country. I remember when the roads were still tarred, driving along Glenville Drive, Princess Road and Founders Road was more like moving on a carpet, they were so good. The stands are becoming smaller, the plots have been subdivided. Ngozi Mine is too close to us; it is a dirty place, some people call it the Richmond dump site making others think that the whole of Richmond is a dump site, thus reducing the value of our properties,” he said
Mrs Dojiwe Masuku (70) who has lived in the suburb since 1983 said she wishes to resuscitate the old Richmond which had a strong women’s group called Thuthukani.
“The group consisted of every woman around the suburb and it brought all households together. We all knew each other, but now we do not know some families. I hope one day things can go back to how they were in the past,” she said.
Mr Nicholas Moyo said residents of Richmond live peacefully despite the fact that they are of different races.
“There is no unity like this one, there is love and care in our suburb. There has never been a fight between neighbours, people respect each other’s spaces, we only see such fights happening in other suburbs on social media,” he said.
Mrs Doreen Gunn (92) said it pains her that the name Glenville has been forgotten especially by the young people.
“Glenville village had its own post office and its own shops, but later it was incorporated into the Bulawayo municipality. It was, however, a good move as they gave us street lights” she said.
Bulawayo Central MP Mrs Nicola Watson and Ward 2 councillor Joyce Ndlovu commended the residents for their unity.
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