Fortunes Gate
Named from the original property; its gates are said to be those of Bulawayo's original Market Building.
Fortunes Gate has a story in its name. It took the name of the property it was built on, and its gates are those of the original Market Building, the town’s first market hall, built in 1895 on the old Market Square.
What else we know
Wikipedia’s version adds that the property was “formerly owned by James Gilchrist Esq.” We have not found where that detail comes from. Mtaba Moya is counted within the suburb in one place and given as a separate name of unknown origin in another.
What we don’t know yet
Are the old market gates still standing? Who was the Fortune of Fortunes Gate, if there was one? If you have a photograph of the gates, we’d love to see it.
Sources
- Bulawayo’s suburb names, A to M
- Bulawayo — Wikipedia, suburbs table, which reproduces much of the same wording
- ‘Bulawayo: A heritage, cultural tour’, The Herald (first Market Hall, 1895)
Do you know more about this? Corrections, photographs and your own account are all welcome, and a correction is published on the page with the date it was made. Send something in.