Suburb Names We Don't Know
The 40 Bulawayo place names whose origin has never been explained here, with whatever clues we have so far.
For twenty years the Bulawayo suburb-names list has carried the same line beside 40 of them: “we are still looking for it, if you know it you can submit it here.”
We are still looking. Some of these names are probably simple: an estate, a farm, a developer’s choice. Others may hide a person or a story that someone’s grandparent knew. All of them belong to people’s addresses, their birthplaces and their childhoods. If you know where any of them comes from, or know someone who might, please tell us. We will credit you by name if you wish.
The names
- Belmont
- Cowdray Park: Shares its name with the Sussex estate of the Viscounts Cowdray. Is there a connection, or is it a coincidence?
- Donnington
- Donnington West
- Douglasdale: On the road to Old Bulawayo, Lobengula’s first royal town.
- Eloana
- Enqameni
- Enqotsheni
- Fagadola
- Glencoe
- Granite Park
- Harrisvale
- Helenvale
- Highmount: The Herald notes that Highmount, next to State House, was first set aside for the Indian community. That is history, but it doesn’t explain the name.
- Hume Park
- Hyde Park: Shares its name with the London park. A Hyde Park Presbyterian School in Bulawayo is mentioned in NADA (1958).
- Intini
- Kilallo
- Killarney
- Kingsdale
- Marlands
- Morningside
- Munda
- Newsmansford: Probably Newmansford. The 1971 history of Montrose Girls’ High School refers to “Newmansford School”, seven miles from Montrose. A Mr Newman’s ford?
- Nketa
- Northlea: A Bulawayo school of the same name, Northlea School, has its own chapter in the 1980s history of Rhodesian senior schools. That chapter may explain the name.
- North Lynne
- Ntaba Moyo: Possibly the same place as Mtaba Moya, which the original list includes within Fortunes Gate.
- Orange Grove
- Parkview
- Queensdale
- Richmond
- Selbourne Park
- Southdale
- The Jungle
- Waterlea
- Westgate
- Westondale
- West Somerton
- Willsgrove
What helps
- An old document. A title deed, an estate plan, a council notice, a sales brochure or a newspaper cutting that gives the name and why it was chosen.
- A family story. “My grandfather farmed there, and it was named after…” Tell us, and tell us who told you.
- A correction. If one of these is spelled wrong, as Newsmansford probably is, tell us that too.
See also: Bulawayo’s Suburb Names, A to Z.
Sources
- The original Bulawayo suburb-names list, c. 2005–09.
- The Herald (Zimbabwe), “Suburbs, street names origin explained” (Highmount).
- Montrose Girls’ High School chapter, Rhodesian senior-schools history, c. 1982 (Newmansford School).
- NADA No. 35 (1958) (Hyde Park Presbyterian School).
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.