The Phillipses left Umtali in a Model T Ford at 7 a.m. with sandwiches
only, assured by the optimistic driver that they would reach Melsetter by
afternoon. By 5 p.m. they had done less than 60 miles, and after they had
wrestled with tyre and major engine troubles it was dark, and they had to camp
beside a large fire in the veld until daylight when they could see to carry on
with the repairs. Getting going again, they got to within seven miles of
Rocklands, and John Martin sent oxen to tow them in. It was a glorious day in
May, and the leisurely drive at ox-pace enabled them to appreciate the beauty of
the mountains. At Rocklands they were received with the warmest hospitality, and
Mrs. Martin�s calm acceptance of them, complete strangers, was impressive: she
already had several other unexpected guests besides her own large family: two
ladies who came in a buggy, a young man on a horse, and an old neighbour with
his granddaughter and her tiny baby. After supper Mrs. Martin took Mrs. Phillips
through her garden to see the most superb view of the Chimanimanis by moonlight.
Next day, towed again by the oxen, they arrived at Melsetter Hotel, six bedrooms
in a row along a small verandah, with a tiny bar and diningroom at one end. For
bathing the hotel resources were a saucer bath and a tin of hot water.
Another outstanding Open House was the F. E. Cronwrights�. Cronwright
came to Gazaland as a young man in 1896, and managed a store at Jersey until he
and Mrs. Cronwright moved to their Melsetter home, known today as Beverley Park.
Mrs. Cronwright�s hospitality and kindness are remembered with warm affection;
her own large family kept her very busy, but she welcomed overnight visitors at
any time and generously gave away petrol boxes of assorted fruit and vegetables.
When her eldest son, Wilson, was widowed, she cheerfully took on the care of his
little daughters Rose and Frances. She had a Spider cart for travelling around
on nursing duty, and ran an outpatients� clinic for Africans.
A feature of the year was the loyal welcome to the Governor on his
visit, and the C.C. reported that relations between the two European sections of
the community were very pleasant, and, though times were very bad indeed, a
distinctly hopeful feeling prevailed owing to the attitude of the new Government
to the district.
The F.A. arranged a farmer�s day annually in May on Empire Day, which
it was hoped would develop into an Agricultural Show, with exhibitions of
produce, sports for the children, and a dance in the evening.
Scholarships
and grants were of great value to children from homes where money was so scarce.
From Springvale School in 1924 Walter Smith was given a grant to go on to Umtali
High School: his father�s farm had been in quarantine for A.C.F. for over four
years and was likely to be for at least another year and he was unable to sell
cattle.
In 1925 all Std. V pupils were eligible to enter for Junior Beit
Scholarships, thought to be a record for a Rhodesian farm school; all three came
from homes where Afrikaans was the mother tongue but their English was almost as
good as if it were their home langugge. Cremer had the art of getting the best
out of his pupils, and the children caught much of his enthusiasm and enjoyed
their lessons; he brought them in in the afternoon to supervise their homework,
the work throughout the school was of a high order and bore ample evidence of
skilful teaching, and parents were delighted with the progress. Throughout his
six years at Springvale Cremer did consistently good work and it was entirely
due to his efforts that all his pupils were so well advanced and his school
maintained its position as one of the most efficient farm schools.
At the end of 1925 Cremer took leave to study for higher qualifications,
and Springvale school lasted for only one more year. When Condy inspected it in
September 1926 he found it very disappointing and the standard of work very
poor. When he told the teacher that the Government would not pay good money for
bad work she admitted neglect and promised to do better, but there are no
further records of the school.
At Melsetter School the boarding hostel, which had remained closed
since 1922 in spite of urgent appeals from bodies such as the F.A., was reopened
in January 1925 with Mrs. Hall as the Lady Principal and Superintendent and her
sister Mrs. Paxton as Matron.
With another heavy rainy season travelling was once again very
difficult and there were many complaints about the roads. As no motorcars could
get through Marthinus Martin was sent to borrow Frik Smith�s mule-wagon to
transport the children to Umtali schools. Marthinus rode off from Rocklands, and
the little stream just before Springvale was so full that it took him on his
horse downstream for 100 yards before they could get out on the other side.
Smith came in with his wagon and the party set off: an old lady, Betty Hall, and
a number of boys. They had a terrible time: the wagon had to be pulled through
the mud, the harness and trekgear kept breaking through being wet all the time,
and it took over a week to get to Umtali.
Jimmy Ward and other scholars from Chipinga took two days to get by car
to Melsetter where they stayed at the Roses� house, then occupied by Charles
Stumbles and Dr. Plowright (doing locum tenens for Dr. Rose on leave). They took
off in a light wagon drawn by mules escorted by John Martin on horseback. The
first day they reached Rocklands, and proceeded by slow stages, waiting at each
of the main rivers for the floods to subside, and eventually three of them
walked the last 30 miles into Umtali three weeks after leaving home.
Many High School boarders were a month late and three teachers,
travelling in a Whippet Overlander, left Melsetter on 24th January and
only managed to reach Umtali on 3 1st, with their diet on the arduous journey
consisting mainly of native rice.
Social activities were severely curtailed: no picnics, no walks, no
sport; the Civil servants were reduced to playing ping-pong in the Courtroom;
the mail coaches and goodswagons were unable to get through, and people were
down to the barest necessities brought over the mountains by carriers and shared
out very sparingly. Things like sugar and candles became precious, and whisky
and cigarettes a dream of the past. The weather cleared at last, and when the
first mail came through the whole population turned out to greet it down at the
drift.
Armistice Day was celebrated with an English Fair,
sideshows, two minutes� silence, sale of work and produce, gymkhana, fancy dress
carnival and dance.
The postal and passenger services were regularly
described as a disgrace, and hopes of improvement were raised, only to be dashed
again, when the Minister of Mines & Public Works told Parliament in June
1925 that it was interesting that Melsetter, perhaps the worst served of any
closely settled district and whose postal facilities were more than bad, was to
have had the fastest mail and passenger service in the country as
arrangements had actually been made for a regular aeroplane service, but
the machines went wrong and the project had to be abandoned.
The Financial News described Melsetter�s timber
resources and mentioned the prospect of a proposed railway line to link up with
the Beira line at Muda, and a private firm was reported to have established a
weekly motor lorry service between Umtali and Melsetter, but nothing came of
these schemes.
In January 1926 the Mail Coach only managed twelve
miles out of Umtali before it had to turn back
because of the washed-out road, but by April an improved twice-weekly
service was in operation.
In 1927 Zeederberg�s long association with
Melsetter ceased when full motor mail services started. The service was divided
into two routes, with Rhodesia Railways operating directly to Chipinga, and
Frikkie Heyns fulfilling the postal contract to Melsetter. He ran the service
with the latest model Dodge commercial vehicle, aimed to do the mountain route
in 12 hours, and charged a flat rate of �1 per 100 lbs to or from Umtali. In
1928 the Railways Road Motor Service took over the twice-weekly Melsetter run
and Heyns became an R.M.S. driver with the reputation of always being able to
get his lorry through.
An enormous improvement on the road was slowly
taking place as bridges, thanks to the Beit Trust, were built over the rivers,
which were such an advance on the drifts that travellers accepted their
awkwardness and difficulties as a matter of course: along the winding road one
suddenly came upon the steep descent to a narrow cement bridge just wide enough
for one vehicle, with light low guard rails on each side, and an equally steep
rise at the other end.
~~~000~~~
