New amenities were put into use: classrooms, dormitory, ablution blocks, sickbay and staff quarters were added and most of the old buildings were modernised. With the opening of the new road there was much coming and going of visitors, official and otherwise, and a steady stream of young teachers provided first class wives for the bachelors of the district.

Conservation Days were marked by the planting of shrubs and trees to beautify the school grounds and the village. The first was the Nyasaland Mahogany which now provides shade for spectators at the tennis court; other early plantings, and perhaps the most loved, were the Patula pines between the compound and the tennis court which have provided a refuge for young cowboys and crooks and for small girls to set up house.

The older pupils became members of a Young Farmers� Club and travelled round the district visiting farms and estates to be shown the development of natural resources. The kindness and interest shown by their hosts was outstanding, and the far from tuneful strains of �Show me the way to go home� invariably heralded the return to base of truckloads of tired, dirty, but extremely happy Young Farmers.

At the Memorial Hall a second plaque next to the one commemorating the First World War was unveiled in April 1952. During the address a flight of Spitfires flew past in salute. Buglers of Umtali High School Cadet Corps sounded the Last Post and the Reveille.  Prayers were offered and wreaths were laid, and after the singing of the National Anthem, tea was served.

1939� 1945

IN HONOURED MEMORY OF

F. E. EDWARDS    J. P. KRUGER    C. J. NEZAR    G. P. REID

W. J. ROSE    T. F. ROBERTS    L. J. VAN DER LINDE

N. P. VAN DER MERWE    J. P. WATSON    G. B. ZIERVOGEL

MEN OF MELSETTER AND CHIPINGA DISTRICTS

WHO NOBLY RESPONDED TO THE CALL TO ARMS

AND WHO FELL IN THE SECOND WORLD WAR.

GREATER LOVE HATH NO MAN THAN THIS.

In 1953 a public meeting authorised the transfer of �682.13. 11  from the Melsetter Memorial Hospital Fund to the War Memorial Hall. The Constitution for the Memorial Hall was ratified, and a Board of Trustees was composed of the Chairmen of the V.M.B., the F.A. and the W.I.;  later the Chairman of the Library Committee was included.  Mrs. Allott, who as V.M.B. Secretary had previously handled the Memorial Hall affairs, was appointed Honorary Secretary to the Board, a post which she held most efficiently until the end of 1969. The system worked reasonably well as Trustees were able to report back to their own representative organisations, but there were difficulties and a lack of continuity as the Chairmen were elected annually by their Associations.

Some of the capital was spent on major renovations � the stone wall was built; the mud floor of the verandah was cemented and painting and pointing was done; the wall between the library and kitchen was removed, which doubled the size of the Library; library shelves were bought; a new kitchen was built on the corner of the back verandah; mains water was laid on; a lavatory was built on; and the foundations were repaired.

By 1954 rates and insurance amounted to �20 a year, and had risen to �30 by 1960. The Trustees tried hard to avoid frittering away the remaining capital in annual payments, but had little source of revenue. The most regular was from the Farmers� Association, which in 1954 agreed to pay �12 a year for their monthly meetings, but reduced it to �6 in 1964. The Library aimed to pay �24 a year rental, but this was reduced to �3 in 1964. Small fluctuating amounts were received from hiring the hall to committees and societies and for social and political occasions, and from occasional hire of the piano. Religious bodies were sometimes allowed the hall free, and were sometimes charged 5/ - or 10/-, but this brought in very little from the few services held.

 

Mr. and Mrs. Townsend-Green bought the hotel and started in with plans for a luxury hotel. The first sod was turned in 1951 and the foundation stone brought from the Chimanimani Pass, was laid by T.I.F. (later Sir Ian) Wilson, M.P.  On 21st March 1953 the Chimanimani Arms was opened with a lunch party and a dinner and
dance.

 

The opening ceremonies did not go off as smoothly as had been hoped largely because the new main road was still being constructed and the last few miles into Melsetter were appallingly sticky and muddy after overnight rain. Country Club members came in for a meeting that morning and most farmers owned Land Rovers, so local residents arrived at the hotel before the roads were churned up. Parties from Umtali, however, ran into trouble, including B. D. Goldberg, then Chairman of the Board of Directors: near Melsetter the red earth road became a quagmire, a car in front stuck, his party got out to help and were soon covered in mud from head to foot, and then their car also stuck. Eventually they arrived for the opening (after everyone had finished lunch) sitting on a bulldozer and covered in mud. The party in the evening, however, was a great success and the Hotel got off to a good start.

 

 The fact that the road was not properly passable when the hotel was completed was a severe setback. Few visitors reached the hotel, and after six months it closed down and remained closed for 18 months. Having no hotel at all was a handicap to the whole district. The Townsend-Greens relinquished their interest, and when the hotel re-opened it was called the Chimanimani Chalet, later changed to the Chimanimani Hotel.

Captain and Mrs. Allott were responsible for holding Anglicans together, and after services in the Memorial Hall there was talk of building a church, but most considered this a castle in the air with little chance of accomplishment. John Olivey returned from his War service full of enthusiasm for building a church, and he was foremost in getting the building and finishing done as the dream became a fact.

In 1953 it was decided to start collecting funds to build on the stand given by the Government, and many members of different denominations contributed. The plans were designed and drawn by Ted Allott and Jumbo Williams after the old church at Mylore in Cornwall with which it is affiliated and were finalised by architects, and work started in August.

In April 1954 the Foundation Stone of St. George in the Mountains was laid by Bishop Paget, who, as Archbishop, consecrated the Church in October 1956 when the actual building was completed, although much still needed to be done inside.

Gradually the finishing and furnishing was done with voluntary help and gifts from many people. The stained glass window, given by Hallam and Beryl Elton, was found in the Eltons� home in Somerset, where it had lain for half a century. Its origin has not been proved, but it is possible that it came originally from St. Albans, Wood Street, London, which was known as the French Church; two details in the window suggest a French origin: the nun�s coif worn by the Blessed Virgin and the fleur-de-lys design on the linings of St. John�s cloak in the Ascension scene.

Services were conducted by priests from Umtali and by John Olivey as Lay Reader until the Rev. Gordon Kirk was in charge of Chipinga and Melsetter parishes. He was followed by the Rev. Louis Beck, who had been N.C. in Melsetter previously, until ill-health forced him to give up the charge shortly before he died in 1970. Visiting priests now take some services, and some are taken by Robin Plunket as Lay Reader.