Redcliff

A Rhodesian town with a heart of steel

Redcliff town centre
Redcliff town centre

.Redcliff is Rhodesia’s steel capital.  Situated 16 km from Que Que, no town of comparable size in Rhodesia has  experienced  more rapid development in recent years up to 1976, and few towns outside the major centres can boast a three-star hotel and a fully equipped tarred airfield.

Hotel Redcliff - three star luxury
Hotel Redcliff – three star luxury

Despite all the commercial development that has gone on in neighbouring Gwelo and Que Que, Redcliff can still claim the two tallest buildings in the Midlands, a comprehensive and modern shopping area, a new administrative centre and elaborate shopping complex.  The town, in fact, came of age in August 1974 when the Minister of Local Government elevated the local authority to the status of a town council.

A typical home in Redcliff
A typical home in Redcliff
Palm Court, this block of flats is the tallest in the Midlands
Palm Court, this block of flats is the tallest in the Midlands

Redcliff is not a typical steel town of grimy buildings and belching smoke stacks. With its neat houses and spacious , colourful gardens, it resembles more a garden city. It is one of Rhodesia’s youngest towns. The present population exceeds 20 000.  It was established in the early 1940s when Rhodesia’s embryo iron and steel industry moved to the area from Bulawayo after twin deposits of iron ore and limestone were discovered there.

Council offices at Redcliff
Council offices at Redcliff

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The first “local authority” was the Village Advisory Committee which held its first meeting in October 1949. But the committee did little more than advise, since the township was actually administered by the steel company, then known as the Rhodesian Iron and Steel Commission (now Rhodesian Iron and Steel Company, independent of Government control).

Development was steady but, in the past five years, the the town has surged forward.  (Value of building plans in the past three years has topped R$5,5 million), By 1970, the Village Committee had qualified for elevation to the status of Local Board and, by August 1974 had acquired full Town Council status with the council eventually assuming from Risco full control of town affairs..

 

Part of Redcliff's commercial centre
Part of Redcliff’s commercial centre
The Impala Grill in Redcliff
The Impala Grill in Redcliff

Focal point of Redcliff is its modern town centre which has been planned as a traffic-free area.  It is due to be completed in 1976 at a cost of $2,5 million and will include a luxury hotel, two multi-storey blocks of flats, town council offices, a library, two-level supermarket, motor service station and a variety of shops and other commercial enterprises, including banks and building societies.

There is no senior school in Redcliff, pupils travelling to nearby Que Que, but junior and primary schools offer first class facilities. Over $80 000 was recently spent on a new classroom block to cope with an increased demand for places.

The clubhouse at the Alan Lowry golf course at Redcliff
The clubhouse at the Alan Lowry golf course at Redcliff

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A $40 000 redevelopment of the golf clubhouse was opened in 1975 and the original nine holes course has been extended to a full 18.  The town’s first squash courts were also opened in 1975 and a new tennis pavilion has been added to the wide range of sports facilities available. Redcliff also has a theatre and drive-in cinema.

Although Rutendo has a population of 3 000, the major African township in the area is Torwood which houses Risco’s African employees and has a population of about 12 000.  It is one of the most modern African townships in the country, with its residents enjoying a standard of living difficult to match elsewhere.

It is a self-contained community, with its own hospital, senior and junior schools, hotel, banks, community centres, cocktail bars and two shopping centres. Housing is of the highest standard and there are facilities for golf and tennis, as well as the soccer and athletics usually associated with an African community.

Redcliff 1 : 50 000 scale map extract
Redcliff 1 : 50 000 scale map extract

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Click here for an account of the RISCO steel works.