Esigodini, previously known as Essexvale, is a town in the Matabeleland South Province of

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...

. It is the administrative centre for

Umzingwane District Umzingwane is a district in the northern part of Matabeleland South province in Zimbabwe. It was formerly known as Esigodini District and before 1982 as Essexvale District. Its governing seat is located in the village of Umzingwane. Geography ...

, one of the seven administrative districts in Matabeleland South. It was originally an estate of

Frederick Selous Frederick Courteney Selous, DSO (; 31 December 1851 – 4 January 1917) was a British explorer, officer, professional hunter, and conservationist, famous for his exploits in Southeast Africa. His real-life adventures inspired Sir Henry Rider ...

Location

Esigodini is situated approximately , by road, southeast of Bulawayo, the nearest large city and largest urban centre in the province. The town sits along the Bulawayo–Beitbridge Road, approximately northwest of the town of Gwanda. The geographical coordinates of the town are:20°17'33.0"S, 28°56'17.0"E (Latitude:-20.292500; Longitude:28.938056). Esigodini is located at an average elevation of , above

mean sea level There are several kinds of mean in mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. ...

Overview

Esigodini is the district capital of Umzingwane Rural District Council, which is responsible for running the affairs of the district as a whole. The trading centre is surrounded by ranches and mixed farms. The surrounding communities also host

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

, dams and

tungsten Tungsten, or wolfram, is a chemical element with the symbol W and atomic number 74. Tungsten is a rare metal found naturally on Earth almost exclusively as compounds with other elements. It was identified as a new element in 1781 and first isolat ...

mines. The area has many rivers, although it suffers from long dry season and drought is common in this area. Average annual rainfall is approximately .

Population

According to the 1982 population census, Esigodini had a population of 1,492. The 2012 national population census and household survey enumerated 2,228 inhabitants in the town.

History

The town was officially known as Essexvale until 1982, when the name changed to Esigodini. It was founded in 1894. Prior to the coming of European settlers, the surrounding area was settled by ''Rozi Moyo people'', who had moved here from the area near Gwanda.

Schools

Nearby schools include

Falcon College , denomination = Interdenominational , established = , headmaster = D. van Wyk , grades_label = Forms , grades = 1—6 , gender = Co-educational , lower_age = 12 , upper_age = 18 , pupils = 384 (2016) , campus_type = Rural , houses = ...

, a renowned secondary school for boys and

Mzingwane High School Mzingwane High School is a boys-only government secondary school located in the heart of Matebeleland South as it is the Crown of the Province and it is the only school left in Matebeleland South which is a boys' school. Founded in 1921 in Tsholo ...

, Mvuthu High School, while primary schools are Bayethe, Bezha, Bonjeni, Carlisle, Dobi, Doyana, Dula, Esigodini, Glen Grey, Godlwayo Annex, How Mine, Impu, Inyankuni, Irisvale, Isotsha, Kumbudzi, Longfield, Malungwane, Matopo, Matshetshe, Mawabeni, Mbalabala, Mbizingwe, Mlomoliwoto, Mpisini, Mpofini, Mtshede, Munkula, Mvuthu, . Also nearby, is the Roman Catholic mission school known as ''Sacred Heart Girls School'', a boarding secondary school. This school was founded in 2014 and is run by the Sisters Of The Precious Blood who fall under the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Bulawayo The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Bulawayo ( la, Bulauaien(sis)) is the Metropolitan See for the Ecclesiastical province of Bulawayo in Zimbabwe. History * January 4, 1931: Established as Mission “sui iuris” of Bulawayo from the Apostolic P ...

, and came mainly from Germany shortly after the Second World War.

References

External links

Zanu-PF Heads Meet In Esigodini
As of 15 October 2018. {{Matabeleland South Province Umzingwane District Populated places in Matabeleland South Province