Sir Charles Cecil Farquharson Dundas (1884–1956) was a British colonial administrator, Governor of Uganda from 1940. He was the fifth son of Charles Saunders Dundas, 6th Viscount Melville.

Life

Dundas was district commissioner of the Moshi area in

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...

during the 1920s. In 1930 he founded the Kilimanjaro Native Cooperative Union. He popularised the area's coffee production, and was given the title Wasaoye-o-Wachagga (Elder of the

Chagga The Chaga or Chagga (Swahili language: WaChaga) are Bantu-speaking indigenous Africans and the third-largest ethnic group in Tanzania. They traditionally live on the slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro and eastern Mount Meru in both Kilimanjaro Regi ...

). He noticed that, in Chagga society, care of the

furrow A plough or plow ( US; both ) is a farm tool for loosening or turning the soil before sowing seed or planting. Ploughs were traditionally drawn by oxen and horses, but in modern farms are drawn by tractors. A plough may have a wooden, iron or ...

s was a prime social duty. If a furrow was damaged, even accidentally, one of the elders would sound a horn in the evening (which was known as the call to the furrows). The next morning, townspeople would leave their normal work and set about the business of repairing the damaged furrow. Dundas became very popular and respected during his stay at Moshi. When he left Moshi for the last time by train to Tanga and ship to Dar es Salaam, the Chagga reputedly hired a band to accompany him on board the ship and serenade him on his journey. As the boat sailed into Dar es Salaam harbour, the band apparently struck up ''

God Save the King "God Save the King" is the national and/or royal anthem of the United Kingdom, most of the Commonwealth realms, their territories, and the British Crown Dependencies. The author of the tune is unknown and it may originate in plainchant, b ...

''. Later on, Dundas was Governor of the Bahamas for eight years, to be replaced by the

Duke of Windsor Duke of Windsor was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 8 March 1937 for the former monarch Edward VIII, following his abdication on 11 December 1936. The dukedom takes its name from the town where Windsor Castle, ...

. Dundas then became Governor of Uganda. Dundas is buried in Kensal Green Cemetery.

Bibliography

*Sir Charles Dundas, ''Kilimanjaro and Its Peoples'', 1924

Notes

British governors of the Bahamas Governors of Uganda 1884 births 1956 deaths 20th-century Bahamian people 20th-century British politicians British people in British Taganyika {{UK-gov-bio-stub