Beatrice is a farming community in the province of

Mashonaland East Mashonaland East, informally Mash East, is a province of Zimbabwe. It has an area of 32,230 km2 and a population of approximately 1.73 million (2022). Marondera is the capital of the province. Demographics The province has a history ...

, Zimbabwe. It is located about 54 km south-west of

Harare Harare ( ), formerly Salisbury, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Zimbabwe. The city proper has an area of , a population of 1,849,600 as of the 2022 Zimbabwe census, 2022 census and an estimated 2,487,209 people in its metrop ...

on the main Harare–

Masvingo Masvingo, known as Fort Victoria during the colonial period, is a city in southeastern Zimbabwe and the capital of Masvingo Province. The city lies close to Great Zimbabwe, the national monument from which the country takes its name and clos ...

road where it crosses the

Mupfure River Mupfure River is a river in Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bor ...

. According to the 1982 Population Census, the village had a population of 1,300. The village was named after the Beatrice gold mine, around which it grew. The mine was in operation from 1895 to 1945 and was named after Beatrice Borrow, the sister of Lieutenant Henry J. Borrow, a member of the

Pioneer Column The Pioneer Column was a force raised by Cecil Rhodes and his British South Africa Company in 1890 and used in his efforts to annex the territory of Mashonaland, later part of Zimbabwe (once Southern Rhodesia). Background Rhodes was anxious to ...

. The original Beatrice Mine was pegged by Frank Johnson & Company, Henry J. Borrow being a partner of the firm. It was extremely lucrative, with a gold vein over a metre wide that yielded over five ounces (150 g) of gold per tonne when operations began in 1895. The European settlers also established Beatrice Farm, a large ranch that may have been populated with cattle which they had looted from the

Ndebele Ndebele may refer to: *Southern Ndebele people, located in South Africa *Northern Ndebele people, located in Zimbabwe * Sumayela Ndebele (Northern Transvaal Ndebele), located in South Africa Languages *Southern Ndebele language, the language of ...

. Gold is still mined at the Joyce Mine nearby. Mixed farming and dairy farming take place in the surrounding area. It is suggested that Beatrice played an important role in the development of agricultural and is often coined "the father of farming". General consensus amongst the Shona people is those who were/are born in Beatrice have superior farming capabilities along with intellect and the ability to always be right. In March 2009, Prime Minister

Morgan Tsvangirai Morgan Richard Tsvangirai (; ; 10 March 1952 – 14 February 2018) was a Zimbabwean politician who was Prime Minister of Zimbabwe from 2009 to 2013. He was president of the Movement for Democratic Change, and later the Movement for Democrati ...

's vehicle was involved in an accident which led to the death of his wife,

Susan Susan is a feminine given name, the usual English version of Susanna or Susannah. All are versions of the Hebrew name Shoshana, which is derived from the Hebrew ''shoshan'', meaning ''lotus flower'' in Egyptian, original derivation, and severa ...

, on the Harare–Masvingo road near Beatrice. She was taken to a hospital in Beatrice where she was pronounced dead. The area gained further notoriety in August 2011, when a fire broke out at Alamein Farm, a 5000-hectare property which had been requisitioned from the owner in 2003 by retired General

Solomon Mujuru Solomon Mujuru (born Solomon Tapfumaneyi Mutusva; 5 May 1945 – 15 August 2011), also known by his nom-de-guerre, Rex Nhongo, was a Zimbabwean military officer and politician who led Robert Mugabe's guerrilla forces during the Rhodesian Bush ...

and his wife, Vice-President of

Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...

Joice Mujuru Joice Runaida Mujuru (née Mugari; born 15 April 1955), also known by her nom-de-guerre Teurai Ropa Nhongo, is a Zimbabwean revolutionary and politician who served as Vice-President of Zimbabwe from 2004 to 2014. Previously, she had served as a ...

. The General and another officially unidentified person died in circumstances that many commentators suggest were suspicious.{{cite news, url=http://www.timeslive.co.za/africa/2011/08/21/mujuru-death-no-accident, title=Mujuru death no accident, work=The Times, location=Johannesburg, date=21 August 2011

References

Populated places in Mashonaland East Province