Gore, Ethiopia
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Gore () is a town in south-western
Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...
. Located south of Metu in the Illubabor Zone of the
Oromia Region Oromia (, ) is a Regions of Ethiopia, regional state in Ethiopia and the homeland of the Oromo people. Under Article 49 of 1995 Constitution of Ethiopia, Ethiopian Constitution, the capital of Oromia is Addis Ababa, also called Finfinne. The ...
, this town has a latitude and longitude of and an elevation of 2085 meters. Gore is known for its
honey Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several species of bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of pl ...
. The map attached to C. W. Gwynn's account of his 1908/09 triangulation survey of southern Ethiopia shows that Gore had a telegraph station. During the 1960s experimental tea plantations were started around Gore, and a number of them thrived. The Gummaro plantation near Gore, with 800 hectares, is the largest tea plantation in Ethiopia."Local History in Ethiopia"
The Nordic Africa Institute website (accessed 27 November 2007)
The town is served by Gore Airport. Captain Esme Nourse Erskine, the British Consul at Gore (1928-1936), developed the aerodrome and produced “Flying Directions Kurmuk to Gore (1932).


History

Gore was founded in the nineteenth century, growing up around '' Ras'' Tessema Nadew's
palace A palace is a large residence, often serving as a royal residence or the home for a head of state or another high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome whi ...
. The Russian explorer Alexander Bulatovich stopped here 21 November 1896, expecting to meet ''Ras'' Tessema, who was away campaigning against the Mocha; ''Ras'' Tessema had not returned when Bulatovich left on 31 December. With the growing prosperity of the port town of Gambela, and the growth of the Baro River route to
Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...
, Gore likewise prospered, holding two market days a week. Richard Pankhurst describes the pre-
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
community as having five foreign trading concerns -- "two Greek, one Syrian, one British and one German"—engaged in the export of coffee, wax, and to a lesser extent animal hides, and the import of cotton cloth, salt, and other manufactured goods. Civet cat oil was also a significant export at the time, Pankhurst noting that ''Ras'' Tessema exported 42 kilos in 1910. On 9 July 1927, the Greek nationals T. Zewos and A. Donalis were awarded a contract to link the town and Gore by road with Gambela, a distance of 180 kilometers. However, the road from
Jimma Jimma () is the largest city in southwestern Oromia Region, Ethiopia. It is a special zone of the Oromia Region and is surrounded by Jimma Zone. It has a latitude and longitude of . Prior to the 2007 census, Jimma was reorganized administrativ ...
to Gore was not yet built by 1935. A trip to
Addis Ababa Addis Ababa (; ,) is the capital city of Ethiopia, as well as the regional state of Oromia. With an estimated population of 2,739,551 inhabitants as of the 2007 census, it is the largest city in the country and the List of cities in Africa b ...
took 20–22 days for pack mules and 14–15 days for riding mules. The mail transport from Gore to the capital departed every Monday at 17.00 while the government telephone line was used also as telegraph connection. Esme Nourse Erskine was the British Consul at Gore from 1928 to 1936. On arrival “Erskine set about building an impressive residency on a hill overlooking Gore, with outbuildings, barracks, and stables for ten special constables, and a pack of hounds” now a ruin. During the Italian invasion 1935-1936, Erskine helped the Western Galla Confederation with their application to League of Nations, in which the Galla (Oromo) chiefs asked “to be placed under a British mandate … until we achieve self government”. The British government declined to forward these applications to the League of Nations. Later Ras Imru Haile Selassie attempted to use Gore as his base to resist the forces of the occupying Italian forces, but hostility from the local Welega Oromo forced him to move from the town late in October, 1936. On 26 November 1936, the Italian 1st Eritrean Brigade occupied the town. During
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
the British War office sent out Military Mission 107 to Cairo in October 1940 under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Courtney Brocklehurst, with Erskine as political Officer, to raise the Galla (or Oromo) people of the Gore area against the Italians with a promise of liberation from both the Italians and the Amhara. However, the Emperor objected to the Mission as he considered that it might lead to the Galla people breaking away from Ethiopia as had been proposed by the Western Galla Confederation in 1936. The Emperor also distrusted Erskine. The Emperor appealed to Churchill, who instructed that it should not proceed, but should be moved to Kenya to assist with the invasion of Ethiopia from the south and priority was given to Mission 101 ( Gideon Force). After
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, Gore served as the capital of
Illubabor province Illubabor (Amharic: ኢሉባቦር) was a Provinces of Ethiopia, province in the south-western part of Ethiopia, along the border with Sudan. The name Illubabor is said to come from two Oromo language, Oromo words, "" and "". "Illu" is a name o ...
, until 1978 when Metu became the capital.


Demographics

Based on figures from the Central Statistical Agency in 2005, Gore has an estimated total population of 12,708 of whom 6,125 were males and 6,583 were females.CSA 2005 National Statistics
, Table B.4
The 1994 census reported this town had a total population of 7,114 of whom 3,322 were males and 3,792 were females. It is the largest settlement in the
woreda Districts of Ethiopia, also called woredas (; ''woreda''), are the third level of the administrative divisions of Ethiopia – after ''List of zones of Ethiopia, zones'' and the ''Regions of Ethiopia, regional states''. These districts are f ...
of Ale.


Notes

{{Authority control Cities and towns in Oromia