THE DEVELOPMENT OF RHODESIA. 287 



Rhodes contemplated the extension of the main trunk line from 

 Bulawayo via Gwelo and the Zambezi to Lake Tanganyika as part 

 of his great Cape-to-Cairo scheme. After an unsuccessful attempt to 

 obtain the cooperation of the Imperial Government in this under- 

 taking, the various mining and exploration companies were ap- 

 proached, and sufficient funds Avere raised for the construction of 

 the first section of 150 miles. It was also decided, while the railway 

 was being pushed northward via Gwelo, to construct a line from 

 Salisbury to meet the northern extension. The line from Bulawayo 

 to Gwelo was begun in May, 1899, but its continuation w^as inter- 

 rupted by the Transvaal war. Although the northward extension 

 was thus stopped, the viligant and vigorous directors of the Rhodesian 

 Railways (Limited) decided to extend the line from Salisbury to- 

 vrard Bulawayo, and by January 1, 1902, the 188 miles from Salis- 

 bury to Gwelo were completed and open to the public. After peace 

 had been proclaimed, and the line from Cape Town could be used for 

 transport of railway material, the construction of the line from the 

 Bulawayo end was proceeded with, and on December 1, 1901, 

 six months after the Salisbury extension had reached Gwelo, Cape 

 Town and Beira were in railway communication. Thus the Rho- 

 desian Railway- system became a connecting link in a through system 

 of South African communication from coast to coast. 



This Rhodesian highway may be regarded as the vertebral system of 

 the colony. In an old and settled country the general direction of a 

 railway s^^stem is mainly determined by the recognized importance of 

 the towns and localities which it connects. But in opening up new 

 territories, while the topography must needs have a determining 

 mfluence, the problem is one also of the j^otential ; the call is for 

 prevision — for a prudent anticipation of industrial centers and of the 

 general growth of the community. 



These conditions have been well satisfied in the route chosen. The 

 alignment of the Rhodesian sj^stem follows the trend of the healthy 

 uplands, wdiere the British born may settle and form permanent 

 homes. Already several thriving townships are found along the 

 route of the main railway. The effect of rapid and cheap communi- 

 cation soon became manifest in the noteworthy development of 

 Bulawayo. The line from the Cape reached Bulawayo some eight- 

 een months before Salisbury was connected Avith the coast. Al- 

 though the township of Bulawayo was three years younger than 

 Salisbury, it soon exceeded the latter in population and in the num- 

 ber and size of its ]:>uildings. The streets are well laid out, and the 

 buildings are both handsome and costly. Government House, built 

 originally as a private house by INIr. Rhodes after the style of Groote- 

 Schuur, on the slopes of Table Mountain, is on the site of Lo Ben- 

 gula's old kraal. An extensively laid out park connects it with the 



