75th Anniversary - 1968
75th ANNIVERSARY OF THE OCCUPATION OF
MATABLELAND Postage stamp issued 4th November, 1968
The stamp issue was released to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the
capture and occupation of the Matabeleland capital of Bulawayo on the
4th November, 1893.
The Rhodes’ Pioneer Column of 1890 was based on the Rudd concession for
the purported right to occupy the area to the north of the Ndebele
kingdom and resulted in the occupation of Mashonaland. Lobengula, the
chief of the Ndebele, however believed that he still had the right to
raid the Mashona tribes as he and his father, Mkilikazi, had done since
the 1860’s. However this brought the Ndebele people into conflict with
the white settlers. Following raids by the Ndebele on the Mashona people
around Fort Victoria, the Administrator of Mashonaland, Leander Starr
Jameson, put together and expeditionary force of 400 settlers and
invaded Matabeleland.
After the significant battles at Bembezi and Shangani, Lobengula set
fire to his capital city and fled towards the Zambezi River. A column of
200 men under Major Patrick Forbes set off in Lobengula’s pursuit. A
small detachment of 34 men under Major Allan Wilson was sent across the
Shangani River, but were cut off from the main force due to heavy rains
causing the river to flood. The Ndebele warriors subsequently attacked
this small force and wiped it out, and so was born one of the legends of
Rhodesia.
Meanwhile Jameson occupied what was left of Bulawayo and raised the flag
of the British South Africa Company on 4th November, 1893. The modern
city of Bulawayo was built on the site of Lobengula’s kraal and has
consequently become the provincial capital of Matabeleland province and
Zimbabwe’s second city.
This stamp issue is the second to have been released to commemorate the
occupation of Matabeleland. The first issue was released on 4th
November, 1943, to commemorate the 50th anniversary. Due to the Second
World War the stamp that was released had to be printed in South Africa
and remains the only stamp printed there.
The three stamps issued for the 75th anniversary is described from the
printed stiffener included in the Post Office’s first day cover, and
reads:
3d. This stamp depicts the raising of the British South
Africa Company flag on the 4th November, 1893, near the deserted kraal
of Lobengula, the last of the Matabele kings. The kraal was called
Gu'Bulawayo, from which the present City of Bulawayo derives its name.
9d. The main motif is the coat of arms of the City of
Bulawayo superimposed over a view of modern Bulawayo. The City has lived
up to its motto "Si Ye Pambile", Let us go forward, as steady progress
since 1893 has led to it becoming the thriving industrial and commercial
heart of Matabeleland.
1s6d. This denomination depicts the equestrian figure
of Allan Wilson. The illustration is taken from the frieze of the
memorial to the Shangani Patrol and its leader Allan Wilson, all of whom
were annihilated in an heroic engagement during the Matabele War of
1893. The memorial is situated in the Matopos Hills close by the grave
of Cecil John Rhodes in a setting of stark granite hills, at a place
known as the "View of the World".
The Royal Philatelic Society of Rhodesia held an international
philatelic exhibition from 4th to 6th November, 1968, called MATAPEX 75,
for which a special postmark was produced by the Post Office.
