For some, the name Bulawayo evokes a sense of exoticism and intrigue. This city, the second largest in Zimbabwe, carries a rich history, and at its heart stands a testament to a bygone era: The Bulawayo Club. Originally opened in 1895, this establishment sought to emulate Gentlemen’s Clubs found elsewhere in the world, most notably in London. Rebuilt in the 1930s, the club only opened its doors as a hotel to non-members in 2008, and is now once again operated by its members.
Bulawayo City Hall
To truly understand the Bulawayo Club, one must also understand the city in which it resides.
Bulawayo: The City of Kings
Bulawayo is the second largest city in Zimbabwe, located in the country's Matabeleland region. The city's population is disputed; the 2022 census listed it at 665,940, while the Bulawayo City Council claimed it to be about 1.2 million. Founded around 1840 by Gundwane Ndiweni as the kraal of Mzilikazi, the Ndebele king, Bulawayo was initially known as Gibixhegu. His son, Lobengula, succeeded him in the 1860s, renaming it koBulawayo and ruling until 1893, when British South Africa Company soldiers captured the settlement during the First Matabele War. The grand architecture and spacious boulevards tell a story of colonial grandeur, significant standing, wealth, investment, and historical pride.
Historically, Bulawayo was the principal industrial center of Zimbabwe, producing cars, building materials, textiles, and food products. The city is nicknamed the "City of Kings" or "kontuthu ziyathunqa"-a Ndebele phrase for "smoke arising"-due to its historically large industrial base.
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However, since the late 20th century, Bulawayo has faced economic challenges, including underinvestment and de-industrialization. Despite these hardships, the city has sought to re-invent itself as a 'heritage city', preserving its Victorian architecture and industrial past.
Architectural Grandeur
The Bulawayo Club’s main entrance leads from the bustling Bulawayo streets through a white-pillared balcony and into a huge lobby. The foyer has been divided into distinct seating spaces with a variety of cushioned and antique leather pieces. The huge fireplace dominates this spacious room, which boasts high ceilings, mahogany-wood wall paneling, and polished wooden floors.
From the entrance, a large mahogany staircase leads to The Bulawayo Club’s upper levels, or you can utilize the original vintage lift. The elevator has a grille and an uneven floor.
Beyond the large wooden doors there is a dimly lit interior where foreboding portraits of stern looking men look down from mahogany panelled walls. The creaking of the floorboards echoes in the silence; the hushed tones make even our breathing sound too loud. Huge bound ledgers sit upon a central desk, speaking of days gone by: a members’ register, a ledger for suggestions, a betting ledger which records wagers between members.
At times we feel we are inside one of England’s great stately homes, at others wandering through an art gallery or maybe a museum, but stray down a different corridor and we are in the backrooms of a railway company’s offices in 1965.
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Such renovations as have been carried out have served to restore and retain rather than reinvent: antlered heads of beasts watch over proceedings, probably still disapproving of the fact that women are now welcome too.
Vintage Elevator
This is BULAWAYO ZIMBABWE: The city of VICTORIAN Buildings that tell TALES
Accommodation and Amenities
The residents’ lounge on the first floor features comfortable seats, a self-service tea and coffee bar, and a TV. The Lobengula Lounge, which also contains the bar, is located on the same floor and is a pleasant spot to unwind before dinner. Out in the hall the members’ ledger has entries on page one from decades ago, the suggestions book goes back still further. One guy on a laptop sips his beer in silence, the girl behind the counter smiles sweetly but is slow to serve. There’s a language barrier before we get as far as a Windhoek beer and a G&T, yet the stock behind the bar is distinctly international: several Scotch whiskeys, Gordon’s gin, Tia Maria. Rose’s lime juice.
The Bulawayo Club’s 15 en-suite bedrooms, including two suites, are located on the second level. As the grille opens on the second floor, he is already there, as if he’s teleported ahead of our ride, on Floor Two faster than the creaking elevator can make it. All are light and airy, with high ceilings and Oregon pine floors. Simple furnishings include a double or twin bed covered in pure white linen, an upholstered armchair, and a writing table and chair. There is additional hanging space and shelving for clothing storage. Each room has a ceiling fan and a direct-dial telephone, and they all have a television.
In Room 12, the vaulted ceilings are high, the windows with their cracked paint look out on to the city, the oversized silver taps show tarnished Victorian splendour above the moulded bath. Drapes billow even though the windows are closed. Wooden wardrobes with nylon tassels on the handles stand in corners, a writing desk invites the composition of letters home from explorers or pioneers. The toilet flush requires biceps to activate, takes an age to refill.
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With white tiles on the walls and floors, a single sink, a toilet, and a bathtub with a shower connection, the bathrooms are very basic. There are some rooms with separate showers.
A Bastion of History
The Bulawayo Club building is a time capsule of a colonial gentlemen’s club. While the building was erected in 1934, the Gentleman’s Club itself was established in 1895, a year after modern Bulawayo was founded. The old Bulawayo capital city of Ndebele (Matabele) was burnt down in 1893 by King Lobengula. He fled to Zambezi, after British troops slayed down 10,000 Indigenous warriors with machine guns at Shangani and Bembezi.
Like other similar establishments in ex-colonies, the club was established as a social hub for the male white elite; officers of the armed forces and other gentlemen. Ladies were allowed in once or twice a year on special occasions, but they had to enter through a side door. The ground floor did not have a women's restroom. Ladies were not expected in the restaurant, main bar, snooker room or library.
The reconstruction of Bulawayo began almost as soon as the fires were out, with a new British South Africa Company-run city rising atop the ruins of Lobengula's former residence. The company was run by Cecil Rhodes and his brother, who established goldmines and a railway connection to Cape Town, South Africa, in 1897.
It took three more decades until the Bulawayo Club was opened to the public in 2009. The white tablecloth looks pure and pristine in the morning sunlight. Full English Sir? Oh I don’t mind if I do….coffee for me, a pot of tea for the lady. Thank you. It’s almost as if the Bulawayo Club has two characters, just as it would have in its days as a Gentlemen’s Club. By night the subdued lighting and liberal use of mahogany combine to form a dimly lit place with dark corners and even darker secrets.
Bulawayo's Cultural and Historical Context
To further appreciate the Bulawayo Club, it's helpful to understand the city's cultural and historical context.
Bulawayo was founded by the Ndebele king Lobengula, the son of King Mzilikazi, who settled in modern-day Zimbabwe around the 1840s. The name Bulawayo comes from the Ndebele word bulala, translating to "the one to be killed," reflecting the civil war during its formation.
During the First Matabele War in 1893, British South Africa Company (BSAC) troops invaded, leading King Lobengula to evacuate and BSAC to declare Bulawayo a settlement under their rule. In 1897, the town gained municipality status in the British colonial system.
At the outbreak of the Second Matabele War in March 1896, Bulawayo was besieged by Ndebele forces. The settlers established a laager for defense, and relief forces eventually broke the siege.
The grand architecture and spacious boulevards tell their own story, one of colonial grandeur and significant standing, of wealth and investment and of historical pride. Beautifully designed buildings with detailed balconies and majestic porticos border the avenues whose width speak of glamour and power.
Today, Bulawayo boasts several museums, including the railway museum, which houses the Rhodes Coach - Cecil Rhodes’ private mobile living quarters. Cecil Rhodes will, of course, appear again before we leave here.
Immediately outside the electric gates of the club, city life goes on with street vendors scraping a living, discarded plastic littering the gutters and cars with missing fenders or even wing panels snaring a parking lot. In this city of mixed fortunes, virtually every outlet shown on Google maps as a restaurant turns out to be a fast food outlet where the furniture and the food are made from the same plastic. This, though, is the centre of the city, and as our days here unfold we are also to see the wealthy suburbs where grand well-built houses sit in large plots of land, two or three cars on the driveway. Life for some is a struggle beneath these majestic buildings.
The following table shows the demographics of Bulawayo city:
| Ethnic Group | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Black African | 97.96% |
| Coloured | 0.9% |
| White | 0.75% |
| Asian | 0.22% |
| Other | 0.02% |
| Not stated | 0.14% |
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