Kadoma | |
|---|---|
 Kadoma Townhall | |
Coat of arms of Kadoma Coat of arms | |
| Country | Zimbabwe |
| Province | Mashonaland West |
| District | Kadoma |
| Founded | 1890s |
| Elevation | 1,162 m (3,812 ft) |
| Population (2007) | |
| • Total | 81,000 |
| estimated | |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+1 (CEST) |
Kadoma is a city in Zimbabwe in the Mashonaland West province, 140 km south-west of Harare on the main road to Bulawayo. It was known as Gatooma until 1982.
Gatooma was founded in the 1890s as a mining camp, and constituted under a village management board in 1907. In 1917 the Gatooma municipality was created. The settlement was named after the nearby kraal of Chief Katuma,[1] who is represented on the town's coat of arms by the mountain bearing his name and the chief's badge of office.[2]
The Specks Hotel was opened in 1907, and Jameson High School started the same year when Mrs Amelia Fitt, wife of the first mayor of Kadoma started to give classes to the town children in her house. A public electricity supply was introduced in Kadoma in 1922. The Grand Hotel opened in 1925 and had a sprung floor for dancing, the first such floor in Zimbabwe.
The city is at the centre of a mining area, which provides gold, copper, nickel.The most significant mine of the region is the Cam and Motor Mine, which is in Eiffel Flats 7 km outside Kadoma. Under the present regime, Cam and Motor is owned by Rio Tinto Zimbabwe. Cam and Motor is the largest gold producer in Rhodesia-Zimbabwe's history.
Cotton is raised in the area and there was some development of related industries before 1990. The David Whithead textile manufacturing company was opened in 1952.
Kadoma is at an elevation of 1,162 m (3,812 ft). Its population is 81,000 (2007 est.)[3]
Kadoma is twinned with Stevenage in the UK.
References
- ↑ Room, A. (1997). Placenames of the World (2nd ed.). McFarland. ISBN 9780786422487. Retrieved 2009-02-10.
- ↑ "Coat of arms of Kadoma (Zimbabwe)". Heraldry of the World. Retrieved 2009-02-10.
- ↑ World Gazetteer
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