The scramble for Africa accelerated following the Berlin Conference in 1885 as those with any claim to relationships with parts of the continent strove to make treaties with local Chiefs. The Rudd Concession was just one of several being drawn up - the Portuguese in todays Mozambique had signed documents with Chiefs Makoni and Mutasa - but the lure of the British and the preferred conditions they were hearing about made them think twice. My thanks to ZimFieldGuide for their wonderful source of visuals to support these talks.

Build me a man who is straight and true, Whose purpose is straight and clear, Build me a man who will make me laugh, when my heart is gripped with fear. Build me a man who will hold his course, whatever the race he ran, Oh for our country’s greater good Plumtree, build me a man.

Poem written by an anonymous mother … and printed in “The Plumtree Record” - 1946. Photos: Zimfieldguide.com and BSAC records.