In 1901 when Cecil Rhodes visited Bulawayo for the last time he received two requests, the first from the Chamber of Mines to appoint a Geologist and the second from the Rhodesia Scientific Association who wanted a museum to house their growing collection of minerals. It was suggested that the two bodies get together and on 1st January, 1902, The Rhodesia Museum came into being.
Initially the ‘new’ museum occupied a room at the Bulawayo Public Library which the growing collections soon got too small for. The second museum was opened by Professor G Darwin, President of the British Association in September 1905.
In 1910 a much larger building on the north-east corner of Fort Street and 8th Avenue was donated to the Museum Committee by the British South African Company. This was informally opened on 21st August 1910, although it was not until late November that it was officially opened by the Duke of Connaught.
As the museum continued to grow, the fourth museum, was built in 1922. Designed by Sir Herbert Baker, the entrance porch initially doubled up as the cenotaph. Further extensions were added in 1930 and 1936.
In 1936 the Government, acting on a recommendation made by the Museums Commission, took over The Rhodesia Museum under an Act of Parliament and it was renamed the National Museum of Rhodesia.
References
- Nature Magazine, 1932
- Natural History Museum Zimbabwe