inBUSINESS Issue 12

TOURISM
A Journey Through History Unveils Old Gaborone
TUDUETSO TEBAPE tells how a tour of Botswana’s capital can range from an aura of
the eerie to heroes of the liberation struggle
A tour of Gaborone with the Botswana Society tells seldom told stories of heroism and patriotism through THE CITY’S monuments and old
buildings. These monuments and historical sites scattered around Botswana’s capital also unearth little known stories about Botswana and its people.
They are a peak into the history of the nation that evokes a sense of pride and wonder. But some of the sites are actually places that people pass by
every day, unaffected by the wealth of information and history that could teach us just how much the city has developed since all those years ago
when construction began in 1964.
On a separate occasion prior to going on the Botswana Society’s tour, a conversation with historian Fred Morton reveals some of the appeal of
Gaborone that most people tend to miss. “The bottom line, in terms of the unique quality of this capital city, is that it is the only African capital built
from scratch after Independence or at the moment of Independence,” the historian says.
“In other words, it’s a capital which Batswana chose to build. Except Addis, any capital you want to name - Nairobi, Dar-es-Salam, most African
countries inherited their capitals. And they were stuck with the arrangements and the relegation of Africans to particular sections and so forth.
Gaborone does not have any of that.”
Professor Morton has been an eminent member of the University of Botswana’s history department on an off for 21 years. He thus speaks with
authority. He is also a member of the Botswana Society and adamant for inBusiness to go on this tour so that the magazine may help open the city’s
archaeological treasures for people to appreciate. We agree.
The National Museum and Art Gallery
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On Independence Avenue, the National Museum and Art Gallery
was established by archaeologist Alexander ‘Alec’ Campbell (16 April
1932 – 24 November 2012) with the support of the government in
June 1967 but was officially opened by then Acting President Dr. Q.
K. J. Masire in September 1968. Campbell was Director Emeritus of
Botswana's Department of Wildlife and National Parks. He became
the first curator of the museum.
Of particular interest at the museum are artifacts of Botswana’s
colonial past, including a passenger car from Rhodesia Railway whose
racially segregated train used to carry people from Mafeking in South
Africa to Bulawayo in Rhodesia (Zimbabwe). Nearby an ox drawn
wagon harks back to what used to be a common mode of transport in
Bechuanaland and independent Botswana’s early days. An old Shell
paraffin pump tells the story of what an arduous manual task it must
have been for the attendant to serve customers a commodity that was
in use in almost every household.
Main Mall
Although we did not go to the Main Mall, we spoke
about the city’s oldest shopping centre that was designed
to be the pedestrian experience that it is to-date.
The vision behind its design was for it to be the city
centre with everything going up around it, including
the Town Hall, Parliament, schools, and the one
hospital then. At the corner of Independence Avenue
and Botswana Road lies Gaborone’s oldest church, the
famous Trinity, of the UCCSA denomination.
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www.inbusiness.co.bw | Issue 12 | 2017