The Club
The Club was the social centre of Mwadui. You had to buy coupons to use its facilities.
Doc was a party animal and was always in the thick of the sometimes wild shenanigans that went on here from playing rugby with a cushion, filling the band instruments up with beer and playing them to taking all the bar furniture out and hiding it..
Doc's favorite tipple was scotch and lime-juice, an acquired taste after he used lime-juice to mask the brackish water in the early days.
In the early days Doc would have the days diamond take delivered to him in the club. The diamonds would be in a Craven-A cigarette tin. Doc smoked Craven-A's and was prone to chain smoking when in nervous situations.
The new swimming pools opened in 1957 with all modern ammenities. The small learner pool was the first to open.
The two swimming pools at the top of the nine hole golf course were a mecca for us kids.
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The new cinema, part of Doc's "big expansion" in the mid fifties. This complemented the swimming pool, golf course, tennis courts and social club.
The old open-air cinema with it's bench seats could get quite cold as the night progressed.
There was a regular bus service round the mine.
Left: Buddy Hide getting on the bus for the Shinyanga market and in the rollover photo it's the Van Rooyan kids getting the bus to school. The bus did a weekly run to the Shinyanga market on Satudays.
Looking east towards Sackville Rd from outside our house in Hopley Ave, now Kawawa Ave, all the roads were laid with red murram, a hard rock & clay compound rich in iron, as were most roads in tropical Africa. They had to be graded reguarily because of ruts building up. The water bowser did the rounds daily during the dry season in an attempt to keep the dust down.
The new bus was a great improvement on the previous one which had split seats with very itchy stuffing, a noisy engine and bone shaking suspension. All part of Doc's "big expansion" program.
Swimming Pool
The swimming pool up by the golf club was opened late in 1956, replacing the cement-lined water tank by the Power House.
Bud & Dot Hide relaxing by the pool.
Photos from the Hide family collection ©
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1957 and at last the pool opens. Fountain not working or lights errected but hey, we have water.
Doc was against building the swimming pool as he thought scantily clad women would be bad for African morals. He thought the more erotically sensasional films shown at the outside cinema were bad enough!!
Happy days
I am the black trunks nearest the camera
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Happy days
Where we learned to swim using the inner-tubes from cars and the dump trucks; who can forget the spoons we had to retreive :-)
Doc was against building the swimming pool as he thought scantily clad women would be bad for Native African morals. He thought the more erotically sensasional films shown at the outside cinema were bad enough!!
With the lights installed later the swimming pool stayed open till 10.00 all year round.
Dusk was about 19.00 all year round
Souvenir pint mug from Mwadui
Mwadui Football c1956
The football ground was located just outside the African quarters in Mwadui.
Blacks v whites in 1957 watched by a large crowd. The blacks were barefoot while the whites wore plimsolls.
Photo from the Hide family collection ©
The Duka
Hanging out at the Duka [General Store]1955
The duka was run on a non prifit basis.
Photos from the Hide family collection©
The Duka, with the new bus outside.
My teacher Ms Freda Dent at the Duka
Photo from the Hide family collection ©
On board Mike Croft's Land Rover. We used to do a lot of target practice using .22 rifles with Mike
and now and again drive round the airstrip culling the Bambi's [Thompson Gazell's]
Hopley Avenue, now Kawawa Ave
Our house, on the left in Hopley Avenue, now Kawawa Ave, just in from Sackville towards the golf course.
The Hide family, Buddy Hide, Richard, David and Peter holding Bonzo the dog in 1955.
First night there mother left her slippers on the floor, mistake!! Sure enough, in the morning she was stung by a scorpion.
Av.Rainfall 738mm or 29" Rainy Season: Oct - April
Hottest Season: Oct - January Av Temperature Max 34º C ( 93º F) Min. 18º C ( 65º F)
Coolest Season: June - August Av. Temperature Max.29º C (85º F) Min 13º C. (55º F)
Hyena's & Jackal's scavenged for food during the nights, kicking over the dustbins. Scorpions could be found under almost every rock and snakes were prevalent including Black Mamba's. The Black Mamba get their name from the interior of their mouth as the skin is various shades of grey/green. They move extremely fast and have "don't mess with me" written all over them.
The Avenue was planted with colourful Flamboyant trees and Acacia's.
Charlie brings out the afternoon tea & of course Bonzo the dog, a present from Dr Williamson, wants his share as well.
Bonzo was one of Doc's Dachshund offspring which he gave to us shortly after we arrived. We in turn gave Bonzo to Jaquie Harvey/Besbier next door when we left Mwadui in 1958.
The house behind Charlie is where the Johnson family lived.
David Hide digging the black volcanic soil down the side of the house with a little help from his friends
Below: David Hide talking about his father, Buddy Hide, who escaped from Hong Kong on Christmas Day 1941.
In the garden tending the chickens.The garden's were bordered with the Manyara bush [ Euphorbia tiraculli ]
which has a milky sap that is very irritating to the skin and eyes. Rearing chickens was a hazardus busines with the vultures ever present overhead.
Scrubbing down the kitchen tables & with a family pet in the rollover photo.
Freda Dent shared her bungalow in Hopley Ave, now Kawawa Ave, with teacher colleague Jacquie Harvey.
Jacquie Harvey lived next door and later married Schalk Bestbier and took on Bonzo from us after we left Mwadui in 1958.
Freda Dent & Jack ?? sailing to RSA in August 1956
Louis Staalberg in 29 Hopley, now Kawawa Ave,
The head office & hospital were across the way to the rear.
Louis Staalberg VQ3FN standing by his 3el HF yagi antenna.
Oct/Nov 1957 saw fantastic radio conditions as Solar Cycle 19 peaked.
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Chief Geologist Bert Gerryts was VQ3ES
Louis Staalberg VQ3FN, later N7LS
Grid Locator = KI66TL
Solar Cycle 19
VQ3ES Bert Gerryt's qsl card
VQ3FN Louis Staalberg's qsl card