Chipinge, formerly known as Chipinga, is a town in Zimbabwe, located in Chipinge District, in Manicaland, in southeastern Zimbabwe, close to the border with Mozambique.
Location
The town lies approximately , by road, south of
Mutare, the nearest large city.
[ Road Distance Between Mutare And Chipinge With Map] This location lies about , by road, east of
Masvingo,
[ Map Showing Masvingo And Chipinge With Distance Marker] on the road (Highway A-9) to
Bulawayo, Zimbabwe's second-largest city, approximately , further west of Masvingo.
[ Road Distance Between Bulawayo And Masvingo With Map] The coordinates of the town are: 20° 12' 0.00"S, 32° 37' 12.00"E (Latitude:20.2000; Longitude:32.6200). Chipinge sits at an elevation of , above sea level.
[ Elevation of Chipinge Above Sea Level]
Overview
The average annual rainfall in Chipinge is about . The warm climate and high rainfall are well suited to agriculture. The local farmers grow tea, coffee,
and rear dairy cattle. The surrounding mountain slopes are covered with
pine and
acacia plantations. One of Zimbabwe's most famous landmarks, the Birchenough Bridge is located on the Sabi River about , northwest of Chipinge.
[ Map Showing Chipinge And Birchenough Bridge With Distance Marker]
The town is the headquarters of Chipinge District and contain the main offices of Chipinge District Administration and the offices of Chipinge Town Council. Royal Bank Zimbabwe, a commercial bank, maintains a branch in the town.[ Branches of Royal Bank Zimbabwe ] Chipinge is also served by Chipinge Airport, Telone Exchange telecommunications.
Chipinge is divided into five constituencies for election purposes: Chipinge Central, Chipinge North, Chipinge South, Chipinge East
and Musikavanhu.
History
The town was formerly known as
Chipinga. A white settlement began here with the arrival of Thomas Moodie's trek in 1893 and was called
South Melsetter. Melsetter was his family home in
Orkney, Scotland. In 1903 a police outpost was built here and in 1909 a school was built. The settlement was renamed Chipinga after a local chief in 1907 and in 1946 Chipinga received town status. Dairy farming was established early in the 1900s and by 1931 there were two cheese factories in operation. In 1945 a third cheese factory was open in the town but the same year saw the three factories being amalgamated to form one large factory. Cheese production at this facility continued until 1976. In 1983 Dairibord Zimbabwe under Dairibord Holdings opened a dairy factory making sterilized milk "steri" at 323 Ferreira Street. The area around Chipinge was the first place to grow tea in Zimbabwe, when Grafton and Florence Phillips smuggled seeds from
Assam in
British Raj in 1924, while coffee was introduced on a small scale but was not successful until 1950 when a coffee experimental station was established.
Population
According to the 1992 Population Census, the town has a population of 11,582. In 2004, the town's population was estimated at 18,860.
[ Estimated Town Population In 2004] The results of the 2012 census indicate 25,675 residents in Chipinge Town.
Climate
Notable people
See also
-
Districts of Zimbabwe
-
Provinces of Zimbabwe
-
Tongogara Refugee Camp, a refugee camp near Chipinge
