A Natural Wonder
The Zambezi River
The Victoria Falls
Formation of the Victoria Falls
People of the Victoria Falls
Enter the Ndebele
Discovery of the Victoria Falls
In Livingstone's Footsteps
Development of the Railway
To the Banks of the Zambezi
Development of the Falls
To The Congo
Development of Tourism
Development of Victoria Falls Town
Recent History
Further Information
Collectables

    
Discover the Victoria Falls with the Zambezi Book Company

To The Victoria Falls

Development of the Victoria Falls



The following text is adapted from 'Sun, Steel & Spray - A History of the Victoria Falls Bridge', researched and written by Peter Roberts and first published in 2011. Please visit the Zambezi Book Company website for more information.



Opening of the Victoria Falls Bridge

The official opening ceremony for the Victoria Falls Bridge took place on 12th September 1905, officially opened by Professor (later Sir) George H Darwin, the second son of Charles Darwin and President of the British Association for the Advancement of Science (now the British Science Association).

The Association had originally been invited to the Victoria Falls in 1902, with the idea of holding their annual meeting at the Falls and plans to develop the Hotel to accommodate several hundred guests. In the event the main part of the tour and official meetings were held in South Africa, with the trip to the Falls as a special excursion. Professor Darwin later describing the honour of opening the Bridge as the ‘crowning glory of the tour.’

Early Arrivals

For the conveyance of the Association party and other special guests the Railway Company ran five special trains at half hour intervals from Bulawayo. The earlier trains arrived in time to enable guests to visit the Falls for sunrise. Mr James Stark Browne travelled with members of the Association on their tour of South Africa and published an account of their travels, recording his arrival at the Falls at 5 o’clock on the morning of the opening.

"The Hotel was situated a short distance off, and thither I bent my steps. From thence the ground, in the direction of the Falls, dropped somewhat, so that a very magnificent view could be obtained over the forest-covered country lying in that direction. Right in front, only a few hundred feet off, was the mighty gorge of the Zambesi, and further on, less than a mile away, I saw the new railway bridge across the river...

"We had no time to go to the Bridge before breakfast, which was ready for us at the hotel. Early as it was, the day was too hot for eating with any appetite; our chief desire seemed to be for drink. I do not think that either the food or the waiting could be called good; but the size of our party must have been a great tax upon the resources of an hotel, so many hundreds of miles from its nearest base of supply."

Following breakfast Browne walked down to the Bridge ahead of the arrival of the train bearing the opening party on the short run from the station.

"At the Bridge, we had half-an-hour to spare before the time of the opening ceremony. The structure was still in an uncompleted state, and in places, where the floor had not been quite boarded over, it was necessary to walk with care to avoid tumbling through... We could see the train in the distance approaching, the engine gaily decorated with flags and greenery. One of our officials was busily giving orders that all who had not violet tickets were to be told to go off the bridge; these violet tickets being the free ones given to the members of the ‘official’ party, while those of the ‘unofficial’ section who had paid for theirs had red ones. Most of the Rhodesian officers, however, declined to carry out these instructions, and we were left undisturbed. This attempt to turn us off the Bridge was a piece of official interference, which was greatly resented and caused much heartburning." (Browne, 1906)

Official opening of the Victoria Falls Bridge

Opening Ceremony

One of the newest 7th Class engines in the country at the time, decorated with two flags (that of the British South Africa Company and the Union Jack), palm leaves and floral dressings, pulled the six coaches which carried the guests for the opening ceremony and then halted on the Bridge for the passengers to alight. Mr Allan Martin Bowes is recorded as the driver. The party was met by Sir Charles Metcalfe and the Administrator, Major Robert Coryndon.

Sir Charles Metcalfe made a welcoming speech and invited Professor Darwin to declare the Victoria Falls Bridge officially open. To conduct the opening ceremony Sir Charles presented Professor Darwin with a special hand-held staff of highly polished Zambezi wood in which was set an engraved representation of the Bridge and a gold plate with inscription, made by Bulawayo jeweller W H Blackler. The staff was designed with a metal loop at the head, and used by Professor Darwin to fuse the connection and officially open the Bridge.

"Then, touching a button with a staff the cord stretching across the roadway was fused and the first train steamed across. The staff which Prof. Darwin used was an exquisite piece of workmanship, made of Zambesi wood and beautifully polished. On the apex of the staff is a disk cunningly engraved, showing a view of the Falls with the Bridge across. The disk is encircled with an enamelled wreath. On the front of the staff is a gold plate upon which is engraved:

"‘Presented to Prof. Darwin, in commemoration of his opening of the Victoria Falls Bridge over the Zambesi River during the visit of the British Association, September 12th, 1905.’" (Scientific American Supplement, Nov 1905)

The following day the Bulawayo Chronicle recorded the details of Professor Darwin’s speech:

"He said it was a most fortunate coincidence that this great enterprise had been brought to a stage at which it was proper to declare the bridge open during the visit of the members of the British Association to South Africa. Thanks to the generosity and care of the [Cape] Government Railways, they had just performed an astonishing journey of 1,700 miles [2,736 km] in luxury and comfort. (Cheers.)

"One could not but feel that it was almost an impertinence that they should have been able to come, in electrically lighted sleeping cars, with restaurant saloons, to a place which the heroic explorers had spent many months in fruitless endeavours to reach. This was a thing which impressed itself on the imagination. Another thing which impressed them as Englishmen was that they were still under the Union Jack. (Loud cheers.)

"But two days ago they stood by the tomb of Cecil John Rhodes in the Matopas, and, amid that scene of wild beauty, all felt that the grave of the man who had thought in continents was fitly chosen. The great enterprise of the Cape to Cairo Railway, of which this bridge is a part, was due to his inception. It seemed nothing short of a fairy tale to stand on this bridge over the Zambesi. It was due to the influence of steam that this great enterprise had become possible, and he couldn’t refrain from quoting the remarkable forecast, written by his great grandfather, Erasmus Darwin, in 1785:

"‘Soon shall thy arm unconquered steam, afar
Urge the slow barge and draw the flying car.’

"How little could the writer of these lines have foreseen that his great grandson should have the honour of declaring a railway bridge open in the heart of equatorial Africa. (Cheers.) Professor Darwin concluded by declaring the Bridge open, touching a button which fused a cord stretched across." (Bulawayo Chronicle, September 1905a)

Many eminent scientists, professors and engineers were present among the members of the Association party, including Sir Benjamin Baker, Sir Colin Scott-Moncrieff, Lord Ross, Sir William Crookes, Sir William Henry Preece, Admiral Sir William James Lloyd Wharton (who died in Cape Town on the return journey) and Sir Richard Jebb (who died soon after returning to England) to name a few. Also among the distinguished guests was a Mrs Agnes Livingstone Bruce, wife of Colonel Alexander Low Bruce and the eldest daughter of Dr David Livingstone.

There was, apparently, much speculation between them as to the exact height of the Bridge above the water. Sir Oliver Lodge, the British physicist, stepped forward with a plan.

"They told him that the height of the Bridge above the water was 310 feet [94.5 m], and he said he would test this by dropping a stone and measuring the time of its fall by his stop watch. A little crowd gathered round him on the middle of the bridge. He had his watch in his right hand and a stone in the left.

"‘Now,’ cried Sir Oliver. He pressed the starter of the watch, dropped the watch into the water and stood staring at the stone. A moment later, without a blush of any exclamation, he turned to the crowd and said: ‘There you are - exactly 310 feet! [94.5 m]’" (Rhodesia Herald, March 1957)

With the opening ceremony complete the train slowly drew forward amid cheers. The main group of guests alighted on the northern bank where they could explore the Palm Grove or visit Livingstone Island. The remainder of the guests visited the Rain Forest, under the guidance of Mr Allen, and then back to the Hotel for lunch, by which time the train returned with the first group and collected the second group for the trip to the north bank.

Mr E Knowles Jordan, in the employment of the Administration at Kalomo, was one of those present on the Bridge and described a hair-raising moment.

"In 1905 the Victoria Falls Bridge was officially opened, and I made one of a party to cross to Northern Rhodesia in the first passenger train. Four or five of us stood on a carriage platform looking at the scenery. As the heavy Pullman cars moved slowly along, a railwayman standing on one of the girders watching the progress of the train suddenly slipped and for a moment it looked as if he would be precipitated into the torrent far below. Fortunately, however, he managed to grip the girder and slowly drew himself into a position of safety." (Northern Rhodesia Journal, July 1951)

Guests were given voucher tickets for the train, tours and meals, issued together with a special commemorative programme.

Steam train on the Victoria Falls Bridge
Steam train on the Victoria Falls Bridge, soon after completion, showing the two tracks originally installed

Evening Entertainment

In the evening the Victoria Falls Hotel served dinner for nearly two hundred guests, after which trips to see the Falls by moonlight were offered. Sir Charles read a telegram from the President and Directors of the Chartered Company, congratulating him on the opening of the Bridge.

"Very fitting that foremost representatives of science should be associated with inauguration of modern engineering. Regret the founder of country is not alive to witness realization of part of his great ideal."

Entertainment was provided by the local Barotse Native Police Band:

"Music was supplied during the evening by the Barotse police band, dressed in Khaki uniforms with red turbans, not one of whom knows a note of music, and are taught by having the tunes whistled to them." (Bulawayo Chronicle, September 1905b)

Mr Browne concluded "I thought they played with a great deal of spirit, only occasionally with too much noise." (Browne, 1906)

Only Professor Darwin and the most distinguished guests had rooms at the Hotel, with many guests being accommodated on the train carriages. The high number of visitors caused service and supply problems for the Hotel, with one member recording: "Had to dine late owing to the fearful crush. Food vile, so dined on bread and marmalade" (Balfour, 1905).

Next page: Death at the Drift

References

Balfour, H. (1905) Diaries of Henry Balfour (1863-1939) South Africa 1905

Browne, J. S. (1906) Through South Africa with The British Association for the Advancement of Science. Spiers, London.

Bulawayo Chronicle (September 1904a) Advert, 3rd September 1904.

Bulawayo Chronicle (September 1904b) The Royal Visit to Victoria Falls. 24th September 1904.

Northern Rhodesia Journal (July 1951) Early Days in Kalomo and Livingstone. E. Knowles Jordan. Vol.1 No.4, p.16-23.

Rhodesia Herald (March 1957) Cabbages and Kings.

Scientific American Supplement (1905) The Opening Of The Victoria Falls Bridge. Harold Shepstone. 4th November 1905. Vol.60, No.1557, p.24941-2.

Further Reading

Roberts P (2020) Sun, Steel and Spray - A history of the Victoria Falls Bridge. Zambezi Book Company.

Sun, Steel and Spray - A history of the Victoria Falls Bridge


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Discover the Victoria Falls with the Zambezi Book Company

'To The Victoria Falls' aims to bring you the wonder of the Victoria Falls through a look at its natural and human history.

This website has been developed using information researched from a wide variety of sources, including books, magazines and websites etc too numerous to mention or credit individually, although many key references are identified on our References page. Many of the images contained in this website have been sourced from old photographic postcards and publications and no infringement of copyright is intended. We warmly welcome any donations of photographs or information to this website.

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