ABSTRACT
The boom in the manufacturing industry in Salisbury in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s in Rhodesia demanded stabilized inflows of controllable labour. African labour (contract and long-term) had been in existence in the Harare township from as early as 1900. Harare township (now Mbare) was built some five kilometres from the centre of Salisbury in the south. In the east, Harare township is bordered by the Mukuvisi River and in the southwest by the industrial areas. Within the township of Harare (Mbare), the colonial government built quarters or brick houses for married families (MaOld Brikisi), and flats for masses of workers (Majubeki). These architectural designs were created with the intent to control African migrant labour and to monitor as well as limit the movement of Africans within the township. To some degree, the colonial governments succeeded in “fencing off” Africans from European-designated areas. However, the colonial governments’ desire to control the physical and cultural movements of Africans was not always fully realized. In the physically built environment of Mbare such as the Magaba area, some Africans appropriated the township space to engage in informal but thriving economic business. Others initiated African-led political associations at Stodart Hall that gave birth to nationalist movements. At a cultural level the “spiritual” architecture of Harare township was dominated by African dance, song and drama, through which Africans expressed their contradictory desires to domesticate the township space and shape it in ways that worked for them.
