Historical Background
In 1897 a siding on the railway line between Mafeking and Bulawayo was named Plumtree. It lies on the watershed of the Western Matabeleland Highveld at an altitude of 1389 metres some 100 kilometres from Bulawayo. During that time, the construction of the Cape-to-Cairo railway was underway and around 1902 the railway had just come through what was then the Bechuanaland Border.
The School itself was founded by the Railway Mission largely to cater for the children of the employees of the old Cape Government Railways at work on the Cape-to-Cairo railway who were resident alongside the line between Mafeking and Bulawayo. As such, the school was subsequently used in service of the children on New Rhodesia and Bechuanaland. The first classes were held in a rondavel situated in the garden of Mr. And Mrs. S. J. Smith whose nine children formed the nucleus of the student body. Subsequently classes were moved to the dining room of the Plumtree Hotel which doubled as the Station Refreshment room. A little later a large room was made available in the customs house.
In 1902 the school moved to the present site. The original 5-acre (20,000 m2) plot was steadily extended so that the school now occupies a one square kilometre site bordering on Plumtree village. Adjacent to the school is a five square kilometre tract of wooded land on which the school has developed dams and this forms a pleasant recreational area for the boys.
Read more about this topic: Plumtree School
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