Bedford on Pontoon Crossing, Zambezi River. Barotseland. 1950s. Photo T. Brent Album.

Published December 27, 2019 at 2428 × 2560 in Bedford on Pontoon Crossing, Zambezi River. Barotseland. 1950s. Photo T. Brent Album.

Bedford on pontoon crossing. Barotseland, 1950s. Photo: T. Brent.

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Growing up in Barotseland, N.Rhodesia, in the 1950s.

Barotseland, known today as the Western Province of Zambia, was my childhood home. A small bush station, Senanga, set along the banks of the Zambezi River, where an enterprising veterinarian established the veterinary services site in about 1913-14, on a grassy slope overlooking the floodplain of the mighty Zambezi. The veterinary house and garden had a panoramic view over the river, and here my earliest memories begin. The image is a photograph of a painting by Steve Morgan, District Commissioner, which he painted for my parents in the early 1950s. A kaleidoscope of memories tumble through my mind of a unique wilderness along the Zambesi Floodplain in Southern Africa. Wildlife, birds, insects and little creeping things made life an adventure; occassionally we went on tour with our Dad across the floodplain, as far as the Mashi River and to Katima Mulilo, the Sioma Falls, and once, when I was very young and do not remember the tour, as far as the northwest border. This is a record of our life, and a memory of the Lozi people who live on the floodplain.

Bedford on Pontoon Crossing, Zambezi River. Barotseland. 1950s. Photo T. Brent Album.

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Story List

On Tour, Barotseland Scenes, Senanga Life.

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Growing up in Barotseland, N.Rhodesia, in the 1950s.

The Work & Life of a Livestock Officer, Senanga District, Barotseland, in the 1950s.