More News from mighty kariba

Series

Series Name

Rhodesian Spotlight

Issue

Issue No.

42

Length of issue (in feet)

1011

Stories in this Issue:

1. 1President of Portugal pays state visit
2. 2In the height of fashion
3. 3for african market only
4. 4Fish to provide sport and food
5. 5Strange Home For Orphans
6. 6More News from mighty kariba

Story

Story No. within this Issue

6 / 6

Summary

Rhodesian Spotlight synopsis: A report on progress at Kafue Railhead and Kariba Gorge with Tsetse control in full flight.
Rhodesian Spotlight Commentary - Up to the North of Kariba, a considerable drainage problem is being overcome before the building of a railhead at Kafue. Everything even remotely connected with the Kariba scheme seems to call for major operations - the levelling and packing down for the Kafue railhead being yet another example. It is in fact by observing such side operations that one gets the truest impression of the whole scheme’s magnitude. And it becomes even clearer how utterly impossible the project was before the introduction of modern equipment. Only comparatively recently have such machines been available to bring reality to vision.
Cutting across the Northern Access Road to Kariba is the Lusito River, and good progress is being made in permanently briding it. Work will be speeded up when the Northern Access Road becomes an all-weather highway.
Meanwhile, at the site of the dam, concrete by the ton is being poured into the abutments at either end of the bridge. It looks like this bridging problem, which the Zambezi so tenaciously resisted, is finally licked, and the steelwork is reaching out to span the pylons.
The suspension bridge allows crossing only on foot - it is believed to be the longest of its kind in the world. Other examples of magnitude are the portals to the tunnels which will bypass the waters of the Zambezi while the dam itself is being built. This is the upstream part of the work, where huge loading machines remove tons of rock with each scoop. Before long all the water which flows over the Victoria falls will pass through here.
At the same time the endless hammer of rock drills echoes along the down stream workings, slowly being pushed forward to meet its opposite number. Hole after hole is drilled ready for the charges which will claw out the solid rock face. And to give you an idea of size, compare the jeep standing in the tunnel.
Strange things seem to turn up at Kariba like this launch for the Native Affairs Department. It will be used to facilitate the removal of the Native population along the Zambezi, when it shows a marked improvement over the present means of transport, the native dug-out canoe.
Another side project is the clearing of Tsetse Fly from an extensive area. This is being tackled by air dusting, a method which has proved its value in Natal. It will open up huge tracts for human habitation and cattle, making it possible to settle a large population where none could live before.

Keywords

Buildings and structures; Transport

Written sources

Movietone boxfile no.1   Used for synopsis

Credits:

Production Co.

Central African Film Unit

Length of story (in feet)

274

This series is held by:

Film Archive

Name

British Film Institute (BFI)

Email

For BFI National Archive enquiries:
nonfictioncurators@bfi.org.uk
For commercial/footage reuse enquiries:
footage.films@bfi.org.uk

Web

http://collections-search.bfi.org.uk/web

Phone

020 7255 1444

Fax

020 7580 7503

Address

21 Stephen Street
London W1T 1LN

Notes

The BFI National Archive also preserves the original nitrate film copies of British Movietone News, British Paramount News, Empire News Bulletin, Gaumont British News, Gaumont Graphic, Gaumont Sound News and Universal News (the World War II years are covered by the Imperial War Museum).

Series held

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