Colleen Bawn

Colleen Bawn is a mining and cement-works settlement roughly 59 km east of Gwanda, in Matabeleland South. A prospector pegged a gold claim here in 1895 and named it after an Irish girl he had known — "Colleen Bawn" ("fair girl" in Irish) was also the title of a well-known 19th-century play. Gold mining began in 1905, but after the Second World War limestone became the area's main resource. The limestone is worked by PPC Zimbabwe (formerly Premier Portland Cement, tracing back to 1913), which runs a cement plant on the site that has driven the town's more recent growth.

By Plane

The nearest airport is Bulawayo (BUQ), north via Gwanda.

By Car / Road

Colleen Bawn lies roughly 59 km east of Gwanda.

• PPC cement plant and limestone quarry: The cement works and quarry visible from the main road, in operation since the mid-20th century.

• Gwanda (roughly 59 km west) — provincial capital.
• Matobo National Park (north of Gwanda, near Bulawayo) — rhino and rock art.
• Bulawayo (north) — second city.