Annie Victoria Cambell

Zimbabwe Death Registers, 1890-1977; Index to Death Register, 1892-1977

• Name: Annie Victoria Cambell
• Event Type: Death Registration
• Event Place: Zimbabwe
• Age: 88
• Relationship to Deceased: Deceased
• Birth Year (Estimated): 1888
• Birthplace: England
• Death Date: 2 May 1976
• Death Place: Bulawayo

Ashley Blake

• Annie Victoria was an incredible lady, my mum has lots of memorabilia from my gran.
• AVC was one of the first pioneer women in N. Rhodesia and she ran the Choma Hotel in Northern Rhodesia.
• She eventually moved to Southern Rhodesia though, for the education of her girls.
• My mum has a clipping regarding the Annual Barotse festival - this was when the people moved to higher grounds to move away from the floods and it was led by the Chief, on the State barge.
• AV was one of the first three white women who journeyed on the barge.

N.R. Pioneer dies

Chronicle Reporter

• A pioneer of Barotseland and Northern Rhodesia, Mrs Annie Victoria Cambell, named after Queen Victoria, died in Bulawayo central hospital on Sunday night.
• She was 89.
• She had lived in Bulawayo for the past 35 years.
• In the early 1900s she made Northern Rhodesia history as the only white woman permitted aboard the Royal Barotse barge, the Naliquando.
• She was received aboard the royal barge a second time, in 1960, when she had a “royal command” invitation from Queen Elizabeth II during that year’s royal visit.
• Mrs Cambell married for the first time at the age of 19, in 1906.
• Her husband, Mr Austen Murray-Williams died two years later.
• She married again in 1915.
• Her second husband was Mr Jeffrey Soane-Cambell.
• They lived at Mongu, Barotseland, for many years, and became close friends of the Paramount Chief of Barotseland, Sir Mwanawina Lewanika 1.
• Her husband, fluent in several African languages, was in charge of labour recruiting for Northern Rhodesia and South African mines.
• When he died in 1942, Mrs Cambell and her two daughters moved to Bulawayo, and made it their home.
• Mrs Cambell was affectionately known as “Queenie”.
• Queen Victoria gave her royal permission for her to be christened Annie Victoria - the queen’s Christian names - because she was born on the Queen’s golden jubilee.
• The request to use the names was made by her parents, the Rev. and Mrs Horace Orford.
• The Orford family could trace a direct descent back to 1067.
• When, later, the family emigrated to South Africa, Mr Orford became principal of St. Andrew’s College Bloemfontein.
• When the Cambell family lived in Barotseland, the only highway to the Victoria Falls was the Zambezi river, and the only public transport, the African-paddled barges.
• Mrs Cambell is survived by her daughters, Miss Nancy Cambell, and Mrs Cynthia Weeden of Salisbury, and five grandchildren.
• A memorial service is being arranged in St John’s Cathedral.