It is with
great sadness that I have learned through my son, Beck, who with his wife and
two children still lives in Harare ,
of the death of Strath Brown. It was while I was with the Tourist Board
1964-1973 that we first met. Two young men from National Parks, Rob Gee and
Dave Higgins, came seeking advice on establishing a crocodile Ranch at Victoria
Falls . Because of the waiting time of at least four years between
the hatching of crocodile eggs and skin harvesting the project was impossible
without capital input and an auxiliary source of income. It was Strath
who recognised the potential and came to their rescue and sponsorship. On
leaving the Tourist Board I was invited by s group of Karoi farmers to
enter a venture close to my own heart, a resort at Matetsi when I saw more of
Rob and we became great friends. Unfortunately the resort did not
survive "post war" and I had to look elsewhere. I was inveigled
by the lessee of the Rainbow Hotel to go there as manager when there was a
subplot to liquidate it only a short while after. But during the three months
we were there late 1983, Strath graced us with his patronage, bringing large
groups for dinner. I continued at the falls for two years as Secretary for the
Town Council. This was followed by positions in Chinoyi and
Masvingo In the nineties when spending a holiday in Inyanga, I
recall meeting up with Strath at the Troutbeck supermarket My
wife Norna, as editor of a newspaper, was arrested in 2003 and after six months
of in and out of court, we regretfully felt we had to leave and have made our
new home here in Devon, UK
Strath was a
great man and I am proud to have known
him Trevor and Norna Edwards
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