Growth and Affluence, 1946–57

Although farmers generally did well out of the war, they did not envisage dramatic improvements after the cessation of hostilities. When the Natural Resources Commission visited the district, the local spokesmen had stressed the precarious nature of agriculture; when the Government began to consider post-war settlement schemes, the North Marandellas Farmers’ Association doubted its wisdom, since they believed that agriculture would be very insecure after the war, that there would be insufficient social and health amenities for an influx of settlers, and that there was still no guaranteed market for their produce.1 The history of boom and slump in the tobacco industry had seared the growers’ collective memory and few believed that British buyers would continue to purchase Rhodesian tobacco once the special requirements of the war were over.2 But this pessimism was proved entirely misplaced. A massive influx of immigrants arrived in the colony and rapid infrastructural developments provided facilities for them. The tobacco market held, the demand increased, and prices rose. Marandellas was very much part of this exciting bonanza.