Rooms

The First World War ended in Northern Rhodesia on 25th November 1918 at Abercorn (now Mbala), two weeks after in finished in Europe.

The ones, twos threes and fours of the buildings at The River Club.

Ones:

  • The Family room is named after an African King, Litunga, the paramount Chief of Zambia who, to this day is the only African leader allowed to wear the uniform of an Admiral of the Fleet of the Royal Navy.
  • One chalet is also named after a German General, Paul von Lettow Vorbeck. The First World War ended in Zambia some days after it finished in Europe.

    • Twos:

  • Two chalets are named after painters: Thomas Baines and Captain Cornwallis-Harris.
  • There are two suites with private gardens and their own plunge pools. (Rhodes and Livingstone).

    • Threes:

  • Three buildings are named after children of King George V who visited Livingstone: The chalets named after Edward The Prince of Wales (1925) and George Duke of Kent (1934) and the wellness centre after Mary The Princess Royal (1964). (In fact two of his other children George VI and Henry Duke of Gloucester also visited in 1947 and 1928 respectively).

    • Fours

  • Four chalets are named after adventurers and explorers: Livingstone, Rhodes, Selous and Stanley. They all visited the Victoria Falls and left with memorable impressions after their time here.

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    The History of The River Club and Zambezi House 1948

    1948 - On the 16th August, Farm “1519” was purchased from the crown by Austen Joseph Giblin, an ex-serviceman who later retired from the Rhodesian Railways. Giblin laid out the original gardens including the Bougainvillea and Jacaranda, which lined the original driveway and is now the path accessing Edward, Rhodes and Livingstone chalets. He called the farm, Quiet Waters Farm and the residence Zambezi House.

    1971 - William Arthur Clarence Stewart, whilst leasing the farm, murdered his wife Betty in what is now the dining room, on unfounded suspicions that she was having an affair with the Roman Catholic priest in town. His daughter died of blackwater fever and is buried alongside her mother behind the site of what is now Tongabezi’s honeymoon suite. (One of the Stewart’s visitors those days was a young man called David Staples who later married Peter Jones’ mother Ruth. Ruth and David Staples became shareholders in The River Club Project in 1996.) Following the trial, in which Stewart was found guilty, the farm was sold to Philip Erskin, an American missionary working in this area, but acting for the CIA, who were keeping an eye on the Rhodesian bush war over the border.

    1976 - James ‘Jock’ Simpson bought the farm but was unable to complete the acquisition and was therefore forced to sell it.

    1979 - The farm was purchased by Diane Marie Madeleine Marcus Stella de Nekludoff, a Belgian teacher working in Livingstone, who had a plan to build a tourist resort, “Quiet Waters”.

    1994 - Peter Jones, along with his sister, mother and a brother officer from the British Army, William Garton-Jones, purchased part of the farm now called 1519a, Atuleo Amanzi.

    Peter Jones was born in Northern Rhodesia, now Zambia, educated in Rhodesia and England and later at The Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst. He was commission officer in the Corps of Royal Engineers and later in The Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment). After ten years in the Army he had a dream of opening a lodge of quality. He wanted it saturated in the rich history of the area, spanning the early years of the pioneers up to Livingstone’s heyday in the 1950/60s. One day, whilst canoeing the Zambezi on the Zimbabwean side he looked across to the Zambian bank and fell in love with the site on which he wanted to build his lodge. He then approached the owner only to find himself fourth in line of people trying to purchase the property. He sat down to tea with her on many occasions and told her of his dream. After a gruelling couple of years Mrs. De Nekludoff retorted, “I like you, but I don’t think you have any money!” Peter raised the funds, entered into a partnership agreement with Wilderness Safaris and his dream was launched.

    1997 - In May the original Zambezi House was pulled down and on 8th July work began on building the lodge and The River Club opened for business on 19th December that year.

    2002 - Mrs Rose Tunney, granddaughter of Joseph Giblin visited the farm for the first time since the 1950’s.

    2003 - Ian Simpson came back to see his father’s old farm.

    2007 - Mr A Stewart came back to visit the old house where his parents lived before his mother was murdered (in what is now the dining room).

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