Triangle
Triangle is in the South East, lowveld, region. It is in Chiredzi District in Masvingo Province.
Location
Coordinates: 21°01′40″S 31°27′05″E
125km SE of Masvingo, between Ngundu Growth Point and Chiredzi.
There is a rail connection to the Chiredzi branch line.
The Buffalo Range airport is 8km away.
History
The town largely grew up around the Triangle Estate, founded when Murray MacDougall planted the first sugar cane in 1931. It was irrigated by canal from the Mutirikwe River. Triangle Estate is now owned by Tongaat Hulett.
In 1959, Kyle Dam was constructed, forming Lake Mutirikwi. Triangle Canal was constructed in 1961. Bangala Dam is part of the scheme. These provide water to the two largest irrigation schemes in Zimbabwe, Hippo Valley Estates and Triangle Estate. The canal is 59km long and has a maximum flow of 21m³ per second. It has been raised twice since it's construction.
Lake Mutirikwe covers about 90 km². [1]
The 1969 Rhodesian Census puts the population then at Africans 4380, Europeans 663, Asians 5, Cooureds 5, Total 5050.
Triangle Estate grows about 13,500ha of sugar cane. Hippo Valley was established as a citrus estate in 1956, but also moved into sugar in 1959. Today, it is Zimbabwe's major sugar producer, and the sugar plantations cover 124km². It employs around 5000 people.
In 2004, parts of the estate were redistributed to small scale producers.
