Life and Death at the Old Drift, Victoria Falls 1898-1905

Zambezi Book Company

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Life and Death at the Old Drift
Victoria Falls, 1898-1905


Life and Death at the Old Drift, Victoria Falls 1898-1905

New Updated Edition

We're pleased to announce a new updated and expanded fourth edition (258 pages, over 85,000 words), published September 2022.

Discover the Days of the Old Drift

The Old Drift holds a unique place within the story of the modern development of the region, established in 1898 and marking the main crossing point on the Zambezi River above the Victoria Falls for European travellers and traders heading north into the Kingdom of Barotseland (Western Zambia). Below the Falls the river, trapped within the deep gorges, presents a natural barrier to travellers for hundreds of kilometres.

A small settlement of evolved on the north bank and from 1898 to 1905 the crossing was a pivotal point in the transport of goods and people across the river, despite earning notoriety for the high mortality rate, with many settlers dying of malarial complications known as blackwater fever.

The arrival of the railway from the southern Cape to the banks of the Zambezi in mid-1904, and the construction of the Victoria Falls Bridge - crossing the river just below the great waterfall and opened in 1905 - shifted the axis of activity away from the Old Drift, and the ramshackle gathering of huts was abandoned to the bush in favour of the new town of Livingstone. After only a short number of years the days of the Drift were over, leaving only the graves of those who died and the memories of those lucky enough to have survived. Close by a stone cairn, erected by the Zambian National Monuments Commission in 1952, marks where the ferry pontoons arrived and the wagons once came ashore.

'Life and Death at the Old Drift' presents a detailed history of this brief but pivotal period in the recent human history of the Falls. Quoting extensively from contemporary references and sources, the story follows the growth of this small European community and some of the colourful characters drawn to life on the banks of the Zambezi - despite the risks.

Fully illustrated with over 90 archive images and photographs.

Read more on details on some extended stories from the days of the Drift in our Old Drift feature section on Life and Death at the Old Drift.


First published in March 2018, copies of the new updated fourth edition (September 2022) of 'Life and Death at the Old Drift, Victoria Falls (1898-1905)' are available to order online through either amazon.com (US site) or amazon.co.uk (UK site) for payment in US Dollars or British Pounds.

Amazon's UK site

Amazon's US site

Also available for local printing and delivery through Amazon Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and also Japan.

The author can order copies for overseas orders outside of these areas (and with discounts for multiple copies) - please see the Contact Us page)





A Railway Engineer in Rhodesia - Charles Murray Ingledew   African Odyssey - The Development of the Drewry Railcar (1902-1908)   To The Banks of the Zambezi and Beyond - Railway Construction from the Cape to the Congo   Sun, Steel and Spray - A History of the Victoria Falls Bridge   Footsteps Through Time - A History of Travela and Tourism to the Victoria Falls   Corridors Through Time - A History of the Victoria Falls Hotel




Explore the history of the Victoria Falls online - www.tothevictoriafalls.com

Explore the History of the Victoria Falls