Governor Hesketh Bell imports Uganda’s first car
A man drives a 3115cc 16 horsepower 1903 Albion. Governor Hesketh Bell (inset) brought a similar car to Uganda 110 years ago. NET/ FILE PHOTOS
This year marks 110 years since the first motor car graced the roads of Uganda. The cars came in a pair, a 16 horsepower Albion and a motorised cargo wagon.
They were driven by two Europeans, both in the service of the colonial government. They included Captain Hill and Mr Stanford for the governor’s car and the cargo wagon respectively.
According to the December 1907 issue of the Uganda Notes, previously Mengo Notes, the governor of Uganda then, Sir Hesketh Bell, ordered for the Albion to ease his transport around the protectorate.
He also ordered for a cargo wagon to experiment on the transportation of cotton which had proved a mainstay of the colony’s future.
“A motor car has been ordered by the governor and it is expected shortly. His Excellency has also ordered a motor wagon capable of carrying two tonnes of cargo which will be used experimentally for the transportation of produce,” reported the Uganda Notes in December 1907.
The governor also decided to experiment on the use of elephants as a means of transport as it was the case in India at the time.
Much as there were lots of elephants in the wild in Uganda, a transport elephant was imported from Bombay for the experiment.
“If the results of the experiment be satisfactory it is possible that steps will be taken for the capture and training of elephants in Uganda,” the newspaper reported.
“The use of motor-wagons of suitable type will make the distressing system of human porterage a thing of the past,” the governor was quoted as saying, adding that “The natives of Uganda will cease to act as beasts of burden, and will be in a position to turn their attention to the cultivation of the soil and to the development of their country’s resources.”
When the car was imported, it was not a preserve of the governor alone as he put it to public use sometimes.
According to the government gazette of June 15, 1908, passengers from Entebbe to Kampala were required to pay Rs5 (Rupees) for a single journey while a return journey was for Rs8. For cargo it was Rs15 per tonne.
Within Entebbe, a ride in the cargo wagon for one mile was to cost passengers 15 cents.
The governor also allowed his car to be used for public transport on the days he was not using it.
Besides making public trips from Entebbe to Kampala, the car was also available for a full day hire. It was a big deal at the time that can be compared to hiring the presidential car today whenever the president is not using it.
The Uganda Notes of July 1908 states that the single journey to Kampala was Rs6 while a return was Rs10. While those who wanted to hire it for a full day it was available from 9am to 6pm at a cost of Rs45.
“When not required for the governor’s use, the motor car will make a trip to Kampala every Tuesday morning starting at 9.30am. It will arrive at Nakasero collectorate about 11 O’clock and will leave again for Luzira at 5pm,” the newspaper writes.
“The car will stop at Kampala on Tuesday night and will start its return journey to Entebbe at 4pm on Wednesday afternoon. It’s also possible that the car will also run to Kampala and back on Fridays and Saturdays.”
With the introduction of the car, administration of the colony became much easier. The governors first trip outside Kampala and Entebbe was to Mubende, a trip which the governor says would take up to six days before acquiring the car.
“A month ago, I travelled by motor as far as Mubende, 104 miles from Kampala. We did the distance in seven hours. Only a year ago the same journey took me six days,” governor Hesketh Bell said in the government situation report 9, equal to present day State-of-the-Nation address, while advocating for more cars to be introduced in the colony.
“The experiments that are being made with regard to motor transport are giving very encouraging results. Light cars of the Albion make, weighing about two tonnes and carrying about the same weight, are working with complete success,” he said.
“These cars are run by kerosene oil, and only a very small amount of petrol is required to start the engines. The two cars were imported by the government at the beginning of 1908 and their earnings are so satisfactory that I have had no hesitation in ordering additional vehicles of similar type.”
Accompanying the governor’s car to Mubende was the cargo wagon which covered the same distance in 11.30 minutes.
Besides the two cars and the experimental elephant from Bombay, the government also started the importation of motorcycles by the Transport Department, present-day ministry of Transport.
“The machine is of four horsepower and runs on ordinary paraffin,” the Uganda Notes of April 1909 reported.
On February 23, 1909, Captain Hill rode the motorcycle from Entebbe to Kampala in 80 minutes while the return journey was 44 minutes long.
In a space of three years, the number of motorcycles increased to 35, though all were in the hands of Europeans and Asians. They went on to form the first motor club in the country.
In October 1912 private companies started importing motorcycles. Among the first companies was Victoria Nyaza who were agents for another company called Hansing and company.
Hesketh Bell’s legacy
In 1905, Bell was offered the post of high commissioner to Uganda, his first major appointment. In spite of his reservations about the climate, Bell felt that he could not reject such a promising offer.
One of the first major problems that he had to deal with in Uganda were epidemics of sleeping sickness that claimed many lives.
Having ascertained that cases of the sickness were generally confined to areas within two miles of open water, he sought permission from the Colonial Office to move all communities living by the tsetse-fly infested shores and islands of Lake Victoria to new plots on crown land further away.
While the Colonial Office demurred at the political implications of forcibly moving large sections of the population, Bell ordered the moves to be carried out regardless. As a consequence many lives were saved and no unrest was reported. His actions in this matter were recognised with advancement to KCMG in 1908.
During his time in Uganda, Bell continued to develop his ideas on economic development, believing that the region would be best served through nurturing the interests and improving the agricultural methods of the local farmers. He was also determined that the activities of the European planters should be curtailed as far as possible.
The role of government, he argued, was to provide leadership, set standards, and bear the cost of agricultural experiments as well as to provide scientific advice, particularly in relation to the development of cash crops.
To these ends he introduced the 1908 Uganda cotton ordinance which gave the governor wide powers to control the quality of cotton produced, and wrote his own useful report on the subject in 1909 for the Colonial Office. He worked very hard to improve the transport infrastructure, steering every available penny into the construction of new roads. Port Bell in Kampala is named in his honour.
