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| History
of Thomas Meikle, Businessman and Entrepreneur |
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| Thomas Meikle affectionately known as Tom, Tom was one of the three Meikle Brothers who founded a company in Rhodesia (now known as Zimbabwe), he was regarded as a remarkable man, a very astute businessman and undoubtedly the driving force in the firm of Meikle Brothers. He was considered to be a man of vision and energy. |
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| Thomas Meikle affectionately known as Tom, was born in 1862, he was the eldest son of John Meikle of Strathavon (Scotland) and Sarah of Avondale. The suburbs of Strathavon and Avondale in Salisbury (now known as Harare) were named after their respective birth places. |
John Meikle was a master builder by trade, he studied mathematics at the Edinburgh University, John migrated to South Africa Natal in December 1868. At this point in time Tom was aged 6 and the other children on board of the voyage were Jeannie, Stewart and John or Jack as he later became known.
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| Tom was one of the three Meikle Brothers who founded a company in Rhodesia (now known as Zimbabwe), he was regarded as a remarkable man, a very astute businessman and undoubtedly the driving force in the firm of Meikle Brothers. At some point Tom moved to Bulawayo and in 1894 he opened a Branch and built a house in the suburb of Hillside. |
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| He was a man of many fine qualities, and it is said that he could not abide slackers. A story is told when “… an elderly gentleman entering a Meikles Stores, the Manager was having tea, and on noticing a set of golf clubs in the corner, the gentleman enquired whether he was going golfing. The Manager replied that he usually closed early on Wednesday to get in a round of golf…” it is at this stage that Tom Meikle revealed his identity and ordered the Manager to take his golf clubs and never return. |
He had a reputation of meanness, maybe it’s due to understanding of the value of wealth, and a story is told of how on a trip to England with a manager he preferred to stay in a cheap hotel and was content to travel in Third Class.
In 1898 he lived with his mother Sarah and his sisters in Bulawayo, they moved from Natal after the death of his father John. Thomas Meikle married Winifred Hubbard in 1907 and had four daughters, Marjorie Moxon, Peggy Thompson, Joan Hampshire and Jane Redrup. He died in 1939 and was buried at Mabukuwene Gardens. Mabukuwene is a tranquil place of indigenous trees and granite boulders in the suburb of Burnside, Bulawayo, it is run by the National Trust of Zimbabwe. |
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| He was considered to be a man of vision and energy, and history notes that he did a lot for the development of Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). His legacy is renowned to be the Thomas Meikle Trust and Investment Company, the company is prominent in stores, hotels, ranching and tea production. |
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