In 1895 it was moved to its current site and was officially called Melsetter after Moodie's family home in Orkney in Scotland.
The absence of the Great Escarpment for about 450 km (280 miles) to the north of Tzaneen (to reappear on the border between Zimbabwe and Mozambique in the Chimanimani Highlands), is due to a failed westerly branch of the main rift that caused Antarctica to start drifting away from Southern Africa during the break up of Gondwana about 150 million years ago.
During the Zimbabwe independence war, mountain passes in the Chimanimani area were frequently used by guerilla fighters between Zimbabwe and their camps in Mozambique, who laid mines along local roads to disrupt the local economy.
Tendai Larry Chatara (born 28 February 1991 at Chimanimani, Zimbabwe) is an international cricketer who represents the Zimbabwe national cricket team.