Historical and Archaeological Society The Museum of Antigua … · 2015-11-21 · Wilfred Jacobs and members of parliament after the state opening of parliament. Union Jack lowered

Historical and Archaeological Society

The Museum of Antigua and Barbuda

“Knowledge to be of any Value must be Communicated”

HAS Newsletter No. 131 October, November, December 2015

In this Issue…

Antigua & Barbuda’s Journey to

Independence – From Statehood to

Independence

Page 1-5

Windmills of Antigua

Sun Article by Desmond Nicholson

Page 6-7

Ole Time Christmas


Page 8-9

The Changing Environment


Page 10-11

Muse News

By Michele Henry

Page 12

Museum Notices

Page 13

Upcoming Events and

New/Renewal Membership Form

Page 14

Antigua & Barbuda’s Journey

To Independence:

From Statehood to Independence

AntiguA’s independent New State

1967

Coat of Arms of 1966

Designed by

Gordon Christopher

Coat of Arms later

modified by

Don Cribbs

First- National flag of Antigua and Barbuda, Second- Reginald Samuel

Designer of the National Flag, Third- Reginald Gordon who sewed

the first Antiguan flag.

(Continued on page 2)

HAS Newsletter No. 131 October, November, December 2015 Page 2

Journey to Independence (Continued from page 1)

Board of Directors

Walter Berridge

Chairman/Treasurer

Reg Murphy

President

Seku Luke

Secretary

Janice Augustin

Averil Hector/

Susan Lowes

Members

Dame Louise Lake-Tack

Honourable Member

Museum Staff

Michele Henry

Curator

Debbie Joseph

Gift Shop Attendant

Myra Dyer

Library Researcher

Lavon Lawrence

Data Base Clerk

Library Researcher

Carissa Daniel

Heritage Interpretation

Museum Assistant

Jason Dyer

Museum Maintenance

Mrs. Suzzane Henry Bell

Cleaner

Novelle Richards composer

of the lyrics of the National

Anthem.

Music By

Walter Chambers

Statehood Anthem 1967 Fair Antigua We Salute Thee

We thy Sons and Daughters stand

Strong and Firm In Peace or Danger

To Safeguard Our Native Land

We Commit Ourselves to building

A true Nation Brave and Free

Ever Striving Ever Seeking

Dwell in Love and Unity.

Then First Line Was Changed by

Mr. Richards in 1981

Fair Antigua and Barbuda

We thy Sons and Daughters stand

Strong and Firm In Peace or Danger

To Safeguard Our Native Land

We Commit Ourselves to building

A true Nation Brave and Free

Ever Striving Ever Seeking

Dwell in Love and Unity.

The Honorable

Vere Cornwall Bird,

Premier of Antigua and

former Chief Minister

and Minister of

Finance.


Antigua’s Independent

New State Government 1967



Industry (1970’s)

The Legislative Council in session held at the Old

Court House now the Museum of

Antigua and Barbuda.

The Old Court House

and House of

Parliament

The Former Premier’s

Office on High Street

High Street

Government House

St. John’s Harbour

Holberton Hospital

Another giant step in industrial development

premier George Walter is seen cutting the

tape to set a $5.6 million water treatment

plant in action also seen in picture is Mr. ET

Henry, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of

Public Works, Housing and communications.

Interior of

aluminum doors

and windows

factory at

Cassada

Gardens




Antigua Gains Independence IN

1981!!

Fireworks

display around

1:20 am on

November 1st

after flag raising

After taking the oath of Office

from the nation’s First Chief

Justice Neville Peterkin at the

Antigua Recreation Ground,

V.C. Bird, Sr. signs document

making it official that he is

prime minister of the new

nation.

Princess Margaret, Governor Wilfred Jacobs and

Premier V.C. Bird listening to the Speaker at opening

of new parliament building (Sat. Oct. 31, 1981)

L to R: Cabinet

member Ruben Harris,

Princess Margaret and

Governor-General

Wilfred Jacobs and

members of parliament

after the state opening

of parliament.

Union Jack lowered for

the last time as the

supreme flag of Antigua

and Barbuda by a

British sailor (Sat. Oct.

31, 1981.)

After taking the oath

Prime minister signs the

document for all to see.

Prime Minister Bird

leaves parliament.

It’s a rainy morning.

Princess Margaret,

escorted by Governor-

General Wilfred Jacobs

and his aide-de-camp,

leaves parliament.

Prime Minister and Gov.

General Sir Wilfred

Jacobs attends First

Youth Rally 1981

Daniel Mason a

young scout

who led the

whole rally as

three cheers are

raised to the

new nation

Schools marches

Bands in “full cry”

during the youth Parade

at the National Youth

Rally during the

Independence

celebrations.




First Antigua Cheerleaders

Education in Antigua

Students receiving training in

Antigua State College

Industrialisation in Antigua &

Barbuda; Garment factory

Caribbean packing.

Red Jacket sand

mines in Barbuda

Antigua Hosiery factory

Tourism

Cruise ship in Deep Water Harbour

Ramada

Renaissance –

Government

owned

high-rise Hotel

Jolly Harbour

Heritage Quay

Marina Bay

Upper and Lower House of Parliament

The End


Windmills of Antigua Sun Article by Desmond Nicholson

On the national crest of Antigua and Barbuda is a

windmill tower. These stone structures once

dominated the landscape of the island as they

were positioned in locations that afforded the

most constant wind flow on the estates. By the

18th

century, Antigua had become a major

producer of sugar in the Eastern Caribbean and

over 190 sugar estates were ultimately built,

covering the landscape from the top of McNeish

Mountain, to the seashore. Some of the larger

offshore islands were even covered with

sugarcane.

Processing the cane required milling or squeezing

the juice from the cane stalks through heavy iron

rollers. The cane juice then flowed to the boiling

house for processing. The initial stage of this

production was crucial for the cane had to be cut

at its peak of growth, and once cut had to be

processed within 24 hrs. To power the milling

machines, there were three options; wind power,

animal power, or water power. As Antigua had

no streams, rivers or substantial bodies of fresh

water that could have been used for industrial

purposes, the only available options were animals

and wind. Many planters opted for both, but the

most reliable, powerful, and efficient was the

windmill.

The windmills of Antigua were of British design;

not Dutch as commonly believed. The conical

shaped mill walls were constructed of stone

masonry and were on average 4 to 5 feet thick,

tapering to about 3 to 4 feet in thickness at the

top. There were on average three arched

openings for carrying in and removal of the cane

and for maintenance. The tall narrow opening

was the “exchange slit” which was used for

placing or removing the drive long shafts and

wood beams. Some mills had a small arch

opening set at floor level through which the juice

flowed in a trough. Mills were set higher than

the boiling house to permit the flow of juice by

gravity. There were a few rare exceptions, such

as Betty’s Hope that was built at the same

elevation as the boiling house. The juice was

instead collected in an iron tank (sump) located

beneath the rollers, and pumped on demand to

the boiling house.

Three iron rollers set in a horizontal position, two

on the bottom and one on top, were used and this

system continues to be the industry standard

today. But prior to this mid nineteenth century

adaptation, the three rollers were set vertically in

a line. That older method was notoriously

inefficient and required each stalk of cane to be

handled and passed through the rollers twice,

there by requiring two millwrights working as a

team. Juice and trash both fell into the collection

tray and it is said that at best 50 to 60% of the

juice could be extracted. This old system can be

seen in the popular image in our history books.

The central roller was turned by the long vertical

wooden shaft (spindle) that was connected to the

crown wheel at the top of the mill. A second

shaft was required set almost horizontally with a

smaller cogged wheel on its end and the sailing

points or wind vanes on the other end outside the

mill walls. The gear ratio was greatly reduced to

permit a slow turning of the rollers. At Betty’s

Hope this is a 13:1 ratio. Many of the old

disused rollers are used today as “rollers” to

compact the cricket pitches around the island.


Carlisle Estate Wind and Steam Mill


Windmills of Antigua (Continued from page 6)

Operating a windmill was compared to a sailing

ship. The crew had to know the weather, predict

approaching squalls and know how to quickly

“reef” in the sails. The chief mill operator was

often called the “boson” and he was responsible for

a smooth and productive run. Mills were expensive

and breakdowns costly. Time was of the maximum

importance and it is said that mills ran 24hrs during

the harvest. This was dangerous business as the

only light came from a small lantern set in a niche

in the wall. As there was no easy way to quickly

stop a mill, any object or body limb unfortunate

enough to find its way between the rollers had to be

quickly severed. To start the mill, the weather was

accessed and the amount of sail required was

secured. The long shaft running from the cap

house to the ground had a wheel secured to it.

Teams of oxen and workers would pull this shaft or

tail-tree. The entire cap house would then turn into

the wind. The cap house was not secured to the

building and depended on the massive weight of the

machinery and gears to prevent it blowing off in a

major hurricane. A small man or boy would be

stationed at the top of the mill to keep the

equipment greased and lubricated with tallow prior

to and during operation; a dangerous job.

Only three mills with machinery exist on Antigua

today. Union Mill at Hatton, one of the last to

operate on Antigua, Betty’s Hope, and Blizzard’s

at Barnes Hill. All have mid eighteenth century

equipment from Fletcher, Tait, Lyle and other

producers. Examples of the early pre-

emancipation windmills that had the small

vertical rollers still can be seen at Guinea Bush,

McNeish, and Piccadilly to name a few. Cattle

mills are rare and an excellent example could

once be seen at Marble Hill, uphill behind the

windmill.

The windmills of Antigua are slowly crumbling

as roots from trees growing on the walls split the

stone masonry and permit access to rain water,

washing out the lime mortar. Many are partially

demolished as stones are removed for modern

construction and through ignorance, as seen at

the Union Mill at Hatton recently. Regardless,

they are an important part of the cultural heritage

of Antigua and a unique heritage tourism

“product”. They also stand as monuments to the

thousands of enslaved Africans who were forced

to build and operate them and as such, are Places

of Memory for all Antiguans and Barbudans.

The Union Mill at Hatton

Betty’s Hope Mill being

restored Mill at Blizzards


Ole Time Christmas Sun Article by Desmond Nicholson

Here are just a few early Antiguan and Barbudan

Christmas Season happenings.

About three weeks before Christmas Day carol

singers went around around town and the villages.

To add colour they would carry a 'Carol Tree'.

This was a contraption made of wood with several

arms like cross-bars. Japanese lanterns hung on

these to give some light. It was a sort of large

Christmas tree carried outside. The radio now

takes the place of Christmas greetings, but

formerly it done by the carol singers. When

visiting a home, the opening greeting was:

“Goodnight to the inmates of this peaceful

residence,

We are the Choristers going around celebrating

the Lord’s birth,

Christmas is now (7) days off,

We wish you health,

We wish you strength,

We wish you golden store,

We wish you heaven after death,

What can we wish you more?

GOD SAVE THE QUEEN!”

(This died out about the 1970’s).

Christmas Week in the 1940’s and earlier saw

masqueraders and music filling the streets of St.

John’s city. It was a time when people really

seemed to enjoy Christmas for what it was (with

little, if any commercialism). A custom was to

make a new dress for each of the three days of

Christmas, when everybody dressed to the nines.

'Playactors' were youthful acrobats and tumblers,

dressed in close fitting trousers to an inch above

the knee, edged with lace like a woman's under

drawers.

Over this was a skirt also trimmed with lace.

Acrobats showed off to their girls and others by

vaulting over sharpened garden forks. They

performed other astounding feats by jumping

over the backs of six or seven persons crouching

on all fours to the accompaniment of fife and

drum, pipe brass, triangles and grater bands.

The tempo of the drum was induced to frenzy,

whipping the acrobat into a whirling dance and

stamping before the leap.

Compliments of the season. When donations

were given, sometimes the following words

were uttered: “Long life & prosperity!” (Sic).

Decorations - Bay leaf was used and cherry

branches were made into trees for parties. At

Dockyard, in the old days of warships, the bush

‘Hat stand’ (Randia sp) was hoisted to the tops

of masts as a Christmas decoration, imitating

the naval custom of hoisting a coniferous tree

branch of northern climes. At English Harbour

to this day, the bush is known as ‘Up Mas’.

LONG GHOSTS with their heads leveled to the

galleries above the ground floor of merchant's

homes, once numerous in the city, roamed the

streets in search of Christmas donations. If a

donation was not forthcoming, a string inside

the ‘ghost’ was pulled which made the arms

wave about, giving an added sinister effect, and

it showed that the operator was displeased!

Long Ghosts were about 12 feet from the head

to street level. The top section was a cylindrical

shaped mask with cuts for eyes, nose and

grotesque figuration of teeth through which a

lighted candle would throw its illumination

sufficiently to light the immediate surroundings.

The mask was inscribed on both sides - a kind

of Janus Head effect which gave the illusion of

the ghost facing you though the operator's back

was turned.



Ole Time Christmas (Continued from page 8)

JOHN BULLS were replicas of the grotesquely

masked African Witch Doctor with a bull's horns

on the head. They were the dominating feature of

the festivities in town and country. There was

terror and excitement in the young and old.

John Bulls were tended by a 'Cattle Tender'. The

crack of the whip he would tease the bull. The bull

would then shoot off in the direction of the crowd

of children or grownups and plough through them

and they would scatter.

The costume was sometimes just a sugar crocus

bag with the head cut out and two armholes, with a

big piece of rope around the waist. To absorb the

blows from the whip they would stuff the back

with grass or straw, like a hunchback. On his head

he had a cow's horn clamped onto a rigid piece of

cloth. His head was padded with a big 'catacoo',

which was a soft support.

The John Bull generally wore a mask, but

sometimes they reverted to blackening their faces

with grease and paint and sprinkling with a little

fine chalk dust. They looked very grotesque.

Some of the best John Bulls came from the villages

to town, but most of them were porters or

stevedores, men who would hang around the rum

shops on Long Street.

Jazz Bands were a common sight up to the late

1950's. The first Jazz Band on the road was the

Lyric Band, formed by the Antigua Volunteer

Defense Force around 1921. They dressed in

clown’s clothes in red and green. Harry Henry,

Harry Murphy, Bertie Gonsalves, Clem Da Silva,

Vere Griffith and Coxie Coates were in this

band.

Another band was the ‘Portuguese Band’ whose

colours were red and yellow.

Bands played guitars, saxophones, drums and

trumpets. The Minstrel Band had a guitar, shack-

shacks, mouth organs and bass pipes, blowing

boob-boop-boop. But it didn't have any drums.

Then there was the Monkey Band playing bass

pipes and using a candy tin going toot-toot-toot

like a conch shell.

Thanks are due to Oscar Mason and the late Dan

Mendes who gave most of this Old Time

Christmas lore in a newspaper article of the

1970’s.

1959 Long Ghost and Skellihoppers

John Bull and Cattle Tender with whip

performing on the street 1950’s


The Changing Environment Sun Article by Desmond Nicholson

The human race has inhabited the islands of

Antigua and Barbuda for many thousand years,

and each society that has developed here has had

an impact on the natural environment. Early

peoples with simple technologies lived in

harmony with their surroundings, but later

people began to exploit the natural resources

beyond their capability to regenerate, so things

are now quite different.

The Museum has recorded many interesting facts

concerning the environment and from these it is

possible to detect the changes. The

environmental modifications that have occurred

over time in the history in Antigua and Barbuda

are not all negative. Indeed with the invention of

modern materials some of our natural resources

have actually been conserved.

The geological environment of the North Sound

Islands was a source of freestone building

material, especially at Guiana and Pelican

Islands. This material is neither too soft nor too

hard and can be cut freely in any direction, hence

its name. It was from this stone that the St.

John’s Court House was built. Nowadays,

concrete blocks and steel are more frequently

used as building material, so the environmental

damage caused by mining stone is no longer a

serious problem.

In an almanac of the late 19th

century, a

“leading tourist attraction” was identified as the

"Valley of Petrifactions, a little way inland".

This referred to the silicified or fossilized wood

that was found in the central plain which

stretches from Corbison Point to Willoughby

Bay. In 1920, it was reported in a guide book,

that “silicified wood may be had by the

cartload". It seems that is exactly what has

happened, as it is now difficult to find any at

all, so this environmental heritage has virtually

disappeared.

When the first settlers came to Antigua the

island was well wooded and it was reported that

there was “A great store of salt ponds, fish,

fowls, a stock of cattle and saltpeter”. The latter

is sodium nitrate, which is found in caves and

was used for gunpowder. However, the main

natural resources that were exploited were the

trees, and then after the lands were cleared they

were planted to the valuable cash crop, sugar.

The white cedar tree grew in abundance and

was especially favoured for ship building as it is

impervious to damaging marine worms. In

1691, Antigua was still undeveloped

agriculturally as nearly two-thirds of the island

was still in forest, but by 1724 the Governor

reported that little arable land was left

unplanted, hence the lack of trees today. The

valuable timber from the slow-growing Lignum

Vitae tree had been almost used up. At one

time, some eighty tons a year had been sold

overseas, but that had gone down to only twelve

tons, and now, of course, one can hardly find a

lignum vitae tree at all. Even 250 years ago, the

environment had been drastically modified. So

few trees were left standing that the land was

deprived of rain, which was distressing to the

farmers. In the mid 19th

century, Bishop

Westerby recognized that the drought

conditions in the north-east and eastern parts of

Antigua were due to the lack of trees. Then

there was the problem of the bare condition of

the hillsides which caused the run-off of much

water and soil erosion. This must have been


View south from Great Bird Island to Guiana

Island and Antigua Mainland 1958.


The Changing Environment (Continued from page 10)

partially caused by the indiscriminate burning of

bush land, as in 1901 a Bush Fire Ordinance

provided permission to set fire on any land.

Another cause of deforestation would have been the

roaming of cattle, for in 1910, a Cattle Trespass Act

provided that animals were to be impounded for

straying. The lack of trees must have been realised

by the Government as regular Arbor Days were

initiated at the turn of the century to encourage the

planting of trees. In 1924, a reforestation program

occurred at Wallings to create a forest in the

watershed area above the reservoir, and at Fort

James, Casuarinas and Eucalyptus trees were

planted, as well as several other places.

The importance of trees was well understood in the

18th century. Antigua even boasted the first

environmental law passed in the Antilles, for in

February 1721, an Act was passed forbidding the

felling of trees at Body Ponds. Farmers were cutting

down trees bordering the water for their own use,

thus causing the ponds to evaporate in the hot sun.

At one time there was a river flowing through

Antigua, imagine that! This was probably the one

that flowed through Bendals and on to Big Creek. In

this river a fish called “corramou” was readily

caught. There is neither river, nor freshwater fish

left today!

Now let us turn to marine resources for our look into

the changing nature of our environment. The decline

of turtles is an interesting story. In the old days

turtle and venison (deer) were popular sources of

meat.

The Green turtle was considered a first class meat,

while the Hawksbill turtle made a delicious soup

and its shell was a valuable manufacturing

resource.

Turtle was sold weekly at 8d/lb with its yellow eggs

and its rich green fat. You would have heard

vendors shouting “Oh yes! Take notice, in the

Public Market, no. 6 stall, and fine fat turtle!”

Turtles could grow very large in those days; one

was recorded as being six feet across and a little

boy was using it as a boat in St. John’s Harbour!

Then in the 1880’s, it was seen that fishing control

was needed, as turtles were being taken when too

young. It was not until 1927 that the Turtle

Ordinance declared that specimens could only be

taken at certain times of the year and now they are

considered an endangered species not to be taken at

all.

Now let us look at another type of environmental

modification. Before the invention of the gasoline

engine, horses were used for transportation and

there were many of them. When they died, it was

found that the easiest way to dispose of them was to

tow them out to sea, so that gave rise to reports that

voracious sharks abounded in the bays of Antigua.

Shark fishing was good and young sharks were sold

in the market and were usually boiled with sweet

potatoes or rice. In the 1930’s, Governor Fiennes’

enthusiastic hobby was to go shark fishing. Today

there are few, if any, to be seen.

So like it or not, we can see that the nature of our

environment is always changing. We must protect

what we can. The two greatest dangers today are

deforestation with the accompanying evil of

desertification due to roaming animals and lack of

tree cover. The other is overdevelopment,

especially in the coastal regions. We must be

careful to balance the commercial development of

our shores with the preservation of the

environmental health of those coastlines when we

consider where development should happen.

Perhaps we should think about recycling some of

the old hotel sites, rather than depriving our

nationals of what is left of our beach lands and

wilderness areas. Once our coastal region is a sea of

concrete, then the sea of recreation and tourism is

gone forever!

Body Pond at Swetes


Muse News By Michele Henry

Christmas at English Harbour

In The 1940’s


New Members The Historical and Archaeological Society &

Museum of Antigua & Barbuda would like to

welcome our newest Members:

Ms. Patricia Jeffers

Mr. Harold Willams

Julie-Ann Laudat

Dave Lester Payne

Agnes Meeker, Founder of St. John Hospice after

her Investiture and Officer of St. John Deputy.

Sub Prior of St. John Mr. John Chew Mar, Agnes

Meeker and His Excellency Sir Rodney Williams.

Congratulations!


Historical and Archaeology Society

October, November, December 2015 HAS NEWSLETTER, No. 131

UPCOMING EVENTS

NOVEMBER 21st November: Upstairs Gallery Multimedia by Dr. Reginald Murphy - Places of

Memory: Breaking the silence of places of enslavement in Antigua and

Barbuda/and Hidden Places/Lost Views. Entrance $25.00 inclusive of wine

and cheese at 7:00pm. Presentation starts at 7:30pm.

23rd

– 27th

November: Art Exhibition by Vernon Grigg “LEGACY” An artistic

rendition of Antiguan Culture. Upstairs Gallery opens at 10:00 am - 4:00pm.

25th November: Historical and Archaeological Society AGM. 5:30pm. Upstairs

Gallery.

DECEMBER 11th

December: Annual Christmas Party - Please note Change of Venue.

Anchorage Inn on Anchorage Road at 5:30pm. Expressions Choir at 7:30pm.

Enjoy the ambiance. Easy Parking, comfortable seating. The restaurant overlooks

the poolside. Come sing along with us. Just bring food and drink for the Christmas Table. Hats or

Masks allowed.

Join HAS! Discover & Preserve Antigua & Barbuda’s Heritage

Documents

Historical and Archaeological Society The Museum of Antigua … · 2015-11-21 · Wilfred Jacobs and members of parliament after the state opening of parliament. Union Jack lowered