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A to Z of Dominica Heritage Imray, Dr. John ...

Sun, 25 Mar 2007 20:53:15 GMT

A to Z of Dominica Heritage Imray, Dr. John (3844 views)

(1811 - 1880) Medical doctor, legislator, agriculturist, botanist. One of the most distinguished contributors to Dominica's development in several fields, particularly in health care and agriculture. Born in Scotland in 1811, studied medicine in Edinburgh University and arrived in Dominica in 1832 to take up the only public medical post at the time: surgeon to the prison. Realising that much had to be done, Imray almost single-handedly pioneered health service, guiding the establishment of the first infirmary and hospital and drafting and guiding through the House of Assembly the first public health legislation.

His papers written on tropical diseases gained world-wide attention as did his studies of tropical botany. A number of forest plants are named after him. In agriculture he saved the island from deeper ruin by promoting a change in the type of coffee grown after a blight had decimated the industry. He led the way in the cultivation and processing of limes at his estate in Batali.

He was the pioneer spokesman for small peasant farmers as contributors to Dominica's economy. He had no children and left his estate in St. Aroment and Kingsland House in Roseau as well as his library and other possessions to his prot�g�, Dr. Henry A. A. Nicholls, who carried on his work. The Imray ward at the Princess Margaret Hospital is named after him.

A to Z of Dominica Heritage - Nicholls

Sun, 25 Mar 2007 20:52:05 GMT

A to Z of Dominica Heritage - Nicholls (5662 views)

Sir Henry Alfred Alford (1851-1926): Medical doctor, horticulturist, legislator and publicist for Dominica. Along with his mentor Dr. John Imray, and particularly after Imray's death in 1880, Nicholls bestrode the life of Dominica like a colossus and was called at times "The uncrowned king of Dominica." Born in London in 1851, he studied medicine at the Universities of Aberdeen and London (St. Bartholomew's Hospital). During his long and successful medical and horticultural career he became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine, Member of the New York Academy of Sciences and a Fellow of the Linnean Society. Nicholls arrived in Dominica in 1873 as an assistant to Imray and in 1877 married Dominican, Marion Crompton. He built on the firm foundations that Imray had laid in instituting and expanding the work of the Board of Health, developing the Roseau hospital from its position as an infirmary, leading the expansion of the island health service in an island with no roads, fighting ignorance and superstition in an effort to make vaccination compulsory and in dealing with yaws, alastrim, malaria, yellow fever and other diseases afflicting the population at the time. He combined work with research and published his findings in medical journals in Britain, which attracted much attention.
Nicholls took a keen interest in the natural history of Dominica; opening up and publicising the Boiling Lake from the time he led the first recorded visit there in 1875. He guided the future King George V and his brother Prince Albert Victor to the summit of Morne Diablotin in 1880. He corresponded with the curators of Kew Gardens in England and was influential in the establishment of the Botanic Gardens in Roseau in 1891. He was a world expert on tropical agriculture publishing an influential work "A Textbook of Tropical Agriculture" which was used throughout the British Empire and was translated into several languages. He inherited land from Dr. Imray, most notably St. Aroment, and owned several estates in his own right. But Nicholls was more successful as a physician and horticulturist than he was a would-be politician. He was defeated by members of the so-called "Mulatto Ascendancy" whenever he contested an election but he was an officially nominated member of the legislature as Senior Medical Officer for many years, served on various select committees, was a magistrate for a few years and a member of the Executive Council of the Leeward Islands. He acted as Administrator of Dominica from time to time. He was a leading member of the Anglican Church and as a mark of honour he was buried next to the church in Roseau. The Alford Ward at the PMH is named after him.

A to Z of Dominica Heritage Norway

Sun, 25 Mar 2007 20:49:47 GMT

A to Z of Dominica Heritage Norway (4571 views)

A part of the Bells district in the center of the island where workers constructing the Transinsular Road in the 1940s and 1950s had their camp. Built by the Public Works Department, it consisted of long barrack buildings and kitchens. Because it was so cold to live there the workers called the place Norway. When funds for the Transinsular Road ran out in 1947, without the road being completed, at least two Carnival songs were composed celebrating the scandal.

One of them began: "Sa ki twavai Norway, vini en l'office mwe..." (Those who work at Norway, come to my office...) and another: "Si ou te Norway, sa ou te ke fe?" (If you were at Norway, what would you do?) When the road was eventually completed in 1956, the camp, on the site of the present Bells government school, was demolished. Also the name, Norway, as a description of the area has generally gone out of use.

A-to-Z of Dominica Heritage Union Estate

Sun, 25 Mar 2007 20:48:04 GMT

A-to-Z of Dominica Heritage Union Estate (1992 views)

An estate, originally 364 acres in size, located directly behind the village of Point Michele, now owned by the Pemberton family. Up to the 1860s it was a coffee and sugar estate owned by the Bremner family, the last being J.L. Bremner. In 1827 the estate was worked by 104 slaves who produced 36,500 lbs of coffee. Then it was bought over by T.P. Trail and Charles Beaurisseau, at which time it switched to producing only sugar.

When Charles Beaurisseau died, a dispute over the land commenced between his widow and his son whereby the estate was the subject of a celebrated court case in the 1880s, Beaurisseau Vs Beaurisseau. By the early 20th century the estate was under Pemberton ownership. In spite of hurricane damage it still has one of the last existing wooden estate houses in Dominica, designed as a cube entirely surrounded by jalousie windows and built with all of the traditional facilities to withstand hurricanes, while at the same time allowing for excellent ventilation. These are design skills that today's builders have unfortunately abandoned.

Creole Day

Sun, 25 Mar 2007 13:33:40 GMT

Creole Day (2207 views)

Not held in individual villages but all over the Island. This is by far the most colourful day on the Island. The traditional outfit is worn on that day by everyone. The girls wear a "jupe," the women wear a "robe dwiyet" and the men wear black pants, white shirt and a red sash around the waist. If one does not have all the ingredients, then substitutes can be found - straw hats or anything with a floral pattern will help you blend.