Heritage Matters Vol 1 2017
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HERITAGE MATTERS<br />
V O L U M E I<br />
J U L Y 2 0 1 7<br />
I N S I D E<br />
T H I S I S S U E :<br />
Engaging<br />
Communities<br />
to Identify<br />
<strong>Heritage</strong><br />
Places<br />
Government<br />
House, Focus<br />
of New<br />
Museum<br />
Exhibit<br />
To ‘Preserve’<br />
and Protect:<br />
Major Repairs<br />
Needed to<br />
National Trust<br />
Replica of<br />
Basseterre<br />
landmark to be<br />
constructed in<br />
Glasgow<br />
Delisle Walwyn<br />
Makes Bold<br />
Step to<br />
Snorkelling in<br />
St. Kitts<br />
Park Rangers<br />
Take to the<br />
Hills<br />
The Wild<br />
World of West<br />
Indian Beetles<br />
2<br />
3<br />
4<br />
6-7<br />
8<br />
9<br />
10<br />
11<br />
Governor General Takes on Role as Patron of National Trust<br />
The St. Christopher National Trust is thrilled to announce that our immediate past Vice President, His<br />
Excellency the Governor General Sir S.W. Tapley Seaton GCMG, CVO, QC, JP, has accepted our<br />
invitation to serve as patron of the organization.<br />
Sir Tapley gave up the post of Vice President of the Trust on being appointed Governor General in 2015.<br />
He served on the Executive of the St. Christopher <strong>Heritage</strong> Society for many years. He was its last<br />
President and the first President when the Society transitioned into the National Trust.<br />
Sir Tapley drafted The National Trust Bill along with now retired General Manager of the Brimstone Hill<br />
Fortress National Park Society, Mr. Larry Armony.<br />
His Excellency has also served as Vice President of the Brimstone Hill Fortress National Park Society and<br />
as Chairman of the U.W.I Territorial Advisory Committee for over 25 years.<br />
He was a member of the Beautiful Basseterre Committee, and as a longstanding Director of The Chamber<br />
of Industry and Commerce, he pursued several conservation issues.<br />
He continues to be involved in discussions concerning the revision of The National Environmental and<br />
Conservation Act of 1987 (NCEPA), which was drafted under his watch as Attorney General.<br />
Sir Tapley is particularly concerned about the implementation of listing of historic buildings.<br />
National Trust Pushing to Protect History at Stone Fort<br />
The St. Christopher National Trust is hoping<br />
to negotiate a compromise over the decision<br />
to construct homes and a small apartment<br />
building in the Stone Fort estate yard, close<br />
to the edge of the historic Stone Fort (Bloody<br />
River) ravine.<br />
Remnants of old structures and factory<br />
machinery remain in the estate yard. With<br />
people now living on the site, their<br />
preservation is a grave concern for the Trust<br />
and its members. An even more critical<br />
issue is the threat to the ravine itself due to<br />
the potential for it to be used for the<br />
indiscriminate disposal of garbage.<br />
There are at least two single dwellings within<br />
the estate yard and a 2-storey apartment<br />
building close to the edge of the ravine.<br />
Members of the Trust’s Building and Sites<br />
Committee are leading a push to have<br />
safeguards put in place to protect the site<br />
and preserve our history.<br />
Several options have been looked at to<br />
ensure a ‘win-win’ for all stakeholders. The<br />
Trust is recommending that a visitor center<br />
be constructed, and the buildings already on<br />
site be enhanced with external cladding to<br />
replicate the style of the historic structures<br />
that once stood there.<br />
The Stone Fort ravine is the site of the 17th<br />
century Blood River Massacre and home to<br />
some of only a handful of Amerindian<br />
Petroglyphs in the English speaking<br />
Caribbean.<br />
The river and the ravine are believed to have<br />
had religious significance to the Kalingo<br />
people who inhabited the island when the<br />
British arrived<br />
in the 1620s.<br />
By 1626 the<br />
rapidly<br />
expanding<br />
British and<br />
French<br />
settlements on<br />
the island were<br />
becoming a<br />
concern for the<br />
indigenous people who had allowed them to<br />
settle amongst them. With assistance from<br />
Amerindians from neighbouring islands, they<br />
planned to overthrow the European settlers,<br />
but it was not to be.<br />
In the Stone Fort canyon, preparing their<br />
His Excellency the<br />
Governor General Sir<br />
S.W. Tapley Seaton<br />
GCMG, CVO, QC, JP<br />
attack, the Kalingo were ambushed by the<br />
British and French, and were trapped in the<br />
ravine in a hail of musket fire. It is estimated<br />
that over 2000 Kalinago were massacred in<br />
the ravine, where for several<br />
days afterwards the river<br />
flowed red with their blood.<br />
The remaining Amerindians<br />
fled or were driven from the<br />
island.<br />
In 2002, visiting Amerindians<br />
held a ceremony of<br />
atonement at Bloody Point<br />
canyon to release the spirits<br />
of the massacred Kalinago.<br />
The National Trust is engaged in ongoing<br />
discussions with the government to see if an<br />
agreement can be reached that will ensure<br />
the protection of the area and Bloody River<br />
in particular.
P A G E 2<br />
Engaging Communities to Identify <strong>Heritage</strong> Places<br />
Old Treasury Building (circa 1921)<br />
An urgent call is going out to members<br />
of the public to participate in a project<br />
to document places of historical<br />
significance.<br />
The St. Christopher National Trust has<br />
embarked on a new project that will<br />
lead to the establishment of a “National<br />
Registry of <strong>Heritage</strong> Places.”<br />
The Registry will become the official<br />
place of record, listing all important<br />
sites, buildings, structures and objects<br />
that are significant to the history of St.<br />
Kitts and will be administrated by the St.<br />
Christopher National Trust.<br />
Why a National Registry is<br />
Essential<br />
Cultural heritage is an expression of the<br />
significant experiences and ways of living<br />
in a community and a nation over a long<br />
period of time and passes from one<br />
generation to the next as a shared<br />
legacy. Cultural heritage includes the<br />
history, customs, practices, beliefs,<br />
places, objects, artistic and architectural<br />
expressions and values that a<br />
community and national feel are<br />
important to keep.<br />
Because Cultural <strong>Heritage</strong> is a resource<br />
valued by entire communities and by<br />
St. George’s Anglican Church<br />
nations, governments are responsible<br />
for its protection. In order for<br />
Government to discharge its protection<br />
obligation, it must begin by establishing<br />
<strong>Heritage</strong> Inventory Programmes that<br />
identify and characterize what those<br />
heritage places are, what elements in<br />
them deserve consideration and then<br />
for added protection, to give them<br />
official recognition under the<br />
constitution and legislation of the<br />
country.<br />
To meet the objective of establishing a<br />
National Register that fully represents<br />
the breadth and depth of our country’s<br />
<strong>Heritage</strong>, the St. Christopher National<br />
Trust relies on the involvement of local<br />
communities in the identification<br />
evaluation and nomination of culturally<br />
significant places.<br />
The Selection Process<br />
The properties elected to be included in<br />
the National Registry will be guided by<br />
criteria for evaluation. These criteria<br />
will be the standards by which all<br />
properties that are nominated will be<br />
judged.<br />
Nominations for listing can come from<br />
the public, private institutions.<br />
Government or the National Trust.<br />
To begin the process, the necessary<br />
documents will be completed to be<br />
submitted to the National Trust for<br />
evaluation by an advisory review<br />
committee.<br />
The Selection Criteria<br />
Properties should possess historic<br />
significance and integrity to be<br />
considered for listing.<br />
Significance includes:<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
The Georgian House<br />
Association with historic events or<br />
activities<br />
Association with important persons<br />
Distinctive design or physical<br />
characteristics<br />
Potential to provide important<br />
information and history<br />
Integrity must also be evident<br />
though historic qualities including<br />
location, design, setting, materials,<br />
workmanship, feelings and<br />
association<br />
Properties must be 50 years of age prior to<br />
and up to 1966.<br />
Inclusion of a site in the National<br />
Register comes with both protections<br />
and implications such as:<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Objection or consent by owners to<br />
listing<br />
Establishment of standards that<br />
must be met for conservation and<br />
protection f listing<br />
Repercussions for demolition,<br />
including demolition by neglect<br />
Incentives for owners to preserve<br />
and maintain value such as grants,<br />
exemption from taxes and duty<br />
concessions on materials<br />
Welcome to ARCHES<br />
The St. Kitts National Registry will be<br />
electronically stored using an online<br />
database called ARCHES. The benefits<br />
of having a computerized database are:<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Spooner’s Ginnery<br />
Easy retrieval of information<br />
Support remote access to the data<br />
Can handle complex cross<br />
references and queries<br />
Support multiple users<br />
simultaneously accessing the same<br />
data<br />
Half Way Tree Cistern<br />
Members of the public will be able to<br />
access the registry via the National<br />
Trust website www.scnt.kn<br />
Anyone interested in making a<br />
nomination for listing to the National<br />
Registry should contact the office of the<br />
St. Christopher National trust to lean<br />
how the nominations are processed and<br />
how to get started.
P A G E 3<br />
Government House, Focus of New Museum Exhibit<br />
The National Museum has launched a new exhibit. "Inside Government House" tells the story of the 'two'<br />
Government Houses and their occupants, with small features on Administrators, Governors and Governors-<br />
General going back to the turn of the last century.<br />
We are excited to be able to display memorabilia loaned to us by the current Governor General and<br />
National Trust patron Sir S.W. Tapley Seaton GCMG, CVO, QC, JP, including credentials presented by<br />
foreign diplomats and greeting cards, invitations and gifts from foreign governments and dignitaries.<br />
Governor General Sir Tapley Seaton (left) views exhibit with<br />
Nevis Premier Vance Amory<br />
At the Exhibition’s opening in May, the Governor General<br />
announced that he was creating a Registry to record all gifts<br />
presented to the holder of the office, as they are gifts, not to<br />
the occupant of Government House, but to the State.<br />
Sir Tapley, who was the feature speaker at the May 8th<br />
opening ceremony, has accepted the Trust's invitation to<br />
serve as its patron, a fitting post given his years-long<br />
involvement with and contribution to the organization.<br />
Also sharing a few words that morning, were Trust Executive Director Ryllis Percival,<br />
Director of Visitor Experience Toni Frederick-Armstrong, President Schneider Warner and<br />
Prime Minister Dr. Timothy Harris.<br />
The Prime Minister lauded Sir Tapley for his contribution to the country and the Trust, and<br />
spoke passionately about understanding and respecting the past, while looking to the future.<br />
Also in attendance were Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education and Culture Shawn Richards, Nevis Premier and Federal Minister<br />
of Labour Vance Amory, Minister of Tourism and International Trade Lindsay Grant and Minister of Agriculture and Health Eugene<br />
Hamilton, along with other dignitaries<br />
We hope you will come and visit us soon. Our opening hours are Monday - Friday 9:00-5:00 and Saturdays 9:00-1:00.<br />
Members’ Social: Fun in the Late Afternoon Sun<br />
The St. Christopher National Trust<br />
hosted its first ever Member’s Social<br />
and Membership Drive, on the longest<br />
day of the year...June 21st.<br />
Though the turnout was small, those<br />
who came had a great time! We were<br />
entertained by DJ Tony, pan soloist<br />
Dejhon Francis and the dynamic<br />
Anjolique Dance Company.<br />
guests got an update on the Berkley<br />
Memorial scanning project from<br />
Scottish engineer and computer<br />
graphics professor, Eddie Horn.<br />
A big thank you to our patron His<br />
Excellency the Governor General Sir<br />
S.W. Tapley Seaton and the Minister of<br />
Culture and Deputy Prime Minister<br />
Shawn Richards, who joined the fun.<br />
We also want to thank all of our other<br />
members who came out and welcome<br />
our newly signed-up members.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Maurice Widdowson/Caribelle<br />
Batik<br />
The Department of Agriculture<br />
Koscab St. Kitts Ltd<br />
Dejhon Francis<br />
DJ Tony<br />
Iletha Fulton<br />
Public Works<br />
Schneidman Warner<br />
The Urban Development<br />
Corporation<br />
Thank yoooooou!!!!<br />
All in all it was a fun evening, and we<br />
look forward to hosting another social<br />
in the near future.<br />
The Anjolique Dancers<br />
There were exciting giveaways for those<br />
who knew their Trust history, and our<br />
This event would not have been<br />
possible without the support of our<br />
sponsors:<br />
<br />
The Anjolique Dance Company<br />
The SCNT Team
P A G E 4<br />
To ‘Preserve’ and Protect: Major Repairs Needed to National Trust Building<br />
“As far as<br />
I’m<br />
concerned,<br />
that’s<br />
defacing a<br />
building,.”<br />
The iconic domed building that houses<br />
the National Trust is in dire need of<br />
repair.<br />
“We need to fix the roof before we think<br />
of anything else,” said Othneil Heyliger,<br />
Chairman of the National Trust’s<br />
Building and Sites Advisory Committee.<br />
Some restoration work has been done on<br />
the building over the years, but the<br />
ravages of time continue to take their<br />
toll on the Basseterre landmark.<br />
“The whole building needs some<br />
preventative maintenance,” Mr. Heyliger<br />
says, while emphasizing that the roof is<br />
the priority.<br />
The leaking roof spells problems for<br />
other areas, he points out. Like the<br />
museum and its collections that are<br />
housed on the upper floor. Fortunately,<br />
Mr. Heyliger says, the roof issues can<br />
largely be addressed by repairs to the<br />
structure’s extensive guttering system.<br />
“Like most older state-owned buildings,<br />
this building has not been properly<br />
maintained by government. They need<br />
to make maintenance a priority,<br />
especially the historic buildings,” Mr.<br />
Heyliger stressed.<br />
He says that vintage tin ceilings that<br />
have been damaged by water, can be<br />
replaced with similar materials that can<br />
replicate the look of the originals.<br />
After the roof issues are addressed the<br />
Advisory Committee says attention must<br />
be turned to repairing and restoring<br />
woodwork and iron railings on the<br />
balconies on the side of the building<br />
facing the Bay Road. There is also some<br />
discussion about possibly restoring longremoved<br />
balconies from the Port Zante<br />
side of the structure.<br />
Many of the old railings were salvaged.<br />
Where they can’t be repaired or where<br />
there are<br />
missing<br />
pieces, they<br />
can be<br />
replaced<br />
with replica<br />
iron and<br />
woodwork.<br />
The good<br />
news Mr.<br />
Heyliger<br />
says, is that<br />
the building<br />
is still<br />
structurally<br />
sound and the cupola is in good shape.<br />
However, some woodwork and the<br />
building’s walls have also been affected<br />
by time and the lack of maintenance.<br />
They will need to be stripped of peeling<br />
paint, cleaned, treated and sealed.<br />
Mr. Heyliger is advocating that the<br />
original exposed brick be restored.<br />
“They look so beautiful. It should be an<br />
offence to paint them. As far as I’m<br />
concerned, that’s defacing a building,”<br />
he said passionately.<br />
practical reason.<br />
“It is for their own safety,” he said.<br />
“We don’t want anyone to be hurt by<br />
falling masonry.”<br />
Completed in 1894, the stone building<br />
with its dramatic dome and striking<br />
archway, housed the National Treasury<br />
for over a hundred years.<br />
The building replaced a wooden<br />
structure, likely built in 1857 which had<br />
also housed the Treasury. It too had an<br />
archway through which people arriving<br />
and leaving the island would pass,<br />
leading to the building being referred to<br />
as ‘The Gateway to Basseterre.’<br />
The Treasury was moved to the corner<br />
of Church and Central Streets in 1996.<br />
The St. Christopher <strong>Heritage</strong> Society<br />
eventually moved in and the Museum<br />
opened its doors in the building in 2002.<br />
In 2009 the <strong>Heritage</strong> Society became the<br />
St. Christopher National Trust.<br />
Boards put up around the Bay Road side<br />
of the building, facing the Berkeley<br />
Memorial, will remain in place until<br />
repairs and restoration work are<br />
completed.<br />
Addressing concerns from members of<br />
the public that the boards obstruct the<br />
view of the building, Committee<br />
member, Linbergh Alvaranga<br />
emphasized that they are there for a very<br />
The Members of the St. Christopher<br />
National Trust’s Building and Sites<br />
Advisory Committee are: Lindbergh<br />
Alvaranga, Stanley Franks, Austin<br />
Gumbs and Chairman Othneil Heyliger.
P A G E 5<br />
Join the Caribbean <strong>Heritage</strong> Network!<br />
The St. Christopher National Trust is encouraging its members to get involved in a unique<br />
effort to strengthen the capacity to protect and promote cultural heritages of the nations<br />
and peoples of the Caribbean region. Interested persons can do this by joining the<br />
Caribbean <strong>Heritage</strong> Network (CHN). The CHN is based at the University of the West<br />
Indies' Cave Hill Campus in Barbados.<br />
Noting that the nations of the Caribbean possess a wide, yet unevenly distributed, range<br />
of heritage skills and resources, the CHN provides a framework for government agencies,<br />
private firms, academic institutions, and community groups to strengthen and share<br />
capacity to manage traditional landscapes, historic monuments, crafts, and other<br />
inherited artistic expressions - as valuable shared assets and as irreplaceable embodiments of the region’s distinctive cultures.<br />
Members have access to invaluable information about:<br />
• The latest heritage initiatives, news, and cultural events in the Caribbean region<br />
• <strong>Heritage</strong> projects of all types<br />
• Who’s who in the heritage industry<br />
• Downloadable resources such as best practices and toolkits<br />
• Educational opportunities across the heritage sector<br />
• Job and career-related opportunities<br />
• Developments in heritage practice and policy that will rewrite the future of heritage in the Caribbean region<br />
Membership is free for <strong>2017</strong>. Although membership fees have not been fixed for 2018, there is no obligation to renew.<br />
Members of the CHN can take an immediate proactive role in shaping Caribbean heritage development by joining in live discussions<br />
through CHN’s conferences, interest groups, and blogs.<br />
Whether you seek peer-to-peer engagement or broader interaction, the various online platforms will have something for you. When<br />
Our newly renovated gift shop was<br />
opened on March 29th with a focus on<br />
enhancing the experience of our<br />
visitors. New products, friendly,<br />
knowledgeable staff and comfortable<br />
surroundings are part of the new look.<br />
New Look Gift Shop<br />
souvenir, gift and bookstores.<br />
The new products and lines include<br />
pottery by Carla Astaphan, health and<br />
beauty products by Yaphene. Our focal<br />
items are our art pieces by local artists<br />
such as Pierre Liburd Loada, Dennis<br />
Richards and Leonie Young.<br />
The gift shop is stocked to cater to<br />
everyone's interests. The avid reader<br />
can find books covering a variety of<br />
topics including history, plants, life<br />
stories and fun books for the children.<br />
our branded items. Our picture mugs<br />
are delightfully unique so too is our<br />
replica enamel cup.<br />
Fill up a tote bag with these items along<br />
Our new Executive Director Ryllis<br />
Percival explains that the shop's product<br />
offerings will be strictly locally made<br />
except for our branded items.<br />
“Our gift shop is not just for visitors but<br />
it also caters to locals and residents<br />
who are looking for a unique gift item<br />
for any occasion as all our items sold<br />
are locally made."<br />
She added that the choice to retail<br />
items that are produced locally will<br />
differentiate our shop from all other<br />
Nevis Basketry<br />
Visiting our museum and our gift shop<br />
would not be complete without the<br />
purchase of one or two or even all of<br />
Intern Suny Salas loves the SCNT<br />
with a T-shirt, a pen and a cuddly teddy<br />
bear dressed in an SCNT T-shirt!<br />
While in the shop, patrons can sign up<br />
for membership and get an instant 10%<br />
discount on their bag of gift items.<br />
The National Trust Gift Shop is open<br />
Monday to Friday 9:00 am to 5:00 pm<br />
and on Saturdays from 9:00am to<br />
1:00pm.<br />
We look forward to welcoming you!
P A G E 6<br />
Replica of Basseterre landmark to be constructed in Glasgow<br />
Berkeley Memorial, Basseterre<br />
An iconic landmark in the heart of<br />
downtown Basseterre is the key to a<br />
major historic restoration project more<br />
than 4000 miles away in Scotland.<br />
The Berkeley Memorial which sits in<br />
‘The Circus,’ the<br />
bustling center of<br />
St. Kitts’ capital,<br />
was built in 1883<br />
from a design<br />
supplied by an<br />
iron foundry in<br />
Glasgow, George<br />
Smith and Co.<br />
In 1878 an almost<br />
identical drinking<br />
fountain built from<br />
the same George<br />
Smith and Co.<br />
cast, was erected at Ballater and Main<br />
Streets in Gorbals, Glasgow. The<br />
‘Gorbals Cross’ fountain featured four<br />
clock faces, four gas lamps, notice<br />
boards, barometers, thermometers and<br />
a weather vane and shields bearing the<br />
Glasgow coat of arms.<br />
It was demolished in 1932 as the tram<br />
system in the city expanded.<br />
Eighty five years later a community<br />
group in Gorbals is on a mission to<br />
revitalize the heavily-populated, working<br />
class neighborhood. Glasgow<br />
Caledonian University lecturers Stevie<br />
Anderson and Eddie Horn have<br />
journeyed to St. Kitts, as guests of the<br />
St. Christopher National Trust, to take 3<br />
-D scans and photographs of the<br />
Berkeley Memorial. The scans are the<br />
first step in recreating the structure in<br />
Gorbals.<br />
“We want to bring a bit of life back to<br />
the area,” Anderson tells the Trust.<br />
His parents hail from the Gorbals area<br />
and so he confesses to a particular<br />
sentimental attachment to the project.<br />
When the Gorbals drinking fountain was<br />
erected it served primarily as a means of<br />
bringing running water to an area where<br />
homes did not<br />
have indoor<br />
plumbing.<br />
There are no<br />
official records<br />
indicating what<br />
happened to<br />
the dismantled<br />
structure but<br />
Anderson and<br />
Horn<br />
speculate that<br />
the iron from<br />
which is was<br />
made, may<br />
have been needed for the war effort.<br />
Gorbals Cross, Glasgow (circa 1930)<br />
There are a few minor<br />
decorative differences<br />
between the Gorbals Cross<br />
fountain and its Caribbean<br />
‘twin,’ fondly referred to as<br />
‘The Circus Clock.’<br />
The Basseterre monument<br />
bears a different coat of arms<br />
(believed to be that of the<br />
Berkeley family), text about<br />
Thomas Berkeley, and a<br />
barometer. A directional<br />
compass sits atop the St. Kitts<br />
monument, whereas the one<br />
in Glasgow was crowned with<br />
a weather vane. But the main structures<br />
were the same: a modified octagonal<br />
base forming the shape of cross,<br />
containing a basin within each of the<br />
four recesses. A single rectangular<br />
column is divided into 5 levels using<br />
acroteria (an ornament placed on a flat<br />
base and mounted at the apex of the<br />
pediment) and cornices (moldings or<br />
ornamentations that project from the<br />
top of a building). The upper levels are<br />
supported by<br />
four columns<br />
with lamp<br />
finials.<br />
There were<br />
at least two<br />
other<br />
drinking<br />
fountains<br />
made from<br />
the same cast<br />
by the<br />
George Smith<br />
and Co.<br />
foundry.<br />
Hunslet Moor, Leeds<br />
Both were<br />
located in Leeds, in the United Kingdom.<br />
One was erected in 1879 at Leeds’ first<br />
municipal park at Woodhouse Moor<br />
along with a bandstand. The bandstand<br />
was removed during<br />
World War II so the iron<br />
could be used for arms for<br />
the war, and it is believed<br />
that the fountain met the<br />
same fate.<br />
Woodhouse Moor,<br />
Leeds<br />
The other Leeds fountain<br />
was mounted in 1880 in a<br />
newly opened public park<br />
at Hunslet Moor. It was<br />
dismantled in the mid<br />
1950’s likely to<br />
accommodate the<br />
construction of a<br />
motorway.
P A G E 7<br />
Visiting the Trust in Basseterre this past<br />
week, Anderson and Horn said they<br />
were both thrilled when they learned<br />
that the Berkeley Memorial was not only<br />
still standing but that the drinking<br />
fountain was functioning and in daily use.<br />
“At least someone’s still looking after<br />
their heritage,” Anderson said.<br />
Anderson is using a laser to scan the<br />
monument, even ascending in an<br />
Electricity Company bucket lift, high<br />
above the busy roundabout to capture<br />
as much detail as possible.<br />
Horn meanwhile is using digital<br />
photography to capture the image from<br />
hundreds of minute angles. Software<br />
will be used to ‘stitch together’ the<br />
images and generate a 3-D model of the<br />
historic structure. The model will then<br />
be used to create working blueprints<br />
and a cast.<br />
The two engineers - who lecture in the<br />
Glasgow Caledonian University’s Digital<br />
Technology Division - reflected on how<br />
modern technology was being used in<br />
collaboration with traditional<br />
ironworking to restore a piece of<br />
history.<br />
“We can return a piece of lost heritage<br />
back into the community.”<br />
It has taken<br />
two years and<br />
£14,000 for<br />
this phase of<br />
the project to<br />
get to the<br />
stage where<br />
the pair is<br />
finally on the<br />
ground in St.<br />
Kitts scanning<br />
the Berkeley<br />
Memorial.<br />
The funding<br />
has come from<br />
Historic<br />
Environment Scotland and the Scottish<br />
Funding Council.<br />
Glasgow Caledonian University lecturers<br />
Eddie Horn (left)<br />
and Stevie Anderson<br />
The actual construction of the Gorbals<br />
fountain replica is estimated to cost<br />
some £130,000. Anderson and Horn<br />
say there is a vast amount of political<br />
support and support from the various<br />
councils and communities, and they are<br />
confident that they will have very few<br />
problems raising the funds.<br />
“We just have to show them that it’s<br />
doable,” Anderson says with a smile.<br />
The Berkeley Memorial,<br />
Basseterre (St. Kitts)<br />
The Berkeley Memorial was built in<br />
honour of Thomas Berkeley who was<br />
born in St. Kitts in 1824. He was<br />
planter, a legislator and President of the<br />
General Legislative Council of the<br />
Leeward Islands Federation. Berkeley<br />
was recognized for demonstrating<br />
concern for the welfare of the island’s<br />
people and for<br />
his contributions<br />
to its<br />
improvement.<br />
On the south<br />
side of the<br />
monument is a<br />
basin with a tap<br />
and an<br />
inscription<br />
which reads:<br />
This drinking<br />
fountain has<br />
been erected by<br />
the country men<br />
and private friends of the late Thomas<br />
Berkeley Hardtman Berkeley,<br />
Companion of the Most Distinguished<br />
Stevie Anderson rides a bucket lift above<br />
‘The Circus’ to scan as much detail of the<br />
monument’s detail as possible<br />
Order of St. Michael and St. George and<br />
president of the Legislative Council of<br />
the Leeward Islands, in recognition of<br />
the many valuable services he rendered<br />
this his Native Island as a Planter, a<br />
Politician and a Citizen. His Sterling<br />
qualities, his love for this Island and his<br />
deep interest in the welfare of the<br />
country at large entitle him to a<br />
Memorial by which his memory will be<br />
preserved and perpetuated. Born 14th<br />
January 1824. Died 6th December,<br />
1881.<br />
ST. CHRISTOPHER NATIONAL<br />
TRUST BOARD<br />
President<br />
Schneidman Warner<br />
Vice-President<br />
Bruno Gardien<br />
Hon. Secretary<br />
Ryllis Percival<br />
Members<br />
Lindbergh Alvaranga<br />
Austin Gumbs<br />
Brimstone Hill Fortress<br />
National Park<br />
Percival Hanley<br />
Chamber of Industry & Commerce<br />
Brenda John<br />
Government Representatives<br />
Sheryl Harris (Education)<br />
Saju N’Galla (Tourism)<br />
Marlene Phillips (Culture)<br />
Derionne Edmeade (Environment)<br />
ST. CHRISTOPHER NATIONAL<br />
TRUST STAFF<br />
Ryllis Percival - Executive Director<br />
Toni Frederick-Armstrong -<br />
Director of Visitor Experience<br />
Althea Spencer - Officer Manager<br />
Melinda Lewis - Documentalist<br />
Neidai Franklin - Documentalist<br />
Myrthlyn Moses - Museum Attendant<br />
INTERNS<br />
Devorn Carty<br />
Suny “Liz” Salas<br />
Rashid Stanley<br />
Tassaney Steinbergen<br />
VOLUNTEERS<br />
Whitnie Collins<br />
Haneesha Relwani<br />
Deidre Stubbs-Liburd
P A G E 8<br />
Delisle Walwyn Makes Bold Step to Honour the Past While Looking to the Future<br />
The St. Christopher National Trust is<br />
applauding the move by Delisle Walwyn to<br />
preserve the look and feel of its Basseterrebased<br />
head office, in a major restoration<br />
project expected to be completed by next<br />
year.<br />
“It wasn’t even a question of do we preserve<br />
it? It was just a question of how do we get<br />
this done practically,” says Delisle Walwyn’s<br />
Executive Chairman Clayton Perkins, talking<br />
to the National Trust about the major<br />
restoration project underway at their<br />
Liverpool Row Headquarters.<br />
The company has opted – at considerable<br />
cost - to gut the building and keep the<br />
original stonework front façade of the iconic<br />
building which has stood guard on Liverpool<br />
for close to 200 years.<br />
“[The discussion was] how to we do this<br />
within a reasonable cost structure<br />
understanding that restoring the building is<br />
going to cost a lot more than just knocking it<br />
flat to build a brand new building,” he<br />
explained.<br />
Delisle Walwyn & Co. Ltd. was established<br />
in 1951, with the merger of two businesses<br />
that were founded in the<br />
late 19 th century.<br />
Construction underway at<br />
Delisle Walwyn’s Head Office<br />
E.S. Delisle started<br />
operations in 1875 and<br />
W.E. Walwyn & Co. Ltd.,<br />
is believed to have started<br />
in 1886.<br />
Delisle was a shipping<br />
company and Walwyn<br />
sold insurance. Today the<br />
company continues to be<br />
a leader in both industries,<br />
as the agent for Tropical<br />
Shipping and Caribbean<br />
Alliance Insurance and<br />
has since expanded its<br />
operations to include<br />
Retail and Tourism related<br />
services.<br />
The demolition of its head office started last<br />
October.<br />
Mr. Perkins acknowledges that there have<br />
been a couple of issues along the way. The<br />
company has had to work hard to contain<br />
costs, and there were challenges in the<br />
demolition.<br />
“You’re dealing with a building that’s<br />
incredibly old, buildings like this…termites<br />
get to them, so you’re dealing with areas of<br />
the building as you take it down that have<br />
some termite damage and you’ve got to<br />
make sure as you take it down it has a<br />
certain integrity and the workmen are safe,”<br />
he said, his face growing serious.<br />
Delisle Walwyn Head Office on<br />
Liverpool Row<br />
“This building, the cupola was at a four story<br />
level so when the guys were taking down the<br />
cupola they were at the four story level, it’s<br />
high…it’s a small area, with some steep,<br />
sloping rooftops. So there’re a lot of safety<br />
issues, there’re a lot of building integrity<br />
issues, there’re a couple of areas of the<br />
building where we knew there were fairly<br />
large cracks in the volcanic stone. We<br />
thought the integrity would be okay, which it’s<br />
turned out to be, but you never know until<br />
you start touching the building and pulling it<br />
apart.”<br />
Perkins praised the contractor for doing a<br />
“fantastic job,” taking down the old building<br />
with a great deal of care and attention and in<br />
an excellent timeframe.<br />
“The rebuild of the main building should<br />
hopefully be completed next year.”<br />
He explains that there is other work being<br />
done on the property once the main building<br />
is complete, so the entire project should be<br />
finished by May or June of 2018.<br />
“He discussed the feasibility of creating an<br />
exact replica of the old building, as the<br />
company did with its Fairview Inn Great<br />
House (now a museum and a hot stop on the<br />
visitor tour circuit).<br />
“Fairview was a slightly different approach in<br />
that it is a tour site, and the focus of the tour<br />
site is the historical Great House and so<br />
authenticity was important...Delisle Walwyn,<br />
the Head Office will be a little bit different, in<br />
that obviously it’s a corporate head office so<br />
authenticity with the materials is not as<br />
important, what’s most important is to get the<br />
design right, and make sure the design<br />
replicates what was here.”<br />
When it comes to the Liverpool Row project,<br />
there is the ever challenging ‘money factor.’<br />
“Perkins says it is costing roughly 25% more<br />
to do the restoration/replica than to build a<br />
new structure.<br />
“As far as cost implications and how to<br />
manage them and government concessions<br />
and so on, we very fortunately received<br />
significant support from, first and foremost<br />
the Minister of Tourism Honourable Lindsay<br />
Grant who backed us in our efforts to seek<br />
concessions and was a great…source of<br />
support for us, and then the wider<br />
government gave us quite a bit of support so<br />
ultimately we were able to get concessions<br />
on the materials and equipment and so on.”<br />
The Executive Chairman indicated that based<br />
on the company’s experience, it did not<br />
appear as though there is a defined<br />
government policy to deal with such projects.<br />
“It seems as though it’s on a case by case<br />
basis and so to some extent I think that<br />
caused the process to be a little bit longer<br />
and a little bit more involved, just because it<br />
wasn’t something there was a policy on and<br />
something they were used to seeing coming<br />
across their desk every day, and so I think it<br />
required a lot more conversations.”<br />
He said he hoped in the future that the<br />
government could look at how to facilitate<br />
projects like theirs.<br />
“If there was a very clearly defined policy<br />
along with policy guidelines…it would enable<br />
companies like ours looking at doing these<br />
projects to understand what concessions<br />
they may be able to obtain and how that<br />
would affect the bottom line of the project.”<br />
So what’s Perkins’ message to other<br />
businesses? Why take on the extra expense<br />
and time?<br />
“We should do it for our children. We should<br />
do it for the country. These colonial buildings<br />
are beautiful, the architecture is stunning.<br />
[Plus] if you’re a tourism destination with<br />
such rich history, why would you want to do<br />
anything but preserve it?” He asks.<br />
“I would like to hope and believe and I think I<br />
can confidently do so, that the government<br />
would support other owners of properties<br />
who are willing to do what we’ve done, and<br />
once you can get the government to defray<br />
the extra costs with concessions, then there<br />
ought not to be any reason to not do it, and<br />
as responsible corporate citizens and<br />
business persons it’s incumbent on us to do<br />
it.”
P A G E 9<br />
Snorkelling in St. Kitts<br />
By Kate Orchard<br />
Where to go – Beginners should try Timothy Beach, South Frigate Bay by the Dock. You can see lots of fish while standing in<br />
shallow water; you do not even need to know how to swim! When you feel brave enough you can swim around the coastline to<br />
the cactus rock or even further to the underwater island we call Atlantis or even as far as the Carambola Rocks. Friars’ Bay by<br />
Shipwreck beach Bar – snorkel west along the old reef edge all the way to Carambola or go east to discover a small beach or a<br />
newly built jetty. Or start at Carambola and swim around the rocks and into the lagoon. If you can plan the trip you can start at<br />
Carambola and swim to<br />
Timothy beach!<br />
Whitehouse Bay has the<br />
old shipwreck when you<br />
swim east past Salt Plage<br />
or a cave around the corner<br />
when you go<br />
west.Reggae Beach along<br />
the cliffside as far as the<br />
point where the bay meets<br />
the channel. If it is calm<br />
Hawksbill Turtle<br />
snorkelling round the corner<br />
is worthwhile, but not<br />
if there is any strong<br />
waves or current. Spicemill to Banana Bay around the point. Other places on the Atlantic side such as by the rocks at Marriott<br />
can also be good on calm days.<br />
What you might see – fish – lots of them all sorts of shapes, sizes<br />
and colours. This is a good website to help you identify them and<br />
many other sea creatures. http://reefguide.org/carib/index1.html<br />
Lobsters, Sea Cucumbers, Squid, Octopus, Crabs, Anemones,<br />
Seafans, Sea Feathers, Corals, Sea Urchins, Starfish, Hawksbill and<br />
Green Turtles, Stingrays and Eagle Rays.<br />
Trumpetfish<br />
Notes and Precautions –All our bays are quite changeable – you<br />
never know when the sand will be churned up or a lot of weed and<br />
sediment is being brought in and visibility is not good for snorkelling –<br />
if not enjoy a dip and have a cocktail at the nearest beach bar JIt is<br />
always best to have a snorkelling buddy. Beware of fishing and<br />
pleasure boats, kayaks, paddleboards and jetskis – keepto shallow<br />
Puddingwife<br />
areas away from the watercraft lanes and wearing a safety ‘balloon’ is<br />
recommended. Do not touch or stand on anything - Corals are delicate and easily broken or crushed. Learn about Fire Coral,<br />
Spiny Sea Urchins, Fireworms and Scorpionfish before you go out but they are all easily avoided so do not be put off.<br />
Chocolate Chip Sea Cucumber Seafan Starfish
Park Rangers Take to the Hills<br />
“The rangers are responsible for<br />
what happens up there,” Cassisus<br />
emphasized.<br />
The project hopes to expand to<br />
protecting marine and other<br />
terrestrial areas; this according to<br />
Head of the Park Ranger Unit<br />
Racquel Williams de-Ezquea.<br />
“The rangers are<br />
responsible for<br />
what happens<br />
up there.”<br />
Park Ranger<br />
Jordan<br />
Cassius<br />
Declared a protected area in<br />
2007, St. Kitts’ Central Forest<br />
Reserve National Park was not<br />
actively managed for most of the<br />
past decade. That all changed in<br />
June of 2016 when a Park Ranger<br />
Unit was established.<br />
Today, the area - everything<br />
above St. Kitts’ 1000 ft contour - is<br />
patrolled by four trained rangers.<br />
The team is tasked with protecting<br />
the biodiversity of the National<br />
Park as well as keeping it safe for<br />
human use.<br />
“Every day can<br />
be different,” Park<br />
Ranger Jordan<br />
Cassius told the<br />
Trust in a recent<br />
interview.<br />
“Sometimes we<br />
have days where<br />
we take groups<br />
up into the forest,<br />
carrying them<br />
where they want<br />
to<br />
see...sometimes<br />
it’s like that.<br />
Sometimes we<br />
go and we check the trails, make<br />
sure they’re properly maintained,<br />
safe as well because there’s a lot<br />
of dead trees up in the forests that<br />
can be unsafe; so it’s our duty and<br />
job to make sure that when we<br />
see anything, we analyze it,” he<br />
explained.<br />
“Our general thing is to make the<br />
environment safe for the public<br />
and for the biodiversity.”<br />
The Rangers are also trained to<br />
identify and analyze flora and<br />
fauna.<br />
“We look at the population of each<br />
species, and we could tell that<br />
something’s up. You’re not seeing<br />
[many] lizards anymore, you’re<br />
seeing less and less and less, and<br />
sometimes, usually when there’s<br />
an increase of an invasive<br />
species, it lessens that, so what<br />
we have to do is analyze the<br />
forest knowing that what are<br />
causing these species to be less.”<br />
In addition to the four rangers,<br />
there is a sub-project that deals<br />
with species inventory. They deal<br />
with insects, reptiles and<br />
everything else in the forest.<br />
The rangers are taught CPR and<br />
other first aid procedures, along<br />
with search and rescue and<br />
archeology.<br />
Cassisus developed an interested<br />
in nature and the environment<br />
since his days in school.<br />
“This is something that I’ve been<br />
interested in since College. In<br />
high school, I was into the field of<br />
agriculture, so this is something<br />
that I’m really interested in. I’d like<br />
to say that it is an honour working<br />
as a Park Ranger for the<br />
Federation.”<br />
He urges Tour Guides to report to<br />
the Ranger Unit when they are<br />
going into the forest..<br />
“Legislation is being updated with<br />
stiffer fines and certain<br />
components make it have more<br />
teeth... Before, there was<br />
evidence of persons cutting down<br />
wood for charcoal, of course you<br />
have the marijuana situation that’s<br />
still up there; persons harvesting<br />
certain species for making fish pot<br />
nets,” Williams-de Ezquea said.<br />
She too emphasized that people<br />
Central Forest Reserve National<br />
planning to go into the rain forests<br />
should advise the site office which<br />
is located at Old Road’s Wingfield<br />
Estate.<br />
“Tell us before going in, not that<br />
we plan to stop them [but] so that<br />
we know is up there, what they<br />
plan to do, who uses it.”<br />
Ms. Williams de-Ezquea indicated<br />
that there was a need for the park<br />
to generate revenue, and that this<br />
would eventually have to be done<br />
through fees and penalty charges.<br />
This she said would provide<br />
income to build trails and fund the<br />
operations of the Unit.<br />
“We’ve been going to the<br />
communities and started<br />
introducing ourselves, and [letting]<br />
people know what we are doing.”
P A G E 11<br />
The Wild World of West Indian Beetles<br />
Dr. Michael Ivie and Park Ranger Jordan Cassius examine a specimen<br />
By Kate Orchard<br />
How did a Professor at Montana<br />
State University in the United<br />
States come to be a specialist in<br />
West Indian beetles? Professor<br />
Michael Ivie explained to the that<br />
his career started when he was in<br />
the USVI as an extension agent and<br />
began to study the beetles there.<br />
He then went to study West Indian<br />
beetles for his post graduate work<br />
at Ohio State University and was<br />
able to continue that work when<br />
he got the job at Montana State. He<br />
has now been to 50 islands from<br />
Cuba to St. Lucia and his goal is to<br />
visit them all.<br />
There are more than 1000<br />
undescribed species in his lab and<br />
they are gradually being studied and<br />
named. It might be said that they<br />
are discovering new species but in<br />
fact these beetles have been known<br />
for a long time but they have never<br />
entered the scientific record. There<br />
is a small black beetle found under<br />
trash cans in St. Kitts that only had<br />
a scientific name assigned to it in<br />
2016. It is only found in the islands<br />
from Saba to Montserrat and only<br />
now it has been described can it be<br />
shared with the world.<br />
by the Global Environment Facility<br />
(GEF). The habitats being surveyed<br />
are the Central Forest Reserve<br />
National Park, Nevis Peak, Camps<br />
River and the Booby Island Nature<br />
Reserve along with some other<br />
selected locations. The team of<br />
specialists are training the Rangers<br />
and assistants to set up and do long<br />
term monitoring of traps on St.<br />
Kitts and Nevis and they will collect<br />
specimens for further study when<br />
Professor Ivie returns in May.<br />
Students from several primary and<br />
secondary schools attended the<br />
Open Day for the Conserving<br />
Biodiversity Project held in March<br />
at the Department of Agriculture.<br />
The team showed the children<br />
some larger specimens but<br />
Professor Ivie emphasised that it is<br />
the smaller ones that make up the<br />
majority of beetles. The average<br />
size for a beetle is 2.4mm (less than<br />
¼”) which is why so many of them<br />
have not been detected and<br />
catalogued. Professor Ivie stated<br />
that “little things run the world – if<br />
you take those out of the<br />
environment then the system won’t<br />
work”<br />
Beetles are the largest order of<br />
organisms in the world. 1 in 5 multi<br />
-cellular organisms (which includes<br />
plants and animals) is a beetle. One<br />
in 4 animals is a beetle. In Nevis<br />
only 66 species of beetle have been<br />
recorded but a trip to the<br />
neighbouring island of Montserrat<br />
recorded 720 species so it is to be<br />
expected that further study will find<br />
many more in Nevis. It is a big job<br />
to undertake the finding, describing<br />
and naming of the beetles and then<br />
to decide their place in the world.<br />
Some are exotic invasive species;<br />
others are found throughout the<br />
islands and on the mainland while<br />
still may be only present on a few<br />
islands or even only one.<br />
It is a responsibility of the nation<br />
under the United Nations<br />
Biodiversity treaty to protect those<br />
organisms that are only found in St.<br />
Kitts and/or Nevis. It is important<br />
to instil a sense of pride in our local<br />
fauna and flora in the youth of the<br />
Federation. Too much time is spent<br />
on lions, tigers and bears of<br />
someone else’s country so that<br />
there is the mistaken idea that<br />
there is nothing special here which<br />
is very wrong.<br />
Professor Ivie was in St. Kitts and<br />
Nevis as part of a team of experts<br />
invited to come and document as<br />
much biodiversity as possible. The<br />
Conserving Biodiversity Project is<br />
being undertaken by the<br />
Department of Environment with<br />
the United Nations Development<br />
Programme (UNDP) and is funded<br />
Students visit the Biodiversity Project Open Day
P A G E 12<br />
Museum Attendant Myrthlyn Moses is Encouraging<br />
Nationals to Visit the Museum<br />
Myrthlyn welcomes<br />
young visitors to the<br />
museum<br />
“The museum offers a wide variety of information that can<br />
help our children in understanding their past, and it can assist<br />
them in school as well,” Myrthlyn says, highlighting in<br />
particular the subjects Social Studies and History.<br />
“Adults should also be encouraged to visit the museum too,”<br />
she adds.<br />
Nationals she believes are especially drawn to the museum’s<br />
Traditional Room.<br />
“We have on display in our Traditional room, vintage items<br />
that our grandparents and great grandparents used in years<br />
gone by. They remind of us of our past and how far we have<br />
come.”<br />
Myrthlyn, who has worked at the museum for five years, says<br />
she has learned a lot about the country’s history and heritage<br />
since she first visited.<br />
“I never knew about a lot of these aspects of our history before I came here to visit and later<br />
to work here,” she explains.<br />
“We as a people should know our history and traditions so that we can teach our youth about<br />
our past, the struggles and the achievements,” Myrthlyn says.<br />
“Recently we have mounted some new exhibits like one on Statehood and its exciting to see<br />
more locals coming to visit.”<br />
She reminds that the National Museum tells the story of St. Kitts and Nevis from the<br />
Amerindians who lived on the islands over a thousand years ago, though the arrival of the<br />
Europeans and Africans, the story of sugar and slavery, Emancipation, the growth of the<br />
Labour Movement, the road to Independence and everything in between.<br />
BECOME A MEMBER!<br />
Help support the work and upkeep of the National Trust by becoming a Member.<br />
Members get free admission to the museum and use of our Documentation<br />
Centre; our news sheet and news letter, discounts in the Gift Shop and special<br />
member rates for all our events.<br />
Call (869) 465-5584 or email info@stchristophernationaltrust.kn<br />
Hazel Brooks<br />
Bruno Gardien<br />
Dennis Richards<br />
Tricia Greaux<br />
Percival Hanley<br />
Kate Orchard<br />
Museum<br />
Environment<br />
Building & Sites<br />
Lindbergh Alvaranga<br />
Stanley Franks<br />
Austin Gumbs<br />
Othneil Heyliger<br />
ADVISORY COMMITTEES<br />
Human Resource<br />
Elmo Burke<br />
Kaloma Hamilton<br />
Damien Hughes<br />
G’hanja O’Flaherty<br />
Dianelle Taylor-Williams<br />
Marketing & Public Relations<br />
Jonelle Drew-Rawlins<br />
Val Henry<br />
Saju N’Galla<br />
Fundraising & Membership<br />
Brenda John<br />
Schneidman Warner<br />
The St. Christopher National Trust is<br />
ever grateful to those who have<br />
supported our events over the past few<br />
months.<br />
We acknowledge all of our partners:<br />
Amory Enterprises<br />
The Anjolique Dance Co.<br />
Caribelle Batik/Maurice<br />
Widdowson<br />
Coury’s Wholesale<br />
Department of Agriculture<br />
Fraites Bakery<br />
Dejhon Francis<br />
Iletha Fulton<br />
DJ Tony<br />
Thensford Grey<br />
Harper’s Office Depot<br />
Horsfords Valu Mart<br />
Koscab St. Kitts Ltd<br />
Othneil Heyliger<br />
Public Works Department<br />
Island Bakeries<br />
Island Purified Water<br />
Michael Morton<br />
Rams Trading<br />
Urban Development Corporation<br />
Schneidman Warner<br />
International Museum Day: A Big Hit!<br />
We welcomed over 150 visitors,<br />
to the National Museum on<br />
International Museum Day, May<br />
18th.<br />
This year, the day was observed<br />
under the theme "Museums and<br />
contested histories: Saying the<br />
unspeakable in museums."<br />
As part of our own<br />
collections, the National<br />
Museum features a<br />
number of exhibits that<br />
speak to unspeakable<br />
aspects of the nation’s<br />
history including enslavement, deplorable postemancipation<br />
living conditions and the struggles of<br />
the workers’ movement.<br />
The objective of International Museum Day is to raise<br />
awareness of how important museums are in the<br />
development of society.<br />
In keeping with the<br />
tradition observed across<br />
the world, the National<br />
Museum waived<br />
admission for the day.<br />
H E R I T A G E M A T T E R S