Carifesta X celebrations went to Mahaica on Wednesday when the Guyanese-Canadian Association of British Guiana, Canada (GCABGC) unveiled a statue of Sir James Douglas in honour of his contribution to Canada.
Douglas who was born at Belmonte, Mahaica in British Guiana in 1803 to a slave, Ann Ritchie and Scottish father, John Douglas, founded the province of British Columbia, Canada and later became the governor of that state.
His father, the owner of a sugar plantation, took him to Scotland in 1812 after he had six years of formal education in Guyana. In 1819, after receiving further education he moved to Canada.
He was apprenticed to the North West Company, then started to work at the Hudson Bay Company after the merger of the two companies in 1821. He was also the chief trader of the company.
The statue was unveiled during a simple ceremony at the old train station by Prime Minister Samuel Hinds and Canadian High Commissioner Charles Court. They were assisted by student of the Supply Primary School, Nickassey Mayers.
Among those present at the event, which was chaired by Dr James Rose, Chairman of the National Trust of Guyana (NTG) were Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Dr Frank Anthony and Minister within the Ministry of Education, Dr Desrey Fox.
Anthony remarked that it was pleasing to know that Douglas who started life at Mahaica, was a pioneer in the Diaspora and that the monument was a tribute to one of the country’s heroes. He urged that other heroes be identified and their history studied and shared at schools.
“I think the unveiling of this monument is not just about Sir James Douglas… but of a deeper bond of co-operation and collaboration and the ties that the people have with the people of Canada,” he added.
There are discussions to have an ongoing direct collaboration between the residents in Mahaica and those in BC. A number of projects has been touted and members of the ABGC would return to “unveil some of those and perhaps some of the residents would have to travel to BC to strengthen those linkages.”
President of the GCABGC, Clyde Duncan who made the local contact with Dr Rose and Conservation Officer Nirvana Persaud of the NTG for the erection of the statue said that there are also plans to start a Sir James Douglas Foundation.
In his address, the Prime Minister said that the site where the statue was erected would be converted into a park and would showcase historical artifacts. He pointed out that an old water tank that was used at the train station still exists on the site.
Dr Fox remarked that from an educational standpoint the “unveiling is a new dimension to recording our history.” Noting that children in that area suffer because of the unavailability of research materials, Fox said she was considering expanding the library at the school to provide information on Sir James and other heroes and of Mahaica itself.
She also said that there were suggestions that the Helena Primary School be renamed Sir James Douglas Primary.
But an elderly councillor with the Mahaica Neighbourhood Democratic Council, Alfred Rodrigues who spoke of what he knew of Douglas’s ancestry did not feel it was a good idea as the estates that the Douglases had owned were located at Hope, Mahaica.
