Elgin Forsythe boatbuilder, Commissioner and historian
|
Nassau, Bahamas - Andrew
McKinney brought me two wonderful photos that reveal the cultural past of The
Bahamas: Firstly Elgin Forsyth:
I first ‘met’ Elgin Forsythe, the
boat builder, commissioner and historian through the writings of my late father
in law, Paul Albury. I was very impressed by the breadth and depth of the knowledge
of both men. Another stalwart historian Paul Aranha has much more information
about his ancestral relative Elgin Forsythe.
The
talk by Dr Peter Maynard on 9th June enlightened the smallish but
appreciative audience about the great awakening in the early 1960s led by his
grandmother Meta Davis Cumberbatch. The question and discussion afterward highlighted
the role of cultural artistic endeavours in forming the ideological national
identity of the Bahamas in that period in history which witnessed internal self
government, majority rule and independence.
Peter
left two copies of each of the following books which are for sale:
Great Awakening a biography and some works of Meta Davis Cumberbatch
B’Booky
and BRabby by Peter Maynard
The
complete works of Meta Davis Cumberbatch by Peter Maynard that contains some
wonderful poetry and plays.
The
second photo Andrew McKinney donated was the St Hilda’s Anglican School in
the 1920s - situated below Government House. Andrew McKinney is the boy with
the starch white open necked shirt standing 4th from left in the 3rd
row from front.
Here and there:
We
are pleased that our cheerful volunteer Cora Carey is sounding more like her
usual self after her recent operation. She hopes to be back at the museum after
the summer break.
The museum will be closed after Friday, 1st
July and will re-open Monday, 5th September.
The Bahamas Historical Society (BHS)
is
a non-profit organization dedicated to stimulating interest in Bahamian
History and to the collection and preservation of material relating
thereto. Its Headquarters, the former IODE Hall, was a gift from the
Imperial Order of the Daughters of the Empire (IODE). BHS is on Shirley
Street and Elizabeth Avenue in Nassau.
www.bahamashistoricalsociety.
com
