New Amsterdam is located about five miles from the mouth of the Berbice River on its eastern bank and is situated at the confluence of the Berbice and Canje Rivers. It is connected by a national highway to Rose Hall, Corriverton and Crabwood Creek.
About 1733, the name New Amsterdam was given to a little village, which sprang up around Fort Nassau several miles up the Berbice River. In 1785 it was decided to abandon Fort Nassau and move to the neighbourhood of Fort St. Andries, lower down the river at the confluence of the Berbice River and its tributary the Canje River, which is now the site of present day New Amsterdam.
The original ‘Nieuw Amsterdam’ grew up being Fort Nassau some 55 miles up the Berbice River during the first half of the 18th century. It was a small township with buildings mostly strung out parallel to the river bank. The inhabitants of the Town were required to pay a fixed sum annually to the Dutch Reformed Church and the Hospital, and were required to keep the public paths and the dividing land between their lots free of bushes and grass.
At some point after 1784, the Dutch decided to move the seat of Government downstream to the confluence of the Berbice and Canje Rivers, and the town of New Amsterdam was born. This site was selected because it provided a natural outlet for a very extensive and productive hinterland.
The name ‘New Amsterdam’ was chosen because most of the shareholders were from the province of Amsterdam in Holland. The first Ordinance on record relating to this new town was dated January 11, 1791. Under the terms of this Ordinance, lots were to be given out along the river front, each owner being required to empolder his land and provide drainage.
George Pinkhard, in a “Letter from Guyana” describing New Amsterdam, about 1806, indicated that at the end of the Town, close to the Canje Creek, was the imposing edifice of Government Housing which was built of brick in the ‘European Style’. Along the [stet] covered with troolie or plantain leaves, other with shingles.
In 1812 a Commissary was appointed to plan and carry out the construction of the roads and bridges and work out a proper drainage system. A special Department of Works, the Winkel Department, was set up to deal with all repair works required by the residents. The workmen were originally slaves who were housed in one of the older parts of New Amsterdam. They were given their freedom in 1831, three years before slavery was abolished throughout the British West Indies. The newly freed slaves were allowed to keep their houses in Winkel Village and in 1890 their descendants petitioned the Combined Court of British Guiana for the grant land on which the houses stood. This land passed into ownership of Winkel heirs. Winkel has been preserved as a ward of the Town.
In May 1825, an Ordinance was enacted to establish a Board of Management for the Town. There were two subsequent Ordinances: one in October 1825 and the other in September 1830. In 1838, a “Board of Police” was established and this was responsible for the Town’s affairs until 1844 when a “Board of Superintendence” was established. During this period the following came into being: the Town Hall of the Tudor architecture with a tower approximately 75 feet; the New Amsterdam Market sited below the Town Hall occupying an area of 26,400 sq. ft.; the Supreme Court which was housed in the Colony House; the Canje Swing Bridge built by an English Engineer; The Mission Chapel Church and School; All Saints Scots Church and School; The Water Work; introduction of electricity; the Botanic Gardens.
The Board of Superintendence functioned until September 1, 1891 when legislation was enacted to incorporate the Town into a Municipality. The membership of the Council was drawn from the defunct Board of Superintendence and Neil Ross McKinnon, K.C., who was president of this Board, became the Town’s first Mayor.
McKinnon framed the Town Council Ordinance and was also the financial representative for New Amsterdam for a number of years. He took a deep interest in the welfare of his constituents and was one of the sons of New Amsterdam of whom the citizens were very proud. His successors continued to consolidate and develop the Town by putting various infrastructural works in place.
The first Council composed all the members of the former Board of Superintendence were: Neil Ross McKinnon, K.C. (Mayor); John Downer (Senior Councillor); Clement Phillip Gaskin (Councillor); Isaac Edward Adrian Patoir (Councillor); Hanoel de Mendonca (Councillor); Henry Rynveldt (Councillor); and Bruce Harvey Stephens (Councillor)
With Officers of the Council being Town Superintendent, Superintendent of the Fire Brigade, Clerk of the Market, and the Sanitary Inspector.
Religion, too, has had a tremendous influence on the way of life in New Amsterdam. Christian work in Berbice started with the Lutherans who built the first church in New Amsterdam in 1803. This religious body was also credited with the establishment of the Geneva Academy, which was the first industrial school in the colony. The next Christian Movement centered around the Anglicans. Anglican work in New Amsterdam began in 1811, and at first their services were held on alternate Sundays in the Lutheran Church and after in the Colony church (Scots Church, Vryheid Street). After this,the Scots Church was erected in 1820 with help from the Public Treasury. Eventually the Anglicans acquired their own building 1838. About 1848 the Methodists started evangelism in New Amsterdam.
Seven years after the Anglicans arrived in New Amsterdam, Rev. John Wray, an Englishman, used his personal funds to purchase a part of Lot 12 Chapel Street for the erection of the Mission Chapel Congregational Church. Before the construction of this building, services were conducted under a tamarind tree, which was close by the proposed Church site.
In 1911 the Independent Congregational Church was established after a rift between Reverend Robert T. Frank and the Congregational Union. This Church was renamed Frank Memorial Church after the death of Reverend Robert T. Frank.
Another major Christian denomination which was established was the Roman Catholic Church. Today, there are several other religious organisations in New Amsterdam, such as the Episcopal, Bahai, Muslim, Hindu and Hare Krishna. All these religions and churches have equal status in law.
The Electric Lighting Order of 1900 gave the electricity undertaking legal status as an entity owned and controlled by the New Amsterdam Town Council. As a utility, the Council was able to satisfy its citizenry with an essential service while at the same time earning a fair amount of revenue, which was ploughed back into other capital works of the Town, and to keep the levying of rates at a minimum. However, due to a world crisis in October 1973 interims of the availability and sudden rise in the price of fuel oil and subsequently on spare parts and services, it became uneconomical for Power Stations within close proximity to operate independently. Consequently, in keeping with the economic policy of the Government, the New Amsterdam Power System was absorbed into the larger system of that of the Guyana Electricity Corporation on the September 1, 1979.
New Amsterdam had been the centre of culture and music also. Some of the outstanding personalities in this field are Edith Pieters, Norma Romalho, Joyce Ferdinand-Lalljee, Moses Telford and Rosemary Ramdeholl – to name a few. There were also the highly acclaimed ‘Lads and Lassies’ and ‘New Amsterdam Music Society’, choirs trained by Edith Pieters and Ruby McGregor, respectively. Other outstanding musicians include Sammy Nicholas, Millicent Joseph and Edith Ferdinand. Today, however, the best choirs are to be found in churches like (the) Adventists, the Salvation Army and Grace Temple.
Pop music was provided by bands like the Living Ends and S.T. Groovers. There were also the exciting Soul Riot Concerts and Viking Choir with a repertoire of classes and calypsos. Names like Chuck Gerrard and Errol Wong (Wongie) must go down to posterity.
The citizens of New Amsterdam were also entertained at open-air concerts at the Old Band Stand at Esplanade Ground. Major Henwood and the B.G. Police Force Band and “Randolph Bennett and his boys” were regular there, especially on moonlight nights.
Today, although this Band Stand still stands there, the area is earmarked for recreational facilities and a Botanical Gardens. In the early 90s, the Mayor and Town Council and the Rotary Club of New Amsterdam worked together to develop Esplanade. In the late 90s, the Mayor of New Amsterdam, along with his Council, decided to work assiduously to develop the ground. The area now houses a Kiddies Corner that was sponsored by Courts Guyana Ltd. The ground had been renamed the Esplanade Recreational Park and Botanical Gardens. It has a pavilion in a corner overlooking what is now called the Midland Ball Field on the basis of a twinning between the City of Midland, Texas, U.S.A. and the New Amsterdam Town Council (1998-1999).
Various organisations too influenced the ways of life of youths in New Amsterdam. The Y.M.C.A., Y.W.C.A., Girls Guides, Boys Scouts, the Red Cross Society, the Catholic Men’s Club, the New Amsterdam Community Council, the New Amsterdam Dramatic Society, and the Berbice Branch of the B.G. Extra Mural Association, U.W.I., all helped to create a tremendous impact on the development of the youths of the Town. The British Council was in New Amsterdam for a while and treated the town folks to film shows and recorded music. The New Amsterdam Branch of the Public Free Library was established in 1953, with Miss Edith Pieters as Librarian-in-Charge.
Great importance was attached to the education of New Amsterdam citizens. The work of outstanding teachers like J.Z. Peters, J.A. Ralph, Arthur Thomas, Robert Charles, Miss Austin, C.B. Giddings, A.E. Crawford, Doris Cooper, Sonny Rodway, Harold Scarder, John N. Rollings, and J. N. Harper must be recorded in any history of New Amsterdam. As a result of its high educational standards and dedicated teachers at the primary and secondary levels, New Amsterdam has been able to produce outstanding sons and daughters like Viola Burnham, Gavin Kennard, Sir ShridathRamphal, Dr.Ewart Thomas, W.O.R. Kendall, the Luckhoos, J.O.B. Haynes, Edgar Mittelholzer, Jan Carew, Charles Fung-A-Fat, Clifford Baburam, the Hanomans, Joseph Eleazer, P.A. Cummings, and many others.
In the commercial sector firms like Diyaljees, the Ganpatsinghs, E.A. Chapman, Rohlehrs, Carews, Hanomans, Hughes, Chois, S. Davsons and Sons, and S.G. Wreford and Company have contributed to the economic development of the Town and its environs.
In the field of building and construction there were private individuals like the elder Chapman (who built the New Amsterdam Stelling); S.G. Wiltshire; Charlie Hancock; and Lyndon La Bennett. A living testimonial of Charlie Hancock’s work is the Horse Shoe Table, which adorns the Council Chamber of the Town. The chairs around the table, however, were made by the Lutheran Church, which at one time operated a Woodwork Center. At the other end of the spectrum there were firms like H.C. Alphonso and Sons and Nabbi Brothers who undertook major construction works in the Town.
New Amsterdam has a very colourful past.Today, the Mayor and Town Council is appealing for total cooperation and support of the entire community.
New Amsterdam covers about 13.7 sq.kilometerswith an estimated population of approximately 35,000. The Town is bounded – North of Canje Bridge; South of Doe Park; West of the Berbice River and East of Caracas (Angoy’s Avenue).
The current Mayor of New Amsterdam is Kirt Anthony Solomon Wynter.
For more information on projects geared towards the development of New Amsterdam, visitCouncil of Friends of New Amsterdam on www.cofona.org (Information from the Mayor and Town Council of New Amsterdam, Berbice, Guyana; September, 2010) (Guyana Times Sunday Magazine)
