By Isahak Basir, CCH
The Dutch occupancy of Essequibo began in the early seventeen century even though this territory had changed its name at certain periods, from Maracro Coast to Arabian Coast in the early 19th century.
The Dutch established Fort Island in the Essequibo River as their command centre, and communicated to those in Essequibo by boats. Several human manipulators and oars propelled these huge wooden boats.
The ordeal from Airy Hall to Fort Island by such a boat can take about three hours. A huge silk cotton tree – a Dutch landmark – identifies Airy Hall, parallel to Plantation Adventure. This point of embarkation was prominent up to 1872. The revolutionary Damon of 1834 was marching towards this point with his protestors when they were slaughtered at Plantation La Belle Alliance.
The upheaval by disrupted sugar workers in 1872 at Plantation Devonshire Castle was also involved in a march to Airy Hall, but was stopped at Queenstown and persuaded to return, where six sugar workers were killed; the first time indentured workers were killed in Guyana.
Under British rule, the transport route from Essequibo to Georgetown was from Airy Hall to Boerasirie Creek where the railway ended. By 1900, the Good Hope Stelling was established, as well as the telegraph cables, which used Morse code as the means of sending telegrams, laid from this point across Wakenaam, Leguan and Parika.
The Dutch had a command centre at Capoey in the Pomeroon, but that closed in 1943. Several Dutch graves are still visible in the area, and a police station is located at that point. From Good Hope Stelling to Parika, a ferry named The MV BASRA travelled that route. This ferry was unique since it was propelled by huge wooden paddles attached to a large steel barrel at the stem of the one-deck flat Jerry.
In the early 1900s, Adventure Stelling was established, and several passenger boat services travelled the route. The MV BASRA was replaced by The SS ORANJE, a grave design of engineering. For the two and half hour-drive to Parika, passengers had to endure the jolt of the steam engine, and the heat in second class was very much unbearable that death was inevitable.
Another vessel by the name of The MV HASSAR was used when The MV NORTH COTE or The MV LUCKANANI was occupied elsewhere. The MV HASSAR capsized at Wakenaam Stelling in 1952, when the captain made a faulty mooring. The first and second-class systems in all our trains and ferries were abandoned when the PPP government built three new ferries; The MV MALALI was earmarked for Essequibo in 1961.
Another apartheid culture ended when the Demerara ferry The MV CARR, which travelled the Linden route, was overtaken by the Linden/Soesdyke Highway, built in 1968.
However, time and civilization have not eliminated some important signs of history. Both Dutch and British landmarks are still visible in Essequibo. The tall palm trees at Golden Fleece estates, Anna Regina, and the 300-year-old silk cotton tree at Hoft Von Orie foreshore, still in existence, were used as navigation aids to guide sugar punts. (Photos by Marco Basir)
