Guyana is a nation that has a colourful history and is home to several cultures. For this reason, the richness and diversity of our past, it is critical to preserve our heritage. The relevant organisation, The National Trust of Guyana, is a government enterprise whose mandate propels its commitment to the preservation and conservation of historic buildings and sites in Guyana. Therefore we aim to enlighten the public about various events, aspects, symbols, landmarks and structures which has moulded our rich and diverse heritage.
As we close the month of September in which we celebrate and promote education, we wish to consider one of Guyana’s oldest educational institutions, Queen’s College, which, not only has profound standards, but a rich cultural history.
Opened originally as a school for boys, it was called the Queen’s College Grammar School for Boys. Founded in 1844 by Reverend William Percy Austin, D.D., Bishop of British Guiana, its first assembly consisted of a mere fifteen boys. While Reverend Austin was of an Anglican background, he sought to establish the school with a tolerance for, and interest in, attracting non – Anglicans. However, due to its associated origin, the school’s first administration consisted only of members of the Church of England.
It was located at the Old Colony House in 1844 – the compound that now houses the Guyana High Courts, previously known as the Victoria Law Courts. The school moved in 1845 to Main and Quamina (then Murray) streets, with a student body of seventy. Again in 1854 it was relocated to its first formal building at Carmichael and Quamina streets, currently home to Bishops’ High School. Later in 1876 its administration was transferred to the state making it a “colonial institution” and thus given the name “Queen’s College”. Before settling at its current location in Thomas Lands, at Camp and Thomas roads, it had also occupied the site at which the Ministry of Health is now housed, on Vlissengen Road and Brickdam.
At the Thomas Lands site, the building was officially opened in 1951, maintaining high standards throughout the years, later to be converted to a co-educational institution in the 1970s.
Unfortunately, fire struck on November 16, 1997, where what was considered the heart of the building, was lost. This section included the auditorium, staff room, badminton court, table tennis lounge, bicycle shed and canteen.
However, it was not long before arrangements were made to relocate students to ensure their educational instruction. And later, plans moved apace to reconstruct the portion lost in the fire. This project was completed and later dedicated on September 19, 2003.
Queen’s College, like many other buildings bears testimony to our historic past, and is merely one which has been partly lost to fire. Many others are daily being vandalised and over time demolished, and others lost to fires as well. Georgetown, a predominantly wooden city, is one which cannot afford to lose its heritage.
While monuments or structures form part of our heritage, other intangible elements are part of the fabric of our heritage also. This too needs to be maintained; the institution of the school is one such element since this point at which knowledge is imparted, an appreciation and understanding develops. The institution of the school is therefore a pivotal link in the preservation of our heritage, which is otherwise destroyed or damaged due to lack of knowledge or ignorance.
The National Trust of Guyana, which undertakes to promote and safeguard the nation’s heritage, wishes to remind citizens that preservation is a task which requires the cooperation of all Guyanese as our heritage is conserved for the enjoyment of all.
We urge all Guyanese to embrace Queen’s College’s motto, ‘Fideles ubique utiles’ – “Loyal and useful everywhere”, and encourage the community to take an active role in ensuring the long term survival of Guyana’s patrimony by exercising care and respect at all times when visiting monuments and heritage sites. (By Bhavanna Gossai, National Trust, 2010)
