letter from lauraFOR YEARS I was involved in heritage preservation research, writing and fund-raising for dissemination of aspects of Jamaica's African heritage. To honour Cecil Baugh, the wonderful potter and educator who has fused Oriental, English and African knowledge into his Jamaican art works, I asked for and received the use of Kings House ballroom to launch the new edition of his life's story in November, 1999. It seemed the most fitting place to celebrate his 91st birthday.
As of November 22, 2001, he's still going strong at age 93! For my trouble, I was asked to serve on the Kings House Foundation. Actually Chairman Lalor wrote to me, the Governor General's very competent aide de camp, Capt. Loban, advised me to accept and the Governor General thanked me for having done so. How could I say no after that? Suddenly I'm supposed to be helping preserve this magnificent colonial mansion when there are still Jamaicans who don't have running water.
That any Jamaican should have to carry water on his or her head in this day outrages me, but that isn't Sir Howard Cooke's fault. On the contrary, the more I've learned about his role in Jamaica as an educator and believer in community development, the more I've gained respect for his unassuming manner. In truth, whoever the Head of State may be, whether a President or Governor General, an official residence must be maintained. To preserve one that is already of historic value increases the value of one's nation, something brought home to me by a Haitian friend.
Marie-Florence Hudicourt deplores the fact that most of Haiti's architectural heritage is being destroyed through careless neglect. Beautiful aspects of one's heritage should be maintained not only for aesthetic but also economic reasons. She points out that Santo Domingo's vibrant tourist industry owes part of its success to the Dominican Republic having properly maintained their Spanish architectural heritage.
The Rt. Hon. Michael Manley was actually the most recent proponent of preserving the present Kings House. The original building, on what was formerly Somerset Pen, a 190-acre property purchased from the Church of England, was first lived in by Sir John Peter Grant, Governor General (1866-1874) who was responsible for laying out the large lawns and gardens. The building was a victim of the devastating earthquake of 1907. The structure we know today, designed by Nicholson and Corlette, used reinforced concrete to withstand both earthquake and hurricane, though hurricane Gilbert did cause damage. Fire this year completely destroyed Capt. Loban's personal quarters and other staff rooms but did not spread to the main house. You may have seen Lady Cooke on the scene, thanking firemen for preventing any further damage.
Clearly, this set back the effort which began when Manley wrote to the President of the Private Sector Organisation in August, 1991: "Much of Kings House remains in utterly deplorable condition. I am going to earnestly request you talk to the Governor General about the needs, and see what can be done to mobilise help. I know you'll try to help as much as possible." President of the PSOJ at the time, the Hon Dennis Lalor, took this request to heart and has since been volunteering an average of ten hours a week exclusively to the task of helping to coordinate the public and private sector repair and maintenance of this important symbol of Jamaica's government, important he says because if you let the symbols of state authority deteriorate, you demonstrate a lack of respect for the country's very foundation.
The first official contact every representative of a foreign nation has with Jamaica occurs when that country's representative presents his or her credentials to the Head of State at Kings House. Imposing the dignity and graciousness of the present building and its occupants upon these representatives has gone a long way in establishing the kind of dialogue which helps to maintain Jamaica's international presence.
The Kings House Foundation came into being in early 1993. Robert Levy has been treasurer since the inception. Desmond Blades is a great supporter. Philip Gore and Joseph Arthur Matalon play an important role, as do other Foundation Directors Christopher Bovell and William McConnell. Hon. Paul Geddes also served on the board before his death. Lalor recalls "the entire place needed refurbishing. The living quarters were a disgrace, the kitchen everything in Kings House, including the Governor General's office and the guest bedrooms."
Numerous individuals gave time and money, including large donations from former American Ambassador Glen Holden, but most private funds were raised through an annual ball, a concert, volunteering services, and corporate donations. Jamaica Broilers, Seprod, Mussons, Price Waterhouse, the ICWI Group, Mutual Security Life, ICD, D&G, Jamaica Flour Mills, NCB, Grace Kennedy, J. Wray & Nephew, Alcan, West Indies Alliance, Key Insurance, and SuperClubs all contributed at least $100,000, and in most cases much more, towards the effort.
Keith Rigby, of Implemen-tation Ltd.,donated his services as project manager and Mr. Shako, Ministry of Works, was extremely helpful in the original refurbishing, genuinely a joint private/public sector exercise, which became more public sector than originally intended when the government stepped in to pay off a loan of between twelve to fourteen million from Victoria Mutual that private fund-raising could not meet. Once the most beautiful areas ballroom, dining room, Governor General's office and private living quarters were returned to the Georgian architectural standard to which they were built in 1909, plans for refurbishing the Privy Council meeting room, replacing awnings, repairing plumbing, creating a museum area to allow public access were all put on hold.
Fund-raising died completely in 2000. So last year, Lalor persuaded Charlie Johnston, Kenneth Benjamin and Tina Spiro to join the board. The Kaiser Jamaica Group stepped in this year with a substantial donation, as did the Bank of Nova Scotia, so that when the government's regular maintenance budget was cut in half, and then cut again, Kings House was able to finish paying for the kitchen it needed. In total, over the past eight years, the private sector has contributed $9,459,741.65 towards the upkeep of the residence of the Head of State. Minister of Finance, the Hon. Omar Davies, stresses that the Government of Jamaica has a basic obligation to be sure that the residence and meeting rooms for the Head of State are maintained at a respectable level by the government, and indeed, the government does bear the major portion of these costs, but he welcomes the fact that the private sector has not only made a contribution of approximately a million dollars a year towards Kings House, but that they inspire the government to use the money in a manner that contributes to preserving the architectural beauty of what is a National Treasure.
Next: Sir Howard on
the Queen's visit and the
importance of public access
to Kings House
