James Alexander Fernander, third left, with a few of his grandchildren. Fernander is one of the oldest living residents of Gambier who can trace his history back to the liberated Africans who settled in this neighbourhood.
GAMBIER 25° North and 77° West By Shavaughn Moss Photographs courtesy of L. Roscoe Dames II
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ew Providence, home to the cosmopolitan city of Nassau, has grown from a quiet port in 1844 with a population which numbered around 8,000 inhabitants, to a bustling city, home to most of the country’s population. The island boasts an interesting blend of old-world colonial architectural charm and modern-day sophistication, and you will find everything you want. But what should not be missed are those communities that are steeped in history. On the north-western coast of New Providence, at Latitude 25° North and Longitude 77° West, about nine miles from the Nassau city centre, is Gambier village, one of the oldest villages in New Providence, dating back to the early 1800s. Dino’s Gourmet Conch Salad restaurant and The Hideaway restaurant to the west, and St. Peter’s Native Baptist Church to the east, establishments of polar opposites, stand like sentinels guarding the entrance to this Bahamian community that still retains the idyllic ideal of a bygone era interspersed with modern-day trappings, at the intersection of West Bay Street and Fernander Way. Contemporary home structures intermingle harmoniously with humble abodes. Untethered sheep roam, grazing lazily, roadside. Ducks and chickens meander across the street. Surprisingly, you may glimpse a peacock, sunning itself. Anything is possible!
Dino’s Gourmet Conch Stand restaurant stands at the x entrance to the historic Gambier village Gambier is also home to the obligatory farm on which cows, pigs, goats, sheep and chicken are raised tucked away out of sight, along a dirt road, owned by one of the community’s oldest residents, James Alexander Fernander. Finding residents sitting around their yards, whiling away the time in frivolous conversation offers an almost picture-perfect snapshot of what the leisurely island life of yesteryear looked like. The residents of Gambier village hold this existence close. It’s one of those communities where everyone knows everyone and everything. Gambier village was established by liberated Africans after the abolition of the slave trade in all British Territories in 1807. Some of those Africans left an indelible stamp on the village’s unique and intriguing history. Most notable, Elijah Morris, who led the largest slave revolt in United States history in 1841.
july 2022
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