BILL TO BE INTRODUCED TO PROTECT INDIGENOUS NAMES OF THE BVI
When the next Sitting of the Legislative Council of the Virgin
Islands convenes, a new Bill designed to protect indigenous names
of the BVI will be introduced by Chief Minister the Honourable
Ralph T. O'Neal. The Bill is entitled "The Preservation
of Names and Places Act, 2001".
Executive Council has agreed that the Bill should be circulated
to Members of the Legislative and thereafter introduced in the
House. The Bill can rightly be termed the "José O'Neal
Bill". The Chief Minister recalled that many years ago,
while Mr. O'Neal served as a Nominated Member, he would call
and plead for something to be done to ensure that the names of
the islands, places, bays etc. in the British Virgin Islands
remain and that people do not change them at their whim and fancy.
A case in point is a location in East End called Hodge's Creek,
but which is more popularly known as Maya Cove. According to
the Chief Minister, there is never a place in Tortola called
Maya Cove. He pointed out that the name stuck because an Irishman
with a yacht named Maya anchored in Hodge's Creek and either
forgot or didn't care that the area was called Hodge's Creek
and he called it Maya Cove.
Mr. O'Neal referred to an attempt by Ian Major, who bought Scrub
Island, to have the name changed. "The name is not inviting,
but at least, he had the courtesy to write to the Administrator,
who referred it to Executive Council; he wanted to know if he
could change the name from Scrub Island to Virgin Cay and Executive
Council in their wisdom said no."
He recalled as a boy walking from Little Dix Bay, Jumbie Rocks,
Savannah Bay, Pond Bay, Mahoe Bay, John Tata Bay, Nail Bay and
Long Bay in his hometown now constituency. "And those are
the names we knew. Now all of a sudden, I go up there and I see
Diamond Bay and I ask what it is? There is no bay in Virgin Gorda
named Diamond Bay! Another example he quoted was Paradise Bay.
"I don't know where that is. There's no bay up there like
that!"
Chief Minister O'Neal insisted that if investors build hotels
and guesthouses and choose to name them whatever they want, "it's
no trouble to me", but he insisted that they should not
change the indigenous names of places in the islands. For example,
people often refer to Mosquito Island as Drake's Anchorage for
the hotel that was built there, but he insists that it is Drake's
Anchorage on Mosquito Island.
He hastened to acknowledge that some persons have incorporated
the local names with the names of their properties, such as Bitter
End and Peter Island Resort. But government had difficulty with
some other investors, such as Lambert Bay, who also wanted to
change the name. "And we insisted in the license issued
under the Non Belongers Act that the name Lambert Bay remain!"
"What will happen now with this Bill, a map will be certified
by the Governor that the names on the map are the official names
of the various islands, bays, beaches and other places in the
territory," the territory's leader revealed. He said a copy
would then be placed in the Land Registry, the Physical Planning
Office, the Chief Surveyors Office and perhaps in the Chief Minister's
Office and other offices, so that people can confirm the original
names.
"So, they have a history behind the names of these places
and we can't allow people just to come and change them at their
whim and fancy…so we're going to introduce legislation…at
the next convenient Sitting and we hope it will be sooner than
later," he ended.
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