NAME OF FEATURE | THE GLEANER | MONDAY, JANUARY 31, 2022 10 JAMAICA AT 60: MANCHESTER Keisha Hill/Senior Gleaner Writer TWO CENTUR I ES ago, Manchester was formed in 1814, by an Act of the House of Assembly, making it one of the newest parishes of Jamaica. It was formed as a result of the amalgamation of the parishes of St Elizabeth, Clarendon and Vere. This was done in response to a petition from the inhabitants of Mile Gully, May Pen and Carpenters Mountain, who complained that they were too far away from an administrative centre. Located in west-central Jamaica, in the county of Middlesex, Manchester was named after the then Governor of Jamaica, General William Montague, Duke of Manchester, whose administration was the longest in the history of the island, a period of 19 years from 1808 to 1828. The parish covers about 320.5 square miles and is the sixth-largest of Jamaica’s 14 parishes, sharing a western border with St Elizabeth, a northern border with Trelawny, an eastern border with Clarendon, and a southern border with the Caribbean Sea. The population is estimated at 190,000 with over 72,000 residing in the capital of Mandeville. Some of the other major towns include Christiana, Devon, Mile Gully, Newport, Porus andWilliamsfield. Manchester has a varied climate, scenery, and vegetation due to three mountain ranges, the May Day Mountain, Carpenters Mountain, and the Don Figueroa Mountain. The highest point in Manchester is located at Huntley in the Carpenters Mountain at an elevation of 2,770 feet (840 metres) above sea level. Over 90 per cent of the surface is limestone, so there are over 100 caves, along with sinkholes and underground passages. Gourie Cave near Christiana is the longest known cave in Jamaica at 11,499 feet. The Oxford Cave near Auchtembeddie is the largest and was once a roosting site for a possibly extinct bat species. Smokey Hole Cave in Cross Keys is the deepest known cave at 639 feet. There are some rivers in the parish, notably the One Eye River, Alligator Pond and Gut River. Some of these rivers run mostly underground, like the Hector’s River. Manchester also has large deposits of bauxite which was discovered in 1942, and parts of the parish have been strip-mined as a result. AGRICULTURE Because the area is largely mountainous, there is no large-scale cultivation of crops like sugar cane, which requires large plots of land. Consequently, Manchester never had sugar estates. The slaves worked on coffee plantations and, after Emancipation, became independent coffee farmers. Banana, coffee, pimento (al lspice) , annatto and ginger are grown, and the parish is noted for its citrus (oranges and grapefruit) which are exported. In 1920, the ortanique was developed in Manchester by Charles Jackson; it is a cross between the orange and the tangerine and is also a popular export. Irish potatoes are grown in the Christiana area. BUSINESS Many of the first Jamaican organisations and businesses began in Manchester. The Manchester Horticultural Society was formed in 1865 and is one of the oldest in the world. The Manchester Gold Club began in 1868 and is the oldest sports club in the Caribbean. The Mandeville Hotel, one of the oldest in the Caribbean, opened in 1875. Also, the legendary Jamaican Pickapeppa hot sauce is manufactured in Shooter’s Hill, Manchester. The Jamaica Standard Products Company also started its operations in Williamsfield. In 1966, four years after Jamaica gained its Independence, the Pioneer Chocolate Company opened its doors for business, also at Williamsfield. In 1987, Diana McIntyre-Pike and Desmond Henry created the first non-governmental organisation for community tourism – the Central and South Tourism Organization (CESTO). Since then, a company called Countrystyle has emerged to market and develop sustainable tourism throughout the Caribbean. POPULAR PERSONS Outside of its scenery and tranquillity, Manchester is also known for its people. Standing tall among them is Jamaica’s National Hero Norman Washington Manley. Manley was a Rhodes Scholar, a World War II veteran, an advocate of adult universal suffrage, the founder and leader of the People’s National Party. President of the International Netball Federation, Molly Rhone, is also a daughter of Manchester. After her tenure as a player, she served as president of the Jamaica Netball Association and vice-president of the International Federation of Netball Associations (IFNA). In 2003, as president of the IFNA, Rhone became the first and only Jamaican female to head an international sporting body. In 1961, Mile Gully’s native son, the Right Reverend Bishop Alfred Charles Reid, was ordained a priest of the Episcopal Church. Bishop Reid’s faithful and exemplary service to God and man has propelled him to the position of the 13th Episcopal Bishop of Jamaica and the Cayman Islands. MUSIC The creative geniuses of Ernest Ranglin (born 1932) and Byron Lee (1935-2008) have contributed significantly to Manchester’s recognition. During the 1950s, bothmen placed their indelible marks on Jamaican music as Ranglin became a proficient jazz guitarist and Lee formed the musical group Byron Lee and the Dragonaires. Both were very instrumental in the creation of ska and made significant contributions to later genres such as rocksteady and reggae. Jamaican reggae musician and Rastafarian, Garnet Silk (1966-1994), known for his diverse, emotive, powerful and smooth voice, also hailed fromthe parish. Patrick Barrett, better known by his stage nameTony Rebel, Jepther McClymont, better known as Luciano, and second-generation roots reggae artistes Anthony Cruz, Aaron Silk are also sons of the parish. SPORTS In sport, the achievements of ArthurWint ranked second to none among the natives of Manchester. After serving in the Royal Air Force duringWWII, Wint, who was already an accomplished athlete, left the military and went on to medical school. Here the scholar and athlete balanced his studies with his training, resulting in gold and silver medals at the 1948 Olympic Games. He was the first Jamaican Olympic gold medallist. Wint later served as Jamaica’s high commissioner to Great Britain. In recent times we have seen the success of Deon Hemmings McCatty, former female 400 metres hurdler. Hemmings McCatty was the first-ever Jamaican woman to win an Olympic gold when she won the 400mhurdles at the 1996 Olympics, breaking the Olympic record which stood to 2004. Elaine Thompson Herah is fivetime Olympic champion who competes in the 100m and the 200m. She is the fastest woman alive. Sherone Simpson, a gold medallist in the 4x100m relay from the 2004 Olympics and silver medallist in 2005 World Championships, and the silver medallist in the individual event at the 2008 Summer Olympics, is also from the parish. Nesta Carter, who has been a successful part of the Jamaican 4x100 metres relay team, also hails from Manchester. HOUSING Over the two centuries since it was founded, Manchester has grown and prospered and is still the destination of choice for retirees returning from England. keisha.hill@gleanerjm.com SOURCE: National Library of Jamaica THOMPSON HERAH BYRON LEE MANLEY jamaica at MANCHESTER THE PARISH WITH A RICH HISTORY
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