Trewlawny 250th Anniversary

NAME OF FEATURE | THE GLEANER | SUNDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2020 7 TRELAWNY 250TH ANNIVERSARY The site of the house in Martha Brae, Trelawny, where former Prime Minister Hugh Shearer was born. and was situated to the back of the present building. Like several other Trelawny natives who have made their impact on all spheres of Jamaican life, Shearer rose to become a voice of the people, as journalist, trade unionist and politician, where he helped to shape the labour market in defending the workers of Jamaica. He was part of the family dynasty that dominated Jamaican politics from 1944 and through the first 25 years of Independence, following in the foot- steps of Alexander Bustamante, Norman Manley, and later tobe succeededby his cousin, Michael Manley. Shearer attended the Barracks Elementary School in Falmouth (now Falmouth All-Age) before going on to St Simons College, a privately owned high school in Kingston, after obtaining the parish scholarship. In1940, hegraduated fromSt Simon’s and entered the workforce during a period of intense political and labour turmoil in Jamaica when Sir Alexander Bustamante, head of the labour move- ment and founder of the Bustamante IndustrialTradeUnion,alongwithNorman Manley, as head of the People’s National Party, werebothengaged in the struggle to reshape and redefine the Jamaican society in the period from1938 to 1944.