Statue of Sir James Douglas unveiled in Mahaica

Aug 28, 2008 News

By Rustom Seegopaul

Canadian High Commissioner, Charles Court unveiling the statue.

The statue of Sir James Douglas, who was born in Guyana in the 1800s, and founded the province of British Colombia in Canada, was unveiled at a simple ceremony that drew various Government Ministers as well as representatives from the Canadian High Commission.
Sir James Douglas was the son of a Scottish plantation owner and a slave, and grew up in Mahaica and in New Amsterdam, before leaving to go to Scotland, at the age of nine, where he was educated. After receiving his education, Douglas went to Canada to work with the Hudson Bay Company.
After being in Canada for a number of years, he became the Chief Trader in the Vancouver area and founded the province of British Colombia. He eventually became the first Governor of the province.
There is an identical statue of Sir James Douglas in Fort Langley in Canada. The mould for the original statue was repaired and then reused to make the statue which was unveiled in Mahaica yesterday.
The statue was officially unveiled by Prime Minister Samuel Hinds and the Canadian High Commissioner, Charles Court, along with a student from the Supply Primary School, Nickassey Mayers.
Speaking at the unveiling ceremony, the Canadian High Commissioner termed Sir James Douglas one of the first real heroes of globalization. “Hard work, character, determination,” explained the High Commissioner, “all of those qualities that typify migrants.”
He explained that it is the migrants to a country that really help that country develop. The High Commissioner highlighted that there were lessons which could be learnt from Sir James Douglas, the way he applied himself to his duties and how his hard work eventually paid off.
Prime Minister Hinds explained that even though there are some stories in Guyana’s history which are negative, there are others, like that of Sir James Douglas, which can inspire and encourage.
He went on to explain that the story of Sir James Douglas was positive proof of what sons of Guyana’s soil are capable of. He said that because a person is born in a particular place, it does not mean that they cannot achieve great things. The place you are born, and the conditions you are born into are hurdles for a person to cross, but they do not limit what a person can achieve.
Continuing, he said that Douglas’ story should inspire and encourage Guyanese who have migrated to achieve everything they can in the country they have migrated to.
Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Dr Frank Anthony, described Sir James Douglas as one of the earliest pioneers of the Guyanese Diaspora in Canada. The Minister continued that Guyanese oftentimes do not know all of their heroes and those who have made considerable contributions to the wider world.
He encouraged persons, especially children, to learn about these forgotten individuals.
The Minister also commended the National Trust of Guyana, in their efforts towards the erection of the statue. He highlighted that without them, the erection of the statue would not have been possible.
Minister within the Ministry of Education Dr Desrey Fox said that the statue brought in a whole new dimension to education, as we quite often forget that there were people who were here before us, who had lived and made significant contributions towards the development of the world and its peoples.
Meanwhile, while providing an overview of the project, the President of the Guyanese-Canadian Cultural Association of British Colombia, Clyde Duncan opined that the erection of the statue would help lay the foundations to build strong ties between British Columbia and Guyana.
Duncan said that it was hoped that the Guyanese Diaspora in British Colombia would be able to start exchange programmes with entities in Guyana, so that both countries could benefit from learning about the other’s way of life, culture and even sport.
Conservation Officer at the National Trust, Nirvana Persaud was also commended for her diligence and dedication to the project.
Plans have apparently already been put in place to convert the area around the statue into a park. The Prime Minister noted that the park could very well become a place where antiquities from Guyana’s rich past could be put on display, as the statue is there along with an old water container from the days when the Old Mahaica Railway Station existed on the very site.