Every June, thousands of people gather at Gregory Town to celebrate a festival dedicated to the significance of a defining fruit, …the pineapple. Not many of them are aware of the history of this delicious bromeliad and its impact on this small nation and its role in Bahamian history.
After extensive research, your humble servant has uncovered some facts about the pineapple industry. By no means do I wish to imply that this article is a definitive study, but it is at least a start that might inspire others to delve deeper into the subject.
In 1795, grants of land in the area that became known as Gregory Town were given to persons who had assisted Colonel Andrew Deveaux in forcing out the Spaniards from New Providence in 1783. This was known as the ‘Battle of Nassau’. From this time forward, the settlement of Gregory Town was to play a prominent role in the pineapple industry in The Bahamas.
First of all, some of the historical background on the subject. The Latin name given to the pineapple is ‘Ananas comosus’. It originated in Brazil and Paraguay, or rather where these two countries were eventually established. Packed with nutrients, it is a member of the bromeliad family.
Christopher Columbus first encountered this fruit on his second voyage in 1493 in Guadeloupe. “It is shaped like a pine cone,” he recorded, “but it is twice as large and the flavour is excellent.” The Caribs called it ‘anna’ (excellent fruit), and the Spaniards called it ‘rina’. The English later called it ‘apple’.
In the 1500’s, the pineapple was introduced by the Spanish to the Philippines and Hawaii, but were not cultivated on a commercial basis. In 1658, the first Pines to be successfully grown in Europe are said to have been grown in Meersburg by Peter Decourt in a hothouse.
The earliest record of pineapple cultivation in the Bahamas is 1697. Pineapples were shipped to England where they were considered a luxury fruit. John Murray (Lord Dunmore) the 4th Earl of Dunmore and Governor of the Bahamas in the late 1790s, built a hothouse on his estate in Scotland. He was most likely introduced to the fruit during his term as governor of the Bahama Islands.
In the 1850s and beyond, Eleuthera became known as the ‘Great Pine Garden’ with exports peaking in 1872 at 119,100 dozen. These exports were to Baltimore and New York.
Bringing the story closer to home, I found that the pineapple story in Gregory Town is very interesting. As stated in 1795, persons from Harbour Island who had assisted Colonel Andrew Deveaux in ousting the Spanish from Nassau in 1783, received land grants in the area known as Pittman’s Cove first and later Gregory Town. They settled just south (2 miles) outside of the settlement in an area that is currently called Eleuthera Island Shores.
From Philip Thompson Senior (recently deceased), I learned that in the 1800s, three masted schooners from Baltimore and New York would arrive at Gregory Town and anchor at specific locations outside the cove. These locations were known as ‘Spots’. Three of these, he recalled, were Big Spot, Inward Spot, and Captain Joe Spot. When these schooners arrived, they were bearing objects that they had taken on at Baltimore or New York to be used as ballast. These would be tossed overboard when the craft arrived at its anchorage.
Small boats called ‘lighters’ were used to row the Pines out to the schooners where they would be stored in the cargo hold. Gin poles were planted in the sea bed to facilitate block and tackle, which enabled the hauling of the baskets up to the deck. Said baskets were 30 inches wide. They were delivered to the quay by women who bore these baskets on the head, as many as seven at one time.
In addition to the Pines being loaded at the harbour, they were also loaded at points along the coast to the south of the settlement. In like manner, again, the Pines were borne by women on their heads in baskets from fields to points on the coast where the schooners would anchor. There were steps cut into the rocks, from which the baskets were loaded into the lighters, and thence to the schooner’s lighters, and thence to the schooner’s hold.
Philip also told me that in 1890, 1,008 dozen pineapple slips left Gregory Town bound for Hawaii to start a plantation there. This actions roughly with the fact that Dole began operations in 1900.
There was a pineapple processing plant in Gregory Town from 1948 to 1968. It was owned by the Thompson brothers (George, Emmanuel, Sam and Lewis). It was located in the center of the town and dealt with canning pineapples and pineapple juice. It measured 17 by 52 feet and employed 20 people. This information I gathered from Bruno Thompson, one of George’s sons.
Furthermore, there was a canning factory in Rock Sound from 1954 to 1964. Huge dump trucks would come down from Rock Sound to Gregory Town to collect Pines from various farms. The fruit were brought out to the road from the farm to facilitate collection. The fields stretched from Sweetings Pond all the way to the spot the Cove Hotel is located. The Baker brothers (George and Youssef) were the owners of the factory. Some of the big farmers of Gregory Town were the Thompson brothers, Reginald Wood, Joseph D’Arville, Percy Turnquest, Will Scavella, James Johnson (Buck), Mel Scavella, and Harcourt Cambridge.
Lastly, there was the era of the ponga boats from Spanish Wells. They came to Gregory Town to collect pineapples for shipment to Nassau. This was in the 1960’s. Boats nicknamed ‘pongas’ would visit Gregory Town twice weekly to collect Pines from local farmers. These boats were similar in size to those that operate as ferries between Spanish Wells and Gene’s Bay. They would be loaded at two locations, the cove in Gregory Town and at Mutton Fish Point.
Gurney Pinder at Spanish Wells told me that he personally worked on these boats. Several of them were owned by his father, Reggie, the largest farmer in North Eleuthera at the time. He said that sometimes the boats would go directly to Nassau with the Pines and sometimes they would return to Spanish Wells and a larger boat would take the proceeds of the smaller boats into Nassau. The destination was Woodes Rogers Wharf, where the Pines were sold mostly to hotels, but some to individuals. Some of the boat captains were Captain Bee, Captain Bird, Captain Dover, also known as ‘Poor Joe’, and Captain Punch. Names of some of the boats were ‘Mona’, ‘Astrid’, ‘Zelma’, and ‘Sisters’.
Today, pineapples are still being farmed, but nowhere near the amounts that they were. These are sold to local hotels and individuals.
