Please look for Experience The British Virgin Islands guest guide in your hotel.
By Verna Penn Moll
The BVI Old Pictures Exhibition sponsored by the Archives Unit and the Friends of the National Archives, which showcases the history and culture of the islands, opened in April 2007. Te display attracted a wide range of residents and visitors alike to the west atrium of the Central Administration Building to see artifacts of BVI history, some of which had never been displayed before. The pictures ranged from maps and drawings to paintings of BVI scenery and faces, photos of friends and family, sports and music, community and official events, architectural forms, royal visits and newspaper photographs.
The oldest items exhibited by the committee were a 1798 plantation map depicting the names of owners and locations of plantations in the 18th century, an illustration of the devastation caused in Tortola by the 1867 tsunami that occurred in the islands and an 1880 sketch of Tortola.
Residents brought in old pictures as well, and they were rewarded for their efforts. The oldes picture award went to Mrs. Valerie Sims for the portrait of her great, great, great grandfather John Bedford Creque, who was born in Anegada in 1832. The picture dates back to the 1880s. Other awards went to Mrs. Norma Osborne, for 25 pictures from the 1930s through the 1970s in the family/friends series; Mrs. Penny Haycraft, for submitting 14 beautiful pictures from her splendid collection (1950s-1970s); Mr. Michael Helm, for submitting more than 36 pictures of the architectural forms; Mrs. Barbara Bailey, for 13 pictures including the historic winch from the slipway, Beef Island, moving a house BVI style, as well as some of Hurricane Hugo; Vernon Pickering, for Old Days Sporting series; and Mrs. Melcena Smith, for her picture of her 1954 house captured on laminated wood.
The objectives of the exhibition were threefold:
To locate what is left of our archives for preservation.
To involve the general public in "bringing in" the archives.
To illustrate the value of archives, reiterating the need for a proper archives repository where historical exhibitions would be a routine activity.
It is hoped that some of the pictures will be selected for a mini-exhibition that would be displayed semi-permanently as an attraction for visitors until the archives facility is built. Anyone wishing to contribute financially to the building project should contact the Friends of the National Archives at 494-3546 or 468-2365
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The BVI Old Pictures Exhibition sponsored by the Archives Unit and the Friends of the National Archives, which showcases the history and culture of the islands, opened in April 2007. Te display attracted a wide range of residents and visitors alike to the west atrium of the Central Administration Building to see artifacts of BVI history, some of which had never been displayed before. The pictures ranged from maps and drawings to paintings of BVI scenery and faces, photos of friends and family, sports and music, community and official events, architectural forms, royal visits and newspaper photographs.