Speyside – Tobago's first tourist centre

Dr Rita Pemberton

Although it bears the name of a district in East Scotland, which is the land area adjoining the river Spey and was famous for its whisky distilleries, Speyside in Tobago does not reflect any of the traits of its Scottish namesake. However, the Scottish presence in the area is reflected in the family names of some of its well-known residents who carry the names of Scotsmen who owned and/or managed estates in the area. These include Denoon, which is the name of a place on the river Clyde on the west Glasgow; Davidson, Spencer and Cordner. Speyside includes Goat Island and Little Tobago, which is more commonly known as Bird of Paradise Island.

The district is traversed by the Lucy Vale, Berlin, Canal Head, Cassan and Papa rivers. The first water supply to the district was provided by a dam which was created at the source of the Canal Head River, in 1941. The Speyside community developed out of five estates: Trois Riveres, Speyside, Batteau Bay, Belmont and Murchiston, which were initially sugar producers.

After the demise of the sugar industry the estates were diverted into producing cocoa and coconuts. However, when returns on these enterprises did not yield expected returns, estates were put up for sale on the London market and the new owners sought other options. In the many instances where land was not sold, the freed African population of the area was given contracts to rent land from the estates on which they cultivated cocoa, coconuts, sugar cane and food crops.

The main villages include Lambeau Hill which is an agricultural community, Canal Head, Top Hill, Crappo and Lucy Vale. Cocoa and copra were the mainstays of the community whose produce was taken to the Speyside Depot from which it was shipped to Trinidad via the round-the-island steam ship service, for sale to George F Huggins and Company.

The villagers are also seafaring, and fishing is conducted from Tyrell, also called Speyside Bay, and Lucy Vale Bay.

Indian Bay, a well-protected bay, is the community’s most popular bathing area. The Bermudez family, who owned a property in Indian Bay, generously volunteered to lift the image of Speyside by painting the buildings in the community in attractive bright colours.

During the 20th century, when plantation agriculture failed, the new large landowners sought new investment opportunities for their properties through tourism. Speyside holds the distinction of being the location of Tobago’s first hotel and tour site, and the centre of the island’s tourism in the early 20th century.

Tourists were attracted to the beaches and more so to the reef and diving facility that the area offered. The first hotel, which was called Bird of Paradise Hotel, was a converted plantation house which was operated by an Englishman named Mr Guinness who bought the Speyside Estate when it was on sale on the London market. This property was later sold to Egbert Lau who continued to operate the hotel as Blue Waters Inn.

The next was run by Mr Petrie from Atlanta, Georgia who held a 99-year lease from Harry Tucker and established a hotel and dive shop. The hotel included cabanas which were rented to visitors who were taken on deep-sea diving and fishing expeditions. He also organised tours for college students every year from June to August.

In the 1920s, Harry Tucker ran a small guest house on Batteau Bay, where he owned a small estate which had access to a beach lined with beautiful grape trees.

In the 1940s, Commander Alford, a veteran of World Wars I and II, who was rewarded with land in Speyside, owned a guest house which was called Speyside Inn and was run by his wife. Later, the Manta Lodge was established by the Robinson family as a resort and dive shop. The presence of these hotels indicates a growing interest in Speyside as a tourist resort.

Some foreigners who owned beach houses in the area were regular visitors, and bird watchers were attracted to visit Little Tobago to see the birds of paradise. Goat Island remained an American-owned private property from which locals were debarred. It was later purchased by IT Mc Leod and is now owned by the THA.

While the tourist industry was seen as potentially profit generating for the large landowners, it was also expected to generate employment for the residents of Speyside, but this did not provide an attractive employment option for workers because of the low wages that were paid in the industry. Hoping for a burst of tourist activity in the area, landowners sought to hold on to their properties.

Although Blue Waters Inn continued to operate, Egbert Lau was never on good terms with the residents of Speyside. He was no respecter of people and his actions resulted in the development of very poor relations with his workers and the members of the community. He managed his property with a tight fist and ignored the contracts which were made between the previous owners and locals who were allowed garden plots on the property. Lau fenced the entire estate, which was populated with cows and water buffaloes which ate and trampled all the crops planted by the tenants. He built a pig pen over the river which residents used for washing and he resisted government’s attempt to establish a self-help housing project in the area, despite being compensated for the land.

The workers on the land at Trois Riveres held contracts for the land that they were allowed to cultivate and for which they paid land taxes. These taxes were collected annually by an agent for the owners who then paid the land taxes at the Roxborough Court House in the name of the owners. Although the land was subdivided, the tenants have no documents to show that they paid either rent or taxes and were legal occupants of the land they cultivated which forms the basis of a major legal problem regarding land titles, which also affects several other parts of the island.

Speyside became eclipsed as a tourist centre by the discovery of Buccoo Reef and Nylon Pool on the western end of the island and the ease of access to these attractions via the air and sea ports.