IN KINGSTON IT IS NOT SAFE TO WALK ALONE

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 13, Issue 67, 21 March 1949, Page 5

IN KINGSTON IT IS NOT SAFE TO WALK ALONE

, Many Negroes In ■y The West Indies From the pleasant summer of I the Bay of Plenty to the heavy "i heat of the tropics at Jamaica ; -and finally to the crisp cold, clear days of an English winter. That is the experience of an ex-Whakatane resident, Mr 1 W. Dreghorn, who left New ■ in February on a tour .of Peru. However, unable to enter that country he continued ; on to his homeland, England, and finally arrived there early J this month. ' ■ The last part of the voyage from Jamaica to the British Isles is interestingly described by Mr Dreghorn in a letter to the Beacon. Kingston, the main port of Jamaica, was a stop of two days and taking advantage of this Mr Dreghorn went ashore and saw as much of the island as he could. Of the town: “The streets are teeming with negroes and whites are conspicuous by their absence. Food is very dear, a quart of milk costing about 1/3 and butter 3/6 a lb. Most of the goods are made in England. For European shopping there is just one .main street.”

While sketching in the square Mr .‘Dreghorn was - approached by a European, who revealed that he was a Londoner who had emigrated to Jamaica after the war. Paradise”

’• '“He told me he paid seven guin•'<eas a week for three rooms for his ] business and lived outside in the 'suburbs in a beautiful villa—in • Auckland it would be worth about '£3ooo. Although he earned £3O a week, at the end of each month not :a penny was left. It all went on :food and , clothing. He called it a ‘fool’s paradise’.”

It is not safe to walk the streets of Kingston alone. The lone wonderer is threatened many times, not /only by men but also from women, Negro women. “At night time round the docks .nearly all the male passengers were molested by Negro women. We all had comical tales to tell of personal encounters at breakfast the next morning. Two Negro women came after me with ‘hullo soldier, you have honeymoon with me’. It is not safe to push them away with violence as they have male confederates lurking in doorways.” Mr Dreghorn later explored a Spanish town, the old capital of . Jamaica. It was founded in 1573 and still preserves the original Spanish pattern. All the streets are narrow and built round a square adiacent to an old fort. ‘‘As usual,” he continues, “a crowd of Negro children and adults stood around to watch this strange white man (myself). To protect myself I mobilised.a big Negro with a long ‘bamboo to keep black hooligans off.” _ „ • . Negroes Dissatisfied

Talking with a few Negroes Mr 'Dreghorn found them all dissatisfied with conditions. The cost of

living is-very high. Those working on the docks might earn from £3 to

£4 a week but work is not perman-

ent. Waitresses working 52 hours a (Week receive only 26/-. About 50 per cent of the people are unemployed. And so from Jamaica Mr Dreg-

horn sailed to the Dutch oil island 1 of Curacao, the capital of which is Willemstad. A very clean city in • contrast to Kingston and one is able to walk anywhere without fear of being molested by the local inhabitants. Its buildings are typical of 17th century Holland. The population of Curacao is about 40,000 and the whole island, according to Mr Dreghorn, is only about the size of Whakatane and ' the Rangitaiki Plains. It is used by the shipping companies as a refuelling stop. .

Food Not Bad The Atlantic crossing took about 12 days and after disembarking at Avonmouth Mr Dreghorn travelled to Bristol. He found that food was not as bad as he had expected and prices are reasonable. Tea, toast, cereals, beans and toast, butter and marmalade 2/-. Oranges are obtainable in fair quantity. Bristol is Mr Dreghorn’s headquarters until he can find some place in England where he can settle down. In his own words he concludes: “Now my battle really begins—to get a job and accommodation.”

New Hospital Buildings Sketch plans for additions to the maternity annexe and a new block of buildings to provide accommodation for the domestic staff have been approved by the Whakatane Hospital Board. The plans are now being sent to the Health Department for final approval.