The Tribune

By RICARDO WELLS

Have you ever driven past Government House and considered what life is like on Mount Fitzwilliam?

On Thursday evening, in front of a packed crowd at the Bahamas Historical Society and Museum, former Governors General Sir Orville Turnquest, Sir Arthur Foulkes, Sir Arthur Hanna and Lady Dame Ivy Dumont shared tales of their days “atop the hill”.

The post of Governor General was created in the Bahamas Independence Order of 1973 as a representative of Her Majesty, the Queen, in the process becoming an instrument of democracy and mirrors the story of the Bahamas going from colony to country.

The four past holders of the post told of how they had approached the task from different angles, how they came to arrive at Government House and their unique experiences atop Mount Fittzwilliam.

Sir Orville Turnquest

(1995-2001)

Sir Orville, who once served as deputy prime minister, became the fifth Governor General. He claimed that from his first day he focused on the empowerment and mobilisation of the youth of the Bahamas.

Sir Orville claimed that as a child growing up in Grants Town he was perplexed when viewing Government House. “I wondered why I couldn’t visit, why couldn’t I enter the compound and most of all, what it was like once you were inside.”

He claimed that those thoughts drove his platform while he was Governor General. “I wanted to ensure that no child would ever have those thoughts. I wanted them to understand that they were always welcome at Government House.”

He said that he wanted to change the view that he once had of Government House and those that resided within. He claimed that he wanted every child to understand that the Governor General was accessible to anyone, anywhere.

“I wanted everyone to know that this little boy from ‘over the hill’, this little boy that they called ‘Tiny’ brought the decorum to the people’s house atop the hill while still being able to connect with everyone surrounding that hill”.

Sir Orville, who was a delegate at the Bahamas Constitutional Conference in London in 1963 and 1972, stated that his other joy as Governor General came as a result of a visit to Rum Cay, the only inhabited Bahamian island he hadn’t visited.

Dame Ivy Dumont

(2003-2005)

Dame Ivy, a native of Roses, Long Island, became the first female to hold the post of Governor General. She said that her time “atop Mount Fitzwilliam was enjoyable fun, but at times tough”.

Dame Ivy recalled colourfully a number of aspects of her tenure, from the scent of fresh baked bread being expelled from Purity Bakery just south of Government House to the sounds of constant traffic flowing in and out of the downtown area to the sights of watching the mega cruise ships sailing into picturesque Nassau Harbour.

She equated her days at Mount Fitzwilliam as the most “wonderful chaos” she had ever witnessed.

“At Government House, there is a room where visitors are gathered in while they wait for whatever event is taking place that day to begin; the holding room is what it was called. I called it the ‘sheep pen’. It was like being a primary school student waiting for a teacher to call you into a line,” Dame Ivy said.

“Time was another situation I had to get use to. Other people’s time, that is. People would come and go as they pleased depsite agreed upon time. We would have events scheduled to begin at 10 o’clock and there would still be persons coming in at 11. God help if it was someone vital to the event, we would have to wait on them. Then everyone would be piled into the sheep’s pen until they arrived.”

Dame Ivy stated that this was often one of her toughest and most nerve-racking tasks as Governor General. “I am married to an Army man, he is so strict with time. Once he is up and ready, he hates to be turned around and be made to wait on anyone. It was a tough process to keep happy during these moments. But being a wife I made it work, and still had to find a way to smile, be gracious and portray the elegance of the queen.”

Dame Ivy added that being a woman gave her time at Government House a certain flair.

“I was always amazed at how quick the ground would be beautified upon word that guests would be arriving. They got that white paint out and on the walls quicker than you can ever imagine. As a woman, I tried my best to make Government House a home. From my gardening to enacting the furniture and assisting the lady that did the decoration with my personal touch.”

Dame Ivy noted that not all of her actions were successful. She said that she never realised how different it was to be a woman in charge of the house until she was criticised for not wearing a hat to greet visitors.

“That is when it all came full circle. I concluded then that as a woman, the effort I put into making a home on the hill was different to everyone that preceded me. I was asked why I didn’t wear a hat to greet the guests that had come to Government House. I responded by saying no other Governor General wears a hat to greet guests, the Queen didn’t always wear hats. But most of all I shouldn’t have to wear a hat to greet people in my home.”

Arthur Dion Hanna

(2006-2010)

Mr Hanna, a native of Pompey Bay, Acklins, said that as soon as he was sworn in as Governor General his first task was to investigate the extent of the powers that came with his new post.

“I immediately looked at the Constitution because I wanted to know what I could do as Governor General,” he said. “I wanted to know what and who I was in charge of. I needed to know what all I had to do and what all I couldn’t do.”

Mr Hanna added that he wanted to know everything his new post entailed in an effort to be the best Governor General he could be. He joked that he quickly learned that he held the power to fire the Prime Minister. “Once I found out I had that sort of power I was beside myself. I looked for other countries around the world with similar structures and all I found was one instance where a GG fired a PM.”

He was speaking of the 1975 dismissal of Australian prime minister, Gough Whitlam, by Governor General Sir John Kerr. “What most people forget about that matter is not too long after he was sworn in the new prime minister had him removed as Governor General.”

Mr Hanna claimed that he fostered a wonderful relationship with whichever prime minister in charge because he knew that it was his job to not restrict democracy but represent it.

“There were a lot of Bills that you had to read and sign off on as Governor General. I didn’t always agree with them all, but it was the will of the Senate and of the House so I never turned away any Bill that came across my desk,” he said.

“There were times I overlooked a few and forgot to sign some Bills but I represented the Queen, and you know what they say, the Queen can do no wrong.” he added.

When he left office, he said he left completely at peace with the job he had done, adding: “My time there was a joy.”

Sir Arthur Foulkes

(2010-2014)

Sir Arthur recalled his days as a student at the Western Senior School (now C R Walker) where he witnessed the 1943 riots.

“I saw a man riding a bike and he came across a group of soldiers tasked with securing the grounds of historic Government House,” he said.

“They ordered him to stop and I guess he didn’t hear or understand them because he kept riding. They managed to stop and restrain him, they placed him up against the fence along the southern grounds of the home.

“As I watched this matter unfold, I couldn’t help to view that house atop the hill and think about how it must be to look down on the surrounding areas.”

Sir Arthur admitted that he never thought it possible for him to one day inhabit that “hallowed home”.

He said: “The first time I visited was as a reporter for the Nassau Daily Tribune and couldn’t get my camera to work: two decades later, I was in London negotiating a constitution for the new Bahamas.”

Sir Arthur was a member of the delegation that presented the Progressive Liberal Party’s petition for independence to the United Nations Committee of Twenty Four (on decolonisation) in 1965; the petition that he drafted.

He stated that after he was sworn in he found himself looking at the place where he once attended school, from a window in Government House. He said that he was amazed at not only how far he had come as a person, but also at how far the country had journeyed.

Sir Arthur said that those memories were the driving factor behind his decision to sign the Majority Rule Holiday Bill in a public setting.

“Bills are normally signed in the privacy of the Governor General’s office; but I made and exception to that norm when I signed the Bill to enact Majority Rule Day into a holiday.”

He said it was “only fitting” that he made the signing of that Bill public to illustrate the importance of that day.

“That day was the day that gave birth to the new Bahamas. That day was the day that started us on the path to independence. That was the day that made everything possible.”