Watooka House

I think John has finished uploading all his videos from the Grimshaw 2009 visit to Watooka, Guyana.

I have added some of Pauline’s photos to the first two in the list, while the last bunch appear to be straight out of the camera.

They are all in HD, so click the full screen button for viewing.

Watooka House from the Traffic Circle
Video John Grimshaw
Photos Pauline Grimshaw
Music Mary Kadderly

Watooka Pool
Video John Grimshaw
Photos Pauline Grimshaw
Music Wes Houle

Watooka House Gardens and Remains of Dorabeci

Landing
Video John Grimshaw

Watooka House from Track Control Tower
Video John Grimshaw

Watooka Riverside Drive
Video John Grimshaw

_____________________________________________________

Watooka Guest House 2007 (photo skoodlwump on Flickr)

Gerry King has kindly consented to me posting a letter of his that he wrote “in response to hearing that the foreign owners (Chinese) of the bauxite company were planning to sell Watooka House”. He adds many Watooka House details that are new to me.

If the property was in the National Trust or if it was declared a National Historic Building the Chinese would have no say. The Guyana government should definitely protect and preserve this property. Apart from its architectural value it had a key role in the sociology of the area and, by extension, the country.

Some sociological aspects:

Watooka House is really one building with two sections serving two different roles. The better known part of the building is the Watooka Club on the south side but less known Watooka Guest House is on the north side.

Watooka Club, as most people know, was the social and after work club for the professional staff of the bauxite company, while the Supervisors Club in the village (Cockatara, central Mackenzie) served the supervisors and the Mackenzie Sports Club served others.

The Watooka Guest House was probably the most exclusive guest house, inn or hotel in the old Guyana. Indeed, monarchs, heads of state and other dignitaries stayed there but what I remember most as a boy growing up in the area was that J.G. Campbell, the Chairman of the company, stayed there when he visited from Georgetown. J. N. Fraser was the local head at that time.

Guest of moderate importance stayed at the Mackenzie Hotel, hear the hospital and general visitors stayed at the Mackenzie Inn in Cockatara (named after the creek that is in front of the north plant gate).

I have been inside the Watooka Club but never seen the insides of the Guest House. My mother did! She was a maid there. We literally lived on the other side of the tracks, the railroad tracks.

Watooka Guest House 2007 (photo skoodlwump on Flickr)

Many of you might recall that the bauxite railroad head office was (is??) across from Watooka House. This is where there was the most tracks. In the late 50’s and early 60’s there were rows of servant quarters behind the tracks and backing on to what is now Fairs Rust. We lived there next to the Embrack girls (MHS). Much later on I had the privilege of living on the “good” side of the tracks in Watooka as a “staff mun”.

Mr. Hitchcock was the manager of the Guest House in those days. I heard a lot about the reverence and anxiety when there was a guest there.

I did not realize it at the time but Watooka was a gated golf community similar to the ones here in North America.

I currently live in Florida and the gated golf communities here have a golf course (of course), Watooka had that; a concierge (manned gate), Watooka had that; a club house, Watooka had that; a shared swimming pool, Watooka had that.

However, there is one amenity that Watooka had that I have not seen here yet within the confines of the gated community…..a cinema. Watooka also had an elementary school which not all gated communities here have. Also, half of Watooka was water front property (the Demerara). This is not all that common here. Individual homes also had servant quarters downstairs.

Watooka Guest House 2007 (photo skoodlwump on Flickr)

I guess that the Canadians created a piece of North America in Mackenzie. Do you remember that Watooka is lined with pine (Christmas) trees, a temperate/cold climate plant?

Watooka House was at the front of Watooka. In the old days, coming from the direction of the hospital, there was a creek (Watooka Creek) just before you got to Watooka House. That creek was like a moat. A constable (company security guard) stood there and turned you back from entering the area if you were not a resident or servant. Since most of the people beyond the gate were white, we thought that it was because of the colour of our skin but when you think about it, non-white people had no reason for being in there except if they were service people and, of course, service people would be of a working age. As such, non-white kids were automatically rejected.

Enough reminiscing! The fact remains that Watooka House is of architectural and sociological significance and should definitely be kept in government hands.

Please forward this e-mail and other like ones to all that you think might care about Watooka House. Eventually they might reach someone who has the power to save the property.

Mr. Prime Minister, Sam Hinds, what about you? You lived in the area for a significant time.

_________________________________________

Featured Comment:

from Keith Gordon 2009-10-02 on page Mackenzie Today
Hi guys just thought that I should let you know that Watooka House is not owned by the Chinese owners of the bauxite company. It is still owned by the state and managed by Linmine Secretariat (Horace James, former CEO Linmine).