Virgin Gorda. A Special Gem Amongst the BVI’s Many Jewels
Review by Julian Putney will appear in "British Virgin Islands Welcome" magazine.

A sunset view of Pond Bay in Virgin Gorda. View Joan Soncini's photos from the island.

When Christopher Columbus sailed into the waters of the BVI in 1493 he was inspired to name them Santa Ursula y las Once Mil Virgenes after the legend of St Ursula whose day of sainthood had just passed. This soon became shortened to las Islas Virgenes or the Virgin Islands. It is evident that he also named them for their physical aspects and very apt the name is too. At the time of Columbus the islands were largely unpopulated, except for a few nomadic Indians, and he must have perceived them as being pure, untouched and virginal. Our topical island was so named because its profile resembles a fat woman lying on her back and since the archipelago had been designated the Virgin Islands so Virgin Gorda came into being.

Virgin Gorda is unique. It has many fine attributes not least of which is the geological wonder known as The Baths. The area is comprised of giant granite boulders piled high on top of each other and producing caves and grottoes where sea water washes in to form large rock pools. The sunlight, filtering in through crevices, reflects off the sea and creates magical patterns and dancing reflections on the granite surfaces. Spectacular white sand beaches dot the entire west coast of the island like a string of pearls and it was one of these, Little Dix Bay, which caught the imagination of Laurance Rockefeller who built the Little Dix Resort and thus started tourism in Virgin Gorda in the early 60s.

Virgin Gorda Sound, almost completely surrounded by green hills, is on the island’s north eastern end and provides a completely sheltered body of water where yachtsmen enjoy a secure anchorage in many locations around the perimeter. Innumerable inlets and coves make for great exploring and the Eustatia reef has wonderful snorkeling opportunities. The National Park at Gorda Peak, from which panoramic views can be enjoyed, is another facet of the jewel that is Virgin Gorda.

History too plays an important part of Virgin Gorda, once its main town of Penniston, now Spanish Town, was the capital of the BVI. From 1838 for almost thirty years Cornish miners extracted copper from a site on the island’s south east point; the ruins of the mine are there to this day. But, of course, it is the recent history of Virgin Gorda and its people that has most influenced the way the island has evolved. This is what makes “Virgin Gorda, an Intimate Portrait” such a valuable book and such a pleasurable read.

The book begins with a foreword by the Hon. Ralph T. O’Neal, one of the most distinguished Virgin Gordians, who has just become the territory’s first ‘Premier,’ a new designation resulting from a recently revised constitution. In his remarks he states succinctly that, “Joan strives to let us tell our own story, namely how Virgin Gorda has evolved.”

Soncini is a psychotherapist with interests in inter-cultural issues and has long been fascinated with Virgin Gorda’s people and their culture. She has lived on Virgin Gorda at least part-time for the last 15 years. In her own words, “I’m a 15-year ‘Non-Belonger’ of Virgin Gorda, namely someone who owns a villa and some land on the island. My husband and I were married on this island…With 15 years worth of pictures of Virgin Gorda I’ve waited for years to put everything I know and love about this island into a book.”

The Virgin Islands has changed dramatically in the last fifty years, as indeed has most of the world. For Virgin Gorda it was especially fortuitous that Laurance Rockefeller decided to invest in tourism. He was always very concerned with conservation and the environment and he bought the national treasures of Sandy Cay, Devil’s Bay and Spring Bay with the promise that they would be transformed into national parks. When Little Dix and the Yacht Harbour were started many jobs became available for the local population and when the projects were finalized employment opportunities increased.

In her new book Soncini brings the early development of Virgin Gorda to life with 1960 era photographs and personal interviews with the senior citizens who were instrumental in those pioneering days. Waldo O’Neal, older brother to Ralph O’Neal, is 92 years old, “Like many others, I only had a primary school education since there was no secondary school in Virgin Gorda at that time…Rockefeller was greeted with open arms by all in the BVI. Why? Jobs!”

What was life like before Little Dix? Everyone had to go away to Santo Domingo, St Kitts, St Martin and Antigua to make a living. Here charcoal, fishing and cattle were the only ways to make money.” Finally Soncini asks, “Was there conflict between wealthy newcomers, like the folks who came to Little Dix, and the locals?” O’Neal replied, “Fortunately it didn’t happen like that. We’re better off because of labour and money.

Another son of the soil and distinguished Virgin Gordian, Elihu Rhymer, who recently stepped down as chairman of the board of governors of the H. Lavity Stoutt Community College summed up the reasons for the warmth and sincerity of Virgin Gorda’s people. He speaks of life when he was growing up in the 50s and 60s, “The community worked together, which was a particularly important part of my childhood. You had to think about the other person because at some point in time you were going to need that person’s help …Virgin Gorda was lucky in that the original investors like the Rockefellers, Mr. Hokin (Bitter End) and the Norwegian group (Biras Creek) were what I call ‘philanthropic entrepreneurs’…willing to do things that would not necessarily make themselves wealthier. Instead they wanted to do something positive for others... People in Virgin Gorda never understood racism because it wasn’t part of our experience. We first saw white people as missionaries, ministers, doctors and later those who traveled to the islands in yachts. They were always kind to us.”

It becomes obvious as you read through “…An Intimate Portrait” that Ms Soncini has a singular talent in getting her interviewees to reveal their innermost feelings and to recall distant memories. The photographs too, capture a way of life, both past and present, and a glimpse of the beauty that is today’s Virgin Gorda. The many portraits depict a multi-ethnic people and there is not a trace of discontentment anywhere.

Educators, musicians, entrepreneurs and the relative newcomers to the island are well represented in the book and rightly so for they make up the fabric of present day Virgin Gorda. Today there are luxury hotels, water-sports operations, restaurants of every description and even visits from cruise ships. But almost everyone interviewed is appreciative of their lot in life: there is full employment in Virgin Gorda and all appear to be doing well. But still there are words of caution, hints for the need for prudence, a need for a watchful eye - for perhaps development is proceeding at a pace not entirely in keeping with the quiet and gentle nature of this unique island. In the words of Esther Wheatley, “I just hope that the people who come to Virgin Gorda, who want to be a part of this community, can accept it for what it is and stop changing it. It’s not to say that things aren’t going to change. Things will change, but you should be able to change them slowly and carefully. If we don’t, the things that we love will be lost, and then we’ll have nothing.”

Joan Soncini has captured Virgin Gorda at a crucial time when the ‘status quo’ is being challenged from many directions and this makes it a valuable record of the recent past and present. Her photographs are especially captivating, there are intimate shots, smiling faces and appealing vistas throughout the book.

Sharon Flax Mars of Little Dix Bay sums it up nicely “Joan has been able to capture the true essence and beauty of Virgin Gorda…that element that sets Virgin Gorda apart from other islands - its people… the wrinkles and crinkles of a life that has seen changes …the smiles of everyone…and their stories told in their own words.”

Joan Massel Soncini
soncijo@gmail.com
Phone (US): 917-697-7216
Phone (Italy): 349-852-0272 (from USA, add-011-39)