IT IS ABOUT TIME that Queen’s Park gets the facelift it deserves.
Constructed in 1783, it can be considered a national treasure and as such, must be treated accordingly.
Every year Queen’s Park plays host to major events like Agrofest and Christmas Morning In The Park with the Royal Barbados Police Force Band. Sadly, the deteriorating state of this venue has been glaring to many who attend or those who simply use it as a place of recreation and relaxation, or a thoroughfare.
It is unfortunate that the Park has been in such a sad state of disrepair such a long time.
We therefore welcome the efforts of CIBC FirstCaribbean which has pumped $80 000 into giving Queen’s Park a facelift. It is just what is needed and the timing couldn’t have been better.
With Barbados celebrating 50 years of Independence, the sprucing up of the Park is necessary. Pictures highlighted in the last SUNDAY SUN show a park that is tired, with graffiti on the walls of the Daphne Joseph-Hackett Theatre, the stables now boarded up after a fire some years ago, and Queen’s Park House itself which was shut up for about nine years despite promises from Government to restore it to its pristine state.
While it is unfortunate that Queen’s Park was left to ruin for so long, we must see the positive in the restoration work now being done. It was heartening to see scores of workers with brushes in hand and cans of paint putting new life into the weary venue.
As part of the changes, we read that there will also be the restoring of the faded names of the three park gates. The interpretative signage detailing the rich history of this site will also be restored.
Details that include the fact that it was once called King’s House in the 1780s and home to British soldiers, to when it was officially opened as Queen’s Park in 1909 by Lady Gilbert-Carter, will once again be publicised.
We must never lose sight of our rich history as a country. Too often we stand by and watch national treasures run to ruin. The time has come for us to arrest the deterioration of these sites thatare so much a part of our heritage.
As we commend the initiative of CIBC FirstCaribbean, we urge the rest of corporate Barbados to follow the lead set by the bank and step forward and assist with the renovation and restoration of buildings and gems upon which our foundation was laid. Let us all take pride in our national treasures, and ensure that they are maintained as precious gems of Barbados.