A Brief History

c.1965 The Original Development

Prior to the mid-1960’s there were very few people or structures on what is now called Great Harbour Cay (GHC). 

When the Canadian developer bought the Island and obtained approval to develop it as a private resort, about $250 million in today’s money was spent to construct the roads, airport, golf course, marina, clubhouse and other buildings.

GHC was one of the finest leisure developments ever seen, with sales offices in New York, London, Paris and Miami attracting much interest. Almost all the investment in the infrastructure was completed before even a single lot was sold.

Ironically, the quality of the development also contributed to the project’s failure.

So many people bought property as an investment, with no intention to build, that not enough homes were constructed.

As the whole idea of the plan (which did not include a hotel) had been for the homeowners to fund the operation and maintenance of the Island’s infrastructure and facilities, the project was soon doomed. The golf course, club house, roads, airport, water and power supply were all of such a scale and expense that they needed an economic base of several hundred active homeowners to maintain them.

When the developer had sold the majority of the lots that could be sold, and there was no reason to continue to pay the very high expenses, the inevitable happened.

c.1975 The Dark Years

When the developer pulled out, the Island went into a steep decline. The Clubhouse closed, there were frequent and long power cuts, fuel was often unavailable, the roads and airstrip deteriorated, and very little, if any, construction occurred.

That some beach front lots sold for $10,000 says much about the state of the Island at the time.

A whole series of speculators attempting to restart the development followed, of whom the Fender family have been the most recent. They acquired the remaining, unsold assets in the early 1990's from the creditors in whose hands the development company had fallen when the original developer defaulted.

c.1985 A Brief Revival

In the mid-1980’s a second-home owner, Mickey Briggs, with the backing of his family and another homeowner, spent about $20 million in today’s money (about $5 million at the time), to revive the Island.

The roads and the airstrip were resurfaced, the marina upgraded, the bridge across the entrance to the marina removed and the causeway constructed to connect GHC and the Village. Basil’s restaurant at the southern end of the Marina, and the Pool Bar were built.

All of the above was done without owning the underlying property.

Although this brief upturn did not last, it did leave the Island in much better shape and it was not until the end of the 1990’s that the roads and airstrip again deteriorated to the point that some planes would no longer come to the Island and the roads were becoming impassable.

c.1995 Down Again, but Hope for the Future

The private legal status of GHC, under the original development agreement, meant that the property owners and not the government were responsible for the maintenance of the Island. Under that agreement, the government had the right to collect duty and other taxes, but had no legal obligation to pay for the upkeep of GHC.

However, already early on when the original developer left, the government took over the power plant.

In the 1990’s, local government was established on the Island, and over the years local and central government assumed responsibility for many of the essential civic duties that should have been dealt with by the developer and a property owners association under the original plan.

They assured the provision of basic services (power, telecommunication, and water), public safety, strong property rights and political stability. They vetted and authorized building permits, inspected construction, licensed vehicles and businesses, and other local regulations and procedures needed to promote development and a functioning and orderly community.

In the early 2000's, the government took over and resurfaced the airstrip. They repaved the main roads on GHC, and in 2008 a substantial contract was issued to repair and upgrade the causeway between GHC and Bullocks Harbour.

Today: Better and Brighter

In short, local and central government have provided the basic infrastructure of development in the absence of a “developer”, and have actually been successful in creating an environment that has attracted private investment in recent years.

Some will say that it is in the government’s own interest to do what they have for the Island. In theory this is true, but in a country where financial resources are very limited and there are many communities that are much less priveleged than this one, the competition for resources is great and the need to address urgent and immediate problems often prevents governments from spending money for a projected return in the long term, no matter how compelling the argument.

For those who feel that they are already paying significant property taxes and duty, and therefore have a reasonable expectation of something in return, if not on legal grounds then as a matter of “fairness”, the problem has been that there have not been enough of us on the Island to make the total tax collected sufficient.

It is estimated that the government has spent more on GHC / Bullocks Harbour in the past ten years than has been raised in duty and property taxes. This in a relatively prosperous community.

(N.B. Government income from the cruise ship cays is not credited to our community. The government reasonably considers that GHC / Bullocks Harbour already greatly benefits from the cruise ship business and that these taxes should contribute to general government obligations and to less priveleged parts of the country.)

With the building of the new homes, we are finally able to see a future where the Island will be on a firmer and more sustainable footing. A government that will be a net beneficiary of the economic activity on GHC will be a government that will be better disposed to supporting the Island and assuring its long term health.

More jobs and business opportunities will be available, and the upkeep of the Island (roads, airport, water), as well as the leisure and recreational facilities that many desire, will become more economically feasible with some more people on the Island.

What was a failed project forty years ago is now a much more broadly based and economically viable community. More second-home owners come throughout the year and the continuing development, while gradual, is generally of a suitable nature and can largely be handled and controlled locally.

On balance, GHC is in better shape than it has ever been. This provides the opportunity for a brighter future, but one that will not be realized by accident or by neglect.

The Tamboo Club and the GHC Property Owners Association

The Tamboo restaurant was built in 1970 by Lou Chesler, the original developer, and the land provided for free on a long term lease.

Lou Chesler contracted Earl Blackwell to organize the Tamboo Club as a means of promoting the development.

Earl Blackwell’s organization specialized in exclusive promotions that were based on his unequalled celebrity contacts and client list. For a facinating insight read this August 3rd. 1970 New York Magazine article

“Carriearl” was his home on the island that he shared with his partner Eugenia Sheppard.

When the development of GHC failed a few years later and the developer pulled out, most of the celebrity members of the Tamboo moved on. The Tamboo Club was folded into the newly formed GHC Property Owners Association that was set up to assume some of the responsibilities previously met by the developer, and to represent the interests of property owners. As previously noted, the POA had no legally binding revenue raising power.

The limited number of homeowners, and the hugely expensive maintenance and operating costs of the club house, 18 hole golf course, and the island's infrastructure, meant that hard choices had to be made.

Many of the early homeowners had been attracted by the golf course, and so an attempt was made to maintain nine holes of the original course and to keep the Tamboo restaurant open, at least during the winter months. It was however difficult to do much else as a full time manager could not be afforded, and members were generally away from the island nine months of the year.

Over time, the Tamboo / POA settled into being a golf and dinner club for winter residents until it folded in 2012, and was replaced by The Berry Island Association that now operates more as a community wide organization that also includes residents and Bullocks Harbour.

In recent decades more second homes have been built, and a more diverse population has developed. More homeowners from Florida and Nassau have meant more week-end visitors, and the summers have become much busier than in the early decades of GHC.

Notable Persons in the History of GHC and the Berry Islands

Lou Chesler: Original developer of GHC. Despite his background there was never an intention to build a hotel or casino on GHC.

Earl Blackwell: Promoter of the GHC development

Hank Asher: What shall we call you Hank? Poacher turned game keeper?

Neil Ruzic: Owner of Little Stirrup Cay (now Coco Cay) prior to cruise ship era.

"Joe" Carstairs: The Queen of Whale Cay