Port Antonio
Encyclopedia
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
, about 60 miles (100 km) from Kingston
Kingston, Jamaica
Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects the town of Port Royal and the Norman Manley International Airport to the rest of the island...
. It had a population of 12,285 in 1982 and 13,246 in 1991. It is the island's third largest port, famous as a shipping point for banana
Banana
Banana is the common name for herbaceous plants of the genus Musa and for the fruit they produce. Bananas come in a variety of sizes and colors when ripe, including yellow, purple, and red....
s and coconut
Coconut
The coconut palm, Cocos nucifera, is a member of the family Arecaceae . It is the only accepted species in the genus Cocos. The term coconut can refer to the entire coconut palm, the seed, or the fruit, which is not a botanical nut. The spelling cocoanut is an old-fashioned form of the word...
s, as well as one of its most important tourist attraction
Tourist attraction
A tourist attraction is a place of interest where tourists visit, typically for its inherent or exhibited cultural value, historical significance, natural or built beauty, or amusement opportunities....
s, tourism being a major contributor to the town’s economy.
History
The WesleyanMethodist Church of Great Britain
The Methodist Church of Great Britain is the largest Wesleyan Methodist body in the United Kingdom, with congregations across Great Britain . It is the United Kingdom's fourth largest Christian denomination, with around 300,000 members and 6,000 churches...
preacher James Vowles arrived in Port Antonio as a Christian missionary and died from a fever a few months later.
Port Antonio was a sleepy coastal town until the 1880s, when Lorenzo Dow Baker started the banana trade in Jamaica and successfully promoted Port Antonio as a destination for wealthy American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
travellers. "Portie" became a "boom town". The banana trade, and the tourists who came in the banana boats
Banana boat (ship)
A banana boat is a ship that carries bananas as a primary cargo, or is otherwise engaged in the banana trade. As the main produce of the West indies was bananas they were also used as a form of cheap transportation and the English cricket team that toured the West Indies in 1959–60 used banana...
, was once so large that at one time, weekly sailing from Port Antonio was greater than weekly sailing from the great English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
port of Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
.
The island was glamorized by Hollywoodmovies such as Club Paradise and Cocktail. The movie star rrol Flynn] Zaca
USS Zaca (IX-73)
The second USS Zaca was a wooden-hulled, schooner-rigged yacht with an auxiliary engine. She was designed by Garland Rotch and completed in 1930 at Sausalito, California by Nunes Brothers....
washed ashore in Jamaica after a tropical storm. He subsequently bought nearby Navy Island
Navy Island, Jamaica
Navy Island is a small island off the coast of Port Antonio in Portland Parish, Jamaica, formerly owned by actor Errol Flynn.The island was once owned by movie pirate Errol Flynn and hosted many wild Hollywood parties...
, part of British historic Fort George
Fort George, Jamaica
Fort George is situated on the Titchfield Peninsula in the town of Port Antonio, in the parish of Portland, Jamaica. The proposal for a fort in Port Antonio was first discussed in 1728, when a committee of the House of Assembly met to consider measures to be taken in the face of a possible Spanish...
in Port Antonio as well as hundreds of acres of farmland along the Portland coast.
Many members of royal families, movie stars, great musicians, and well-known politicians have visited Port Antonio.
Tourist destinations
One popular sight in this area is the Blue Lagoon, Jamaica, which owes its colour to its depth of 200 feet, other sights include the secluded Frenchman's Cove Beach, the ruins of Folly Mansion and the historic DeMontevin Lodge. The Rio Grande River, Boston Bay and Reach Falls are also close by.
Rail
Port Antonio was the terminus of the now abandoned railway from Kingston via Spanish Town and Bog WalkRailways of Jamaica: Bog Walk to Port Antonio
The Bog Walk to Port Antonio was built to serve the banana, cacao, citrus and coconut districts of St Catherine, St Mary and Portland.All external links below are to WikiMapia.-Construction, operation and closure:...
, which was primarily built to serve the banana export trade.