Port Kaituma
Encyclopedia
Port Kaituma is a small town within the Barima-Waini
administrative region of Guyana
, located at 7°43′33.87"N 59°53′2.54"W.
for some time, it was only after the discovery of manganese
at nearby Matthew's Ridge
that Port Kaituma was developed. As Matthew's Ridge was not located on a navigable river, a canal was cut from the Kaituma River and a port constructed, becoming known as Port Kaituma. At the time of the manganese mining, Port Kaituma had three separate areas. The mine managers' house and the guest house were in a large clearing separated by a short road through the forest from the main rail-head and manganese loading facility. A longer road lead in the opposite direction to the area known as 'Bottom Floor' where the workers lived.
The manganese was transported from Matthew's Ridge via a 40-mile railway and then shipped from Port Kaituma to Chaguaramas Bay in Trinidad, from where it was distributed for industrial use with a large proportion going to Stavanger in Norway. The project was operated by subsidiaries of Union Carbide.
Two Trinidadian
oil tankers, the Ambrosio and the Inverrosa, were converted into manganese carriers as part of this project. Originally built around the First World War
, they had a displacement of some 3,000 tons each. They made the trip from Port Kaituma to Chaguaramas on a regular four day cycle for much of the 1960s.
Port Kaituma's significance grew further following the proclamation from the then President of Guyana, Forbes Burnham
, that Guyana should become more self-sufficient by populating the interior of the country. Matthew's Ridge was highlighted as a potential new capital city, and within Port Kaituma a large secondary school
was constructed to educate students sent from all over Guyana. During its heyday, the school boasted over 800 students, of which most were housed in two large dormitory buildings.
In the 1970s, Jim Jones
' commune of Jonestown
was built only seven miles away from Port Kaituma. The first killings of the November 1978 Jonestown massacre occurred in Port Kaituma when Leo Ryan
, a U.S. Congressman from California
, and others were gunned down while boarding a small Twin Otter aircraft on the local airstrip. In the aftermath and clean-up operation that ensued, many items from the commune were acquired by the residents of Port Kaituma.
Over the next 25 years, a large foreign-owned logging company came and went, the manganese factory at Matthew's Ridge ceased working and the railway linking Matthew's Ridge and Port Kaituma was closed and in some parts cut up. The school's importance diminshed and fell in to a state of disrepair.
Today, Kaituma serves as the gateway to the nearby jungle where the now predominant industry of small-scale gold mining
takes place. The transient nature of many of these porkknockers (gold miners) has led to problems of gun crime, robbery, murder and bribery in the unpoliced hinterlands. This however does not perturb a continual flow of workers through the town, including a recent influx of Brazilians.
Barima-Waini
Barima-Waini is a region of Essequibo, Guyana, a territory in dispute by Guyana and Venezuela, located in the northwest of the country. It covers an area of 20,339 km²...
administrative region of Guyana
Guyana
Guyana , officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, previously the colony of British Guiana, is a sovereign state on the northern coast of South America that is culturally part of the Anglophone Caribbean. Guyana was a former colony of the Dutch and of the British...
, located at 7°43′33.87"N 59°53′2.54"W.
History
Although an Amerindian settlement has existed along the Kaituma RiverKaituma River
-References:* Rand McNally, The New International Atlas, 1993....
for some time, it was only after the discovery of manganese
Manganese
Manganese is a chemical element, designated by the symbol Mn. It has the atomic number 25. It is found as a free element in nature , and in many minerals...
at nearby Matthew's Ridge
Matthew's Ridge
Matthew's Ridge is a small town within the Barima-Waini administrative region of Guyana. It is located at .-History:During the 1960s, Matthews Ridge was being considered as a potential area in which to relocate the capital city of Guyana...
that Port Kaituma was developed. As Matthew's Ridge was not located on a navigable river, a canal was cut from the Kaituma River and a port constructed, becoming known as Port Kaituma. At the time of the manganese mining, Port Kaituma had three separate areas. The mine managers' house and the guest house were in a large clearing separated by a short road through the forest from the main rail-head and manganese loading facility. A longer road lead in the opposite direction to the area known as 'Bottom Floor' where the workers lived.
The manganese was transported from Matthew's Ridge via a 40-mile railway and then shipped from Port Kaituma to Chaguaramas Bay in Trinidad, from where it was distributed for industrial use with a large proportion going to Stavanger in Norway. The project was operated by subsidiaries of Union Carbide.
Two Trinidadian
Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is an archipelagic state in the southern Caribbean, lying just off the coast of northeastern Venezuela and south of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles...
oil tankers, the Ambrosio and the Inverrosa, were converted into manganese carriers as part of this project. Originally built around the First World War
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, they had a displacement of some 3,000 tons each. They made the trip from Port Kaituma to Chaguaramas on a regular four day cycle for much of the 1960s.
Port Kaituma's significance grew further following the proclamation from the then President of Guyana, Forbes Burnham
Forbes Burnham
Linden Forbes Sampson Burnham was the leader of Guyana from 1964 until his death, first as Premier from 1964 to 1966, then as the Prime Minister from 1966 to 1980 and finally as President from 1980 to 1985....
, that Guyana should become more self-sufficient by populating the interior of the country. Matthew's Ridge was highlighted as a potential new capital city, and within Port Kaituma a large secondary school
Port Kaituma Community School
Port Kaituma Community School is a learning centre located in Port Kaituma within the Barima-Waini administrative region of Guyana, located at 7°44′N 59°53′W.- Overview :...
was constructed to educate students sent from all over Guyana. During its heyday, the school boasted over 800 students, of which most were housed in two large dormitory buildings.
In the 1970s, Jim Jones
Jim Jones
James Warren "Jim" Jones was the founder and leader of the Peoples Temple, which is best known for the November 18, 1978 mass suicide of 909 Temple members in Jonestown, Guyana along with the killings of five other people at a nearby airstrip.Jones was born in Indiana and started the Temple in...
' commune of Jonestown
Jonestown
Jonestown was the informal name for the Peoples Temple Agricultural Project, an intentional community in northwestern Guyana formed by the Peoples Temple led by Jim Jones. It became internationally notorious when, on November 18, 1978, 918 people died in the settlement as well as in a nearby...
was built only seven miles away from Port Kaituma. The first killings of the November 1978 Jonestown massacre occurred in Port Kaituma when Leo Ryan
Leo Ryan
Leo Joseph Ryan, Jr. was an American politician of the Democratic Party. He served as a U.S. Representative from California's 11th congressional district from 1973 until he was murdered in Guyana by members of the Peoples Temple shortly before the Jonestown Massacre in 1978.After the Watts Riots...
, a U.S. Congressman from California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, and others were gunned down while boarding a small Twin Otter aircraft on the local airstrip. In the aftermath and clean-up operation that ensued, many items from the commune were acquired by the residents of Port Kaituma.
Over the next 25 years, a large foreign-owned logging company came and went, the manganese factory at Matthew's Ridge ceased working and the railway linking Matthew's Ridge and Port Kaituma was closed and in some parts cut up. The school's importance diminshed and fell in to a state of disrepair.
Today, Kaituma serves as the gateway to the nearby jungle where the now predominant industry of small-scale gold mining
Gold mining
Gold mining is the removal of gold from the ground. There are several techniques and processes by which gold may be extracted from the earth.-History:...
takes place. The transient nature of many of these porkknockers (gold miners) has led to problems of gun crime, robbery, murder and bribery in the unpoliced hinterlands. This however does not perturb a continual flow of workers through the town, including a recent influx of Brazilians.