Mary Roy Brockbank

Mary Roy was born on Tortola, and is the daughter of James Rowan Scott Roy - whose obituary from the The Island Sun is contained elsewhere in this set of profiles (http://www.hillmanweb.com/everitt/builders/roy.html). Her father was a Tortolian, but was born in St. Thomas because the 1924 hurricane had destroyed the Cottage Hospital. Her mother was Canadian, and this explains some of the many Canadian connections within the Roy family. Mary’s paternal grandparents came from Scotland in 1919 and later bought Pasea Hall and Fahie Hill Estates from the Crown. The family built and then operated the Treasure Isle Hotel on part of Pasea Estate for many years – amongst other enterprises.

Mary lived for her first seven years on the Pasea Estate before the family moved to Hodge’s Creek to a home that Mary still owns. Since then she has lived in several places around Tortola, and currently resides in Palestina where she has lived for the past six or seven years. As a grandchild of an expatriate Mary has lived a somewhat different and more varied life than many of the more recent expat immigrants, and this can be nicely typified by her educational experiences.

At the time Mary grew up on Tortola  (in and since the 1960s) the school system was much less developed than it is today. Of course, the whole of the BVI was quite different then, as is shown in the “Background” document that precedes theses profiles (http://www.hillmanweb.com/everitt/builders/). In the late 1950s there was one secondary school in the Colony (as it then was) and only one teacher – the principal - was a college graduate. Consequently some people chose to send their children to boarding schools abroad for a “better” education, while others preferred to keep the family together at home but wanted an alternative form of education for their children. Mary was for the most part in the latter group and remained in the BVI for much of her school life, going to several different schools in Tortola to complete her education.

Mary remembers being taught, with a few other children, by Penny Haycraft. She remembers going to school in a building near The Pub, and at another building on upper Main Street near the foot of Joe’s Hill. She was also taught by the Parents’ Tutorial Group (which after joining with Rainbow School became Cedar School, an institution her son now attends), went for a time to St. George’s school, and also went to a school in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada where her grandparents and sister were then residing. She learned to ice skate while in Ontario, no doubt putting herself amongst a very small group of Tortolians who have had this experience. Back in Tortola she worked for a time in the Tennis Club at Prospect Reef teaching (and playing) tennis. She completed her formal education at the College a couple of years later.

In her working life Mary has also had some interesting times. She worked as a ‘nanny’ for a time before joining the Sea Urchin Clothing and Gift shop (in Columbus Centre and later at Mill Mall). She then worked for Caribbean Realty for three years, and later, wanting a career change, set up her own gift shop, “Buccaneers’ Bounty” on Main Street. She subsequently opened a second store at Soper’s Hole (leaving Caribbean Realty at that time). She later closed the Main Street store, and after the September 11th attacks in 2001 closed the Sopers’ Hole store as well, as she did not think it would survive the upcoming difficult economic times. Mary went back into the ‘property ‘ area working for Persia Stoutt at Areana Villas Ltd. in Long Bay. Here she was working with vacation rentals, and “loved it”. Unfortunately, however, both her parents became ill, and she had to give up her job at Areana in order to care for them (and particularly her father who was in Puerto Rico). Returning to Tortola, Mary again worked with Sea Urchin for a time before being hired, once again, by Maritha Keil at Caribbean Realty in their “Property Management”‘ division. The property sales division of Caribbean Realty is now associated with Sotheby’s as British Virgin Islands Sotheby’s International Realty, but the property management side, where Mary works, continues to operate under the Caribbean Realty name.

Not surprisingly for somebody who has spent their whole life on Tortola, Mary has seen a lot of change – so much so in fact that it cannot all be detailed here. But she has a great sense of history, and the part her family has played in the growth of Tortola. She enjoyed the old Tortola, which she feels had a greater spirit of community, and was much more peaceful and tranquil than the new Tortola where money and the acquisition of “things” seem to be much more important.

 Mary’s earliest memories include people traveling on donkeys (if they could afford them) as there were virtually no vehicles on the island, and a very few miles of road to drive them on. People went barefoot much of the time (as Mary also loved to do when growing up) saving their shoes for special occasions such as church – perhaps after washing their feet at the Sunday Morning Well following a trip in from the country. People carried their groceries home from the relatively few shops in brown paper bags perched on top of their heads. Mary remembers the dredging of the bay to form present day Wickham’s Cay, and she recollects when the road that ran at the foot of Pasea Estate (now the four lane Waterfront Drive) was a winding coast road. She used to go with her parents to the Market Square near the quay and present day post office, where meat hung on hooks to attract buyers (and many flies!). She played with friends at Nanny Cay before and during its early development as a tourist marina.

As the BVI is home Mary sees her future as essentially a continuation of her earlier life. She can’t visualize living elsewhere although she likes visiting her family in Canada. She appreciates the shopping opportunities there, but is glad that the BVI hasn’t become a commercial centre like, for instance St. Thomas. The restrictions on franchises such as KFC and McDonald’s suit her just fine. She appreciates what Tortola is now, but treasures her memories of what it was like to grow up here in more tranquil times.
 

Draft of April 17th, 2010 of interview of April 17th, 2010

Builders of Tortola Guide
Builders of Tortola Contents
Back to the Main Contents Page