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Presents BUILDERS OF TORTOLA |
Bill Hirst Bill Hirst comes from Dewsbury, a “Domesday Book” market and mill town in the West Riding of Yorkshire (now West Yorkshire), UK. He now lives on Great Mountain in Tortola. He served in the British Navy during World War II, perhaps explaining his ongoing love affair with boats and ships. After emigrating to Canada and spending some time in Ontario Bill left in a schooner to sail the seas to the Caribbean. He arrived in this part of the Caribbean along with George Forster – subject of another of these profiles - in the late 1960s. He spent time in Puerto Rico, and St. Thomas before coming to Tortola. He later returned to Canada to marry Sarah, another British immigrant and an architect. They then settled in Tortola to work, live, and raise a family.
It was a very different Tortola in the late 1960s. It was very quiet. There were fewer people and little evidence that this would change in the near future. There was no main road until the 1970s. Bill remembers the first car on Tortola and the first ambulance arriving on the island. Electricity was a scarce resource, not to be found in most of the BVI – the first line being extended from the generating station in the centre of town down to near where The Pub is today. There was no laundry and few other services in those days. The Police Station was part of the old Jail on Main Street. For most of their supplies people had to find ingenious ways of going to St. Thomas, which served then, and for some people still today, as the shopping centre for the region. Although there have, of course, been many changes in the cultural landscapes of Tortola since this time Bill believes that for the most part Tortola is “not very different from the way it was”.
Originally working in boat building and construction Bill became a Marine Surveyor in 1973. He was not the first to do this job on Tortola but became perhaps the best known and received endorsements from his predecessors. He worked as a marine surveyor until his retirement, also involving himself in the bareboat trade, and through his work made his major contribution to the BVI.
In the past Bill used to commute to St. Thomas and St. Croix to play golf but doesn’t do this at the moment. In earlier days life was simpler and moving around the islands was a much easier process than it is today. Now in his 80s Bill has demonstrated, like many other recent immigrants to the BVI, that he has no interest in living anywhere else – and certainly not in the UK. His family is here (two boys with their families), he likes it here, and it “suits him here”.
Draft of October 28th of interview of October 22nd
Builders of Tortola Guide