Peter J. H. Barratt

Freeport Notebook Peter J. H. Barratt

Grand Bahama Island was once an under-populated backwater. In 1955 a small community at the mouth of Hawksbill Creek grew to become the second city of the Bahamas. The creation of Freeport was a social and economic experiment of the immense importance which did not come into being without first overcoming many serious difficulties. In its short existence - just over 50 years - it has seen financial difficulties, meteoric growth, stagnation, political problems and the worst hurricanes that Mother Nature could throw at it. But, despite many ups and downs, Freeport today is the major industrial centre of the Bahamas and is also an important resort destination - in short, a community with great potential. Peter Barratt, an architect/town planner formerly in charge of the development of Freeport, writes from first-hand knowledge of the island. Because of his over forty years experience with Freeport he has been able to record many interesting insights, observations and history that readers should find intriguing. The text is also leavened with humour and poems that bring a new perspective to many of the themes that the author has documented. This new work is, in some ways, supplementary to his other, better-known work 'Grand Bahama' a text that has gone through three editions and will shortly be published in a new edition.