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There must be a start somewhere to the story of bicycles in Jamaica, but I am not sure I have found it yet! The bicycle story really got started in the early 19th century with the invention of a sort of aid to walking sometimes called the Draisienne (after Baron von Drais, its inventor) or hobby/dandy-horse. (No, we don't really think da Vinci invented the bicycle.) There was a craze in Europe for the Draisienne in the 1820s, but I have not found any source so far which can tell me if anyone in Jamaica got that bug.
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The next development in the history of the bicycle came when pedals were added to the front wheel of the Draisienne. This meant that the rider's feet no longer walked along the ground to move the machine; it worked the way modern children's tricycles still work. The new machine was usually called a 'velocipede' and in the late 1860s it was all the rage in Europe and North America. It was at this point that Jamaicans, who have always loved technical novelty, got into the act.
the velocipede
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Remarkably, one of the first mentions of the velocipede in Jamaica that I have found so far, indicates that a Jamaican craftsman was trying, as many others were elsewhere, to find some way to make the rear-wheel the driver of the machine, which was the major way forward in improving this new mode of transportation.
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It appears that some velocipedes were imported into Jamaica in the late 1860s. The firm of Alt. DeCordova & Co imported one from the USA in November, 1869. Walter Henry Lewis was a blacksmith who tried, in 1869, to develop a business making velocipedes, which seemed likely to become something of a craze. He formed a partnership with a Mr DaCosta, under the title 'Central Factory', to manufacture velocipedes, alongside more traditional work with metals, but it is not clear that the business ever did particularly well. It would appear that the velocipede did not, in fact, catch on as well as the partners had hoped, and so the business was dissolved in 1873.
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[Walter Lewis continued his career as foundry man, machinist and contractor, and Walter H. Lewis and Son was still in business at the time of his death in 1909.]
So there is evidence that, in the early 1870s, velocipedes were both being imported into Jamaica, and being made in the island. The evidence, however, is very sparse, and there are no contemporary pictures of these machines in Jamaica. However an interest in racing these machines had already appeared -
a note on an August 1 picnic in 1871 - 'Among the amusements of to-day at Cumberland Pen will be a Velocipede Race between two gentlemen of this city on a wager of £10. Several outside bets have been taken upon the match.'
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However, a letter in the Gleaner in November 1896 does give a fascinating glimpse of one cyclist back in the early '70s: ' . . . I was amongst the few, the very few, in Jamaica who rode a bicycle, and for two years my crazy machine was well known in the streets and vicinity of old St. Jago.
In 1872 I rode from Kingston to Spanish Town on what is called a "Boneshaker;" . . . . The wheels were of wood with iron tires like very light buggy wheels. The front, which was directly driven by the feet without gearing was 3 feet in diameter and the back wheel 2 feet six inches, and the saddle a hard stuffed one without springs. . . . I really enjoyed riding this antiquated vehicle and loved it very dearly - but it must not be understood that the ride to Spanish Town was an enjoyable one. That was in the early hours of the morning, there were long stretches of new metal - long lines of carts whose drivers would not give me room. Besides a light rain had fallen during the night previous, and the soft sticky mud clogged the brake, and added tenfold to the labors of the journey, which occupied two hours and a half. On arriving at the Kingston bridge, I forced the machine up the rather steep gradient, and dismounted for a brief ten minutes in order to catch breath, and pluck up courage for the triumphal charge into the ancient capital through the square, up King Street.' And at the same period the interest in using velocipedes, and then highwheelers, for racing was apparently growing, foreshadowing the popularity of cycle-racing, which at times in the past century reached high levels. From the start it is clear that these races provided another opportunity for gambling, a prime reason for the enthusiasm for them. |
The era of the high wheeler/ordinary/'penny-farthing' was relatively short, as it was in several ways an unsatisfactory machine; for about a decade, however, it was presumably the machine concerned in any reference to bicycles in Jamaica.
A letter in the Gleaner in the summer of 1880 indicated that bicycles were becoming more popular and that solid rubber tires had replaced the earlier iron and wood on the bicycle wheels.
Daily Gleaner, August 3, 1880
BICYCLES. To the Editor, of the Gleaner. Sir—In today's issue of the "Gleaner" under the head of Parochial Boards I observe that his Honor the Custos has promised "to draw up rules etc, in regard to lighting lamps upon vehicles after dark." This is no doubt a wise move, and before the completion of the rules I would venture to suggest that his Honor be requested by the Municipal Board to make regulations to compel riders of Bicycles to carry Bells in the day, and at nights Iamps as well as Bells. The object of this is obvious, as the approach of a Bicycle is noiseless, on account of its wheels having India Rubber tyres. This mode of riding is becoming fashionable in Kingston, (a club being already in formation) and for the safety of life and limb the sooner regulations are made the better. Thanking you for the space. I am Mr.Editor, Yours truly. PEDESTRIAN Kingston, July 29th, 1880. |
Advertisements in the Gleaner indicate the kind of bicycles that were being ridden in the island.
The major indicator of the presence of 'bicyclists' on the streets seems to be the reports of the problems they were experiencing.
Daily Gleaner, March 15, 1884
To the Editor of the Gleaner Sir,—I noticed a few days ago, in one of the city papers that an action was about to be tried by a young gentleman of this town against the Street Car Company for damages sustained by him while riding on his bicycle in consequence of the bad state of the rails. |
I hope that this gentleman will prosecute his suit, although I am of opinion that he should have instituted criminal proceedings against them. It is all very well to sue for damages when the injuries sustained are the reset of accidents, but in this case the cause of the injury is clearly attributable to the negligence and carelessness on the part of the company in allowing the rails to remain in the condition in which they are.
It is quite time that the directors of the company should be made to know that they have interests to serve other than those on which they rely for their annual dividends. The almost, I should rather say the altogether criminal indifference on the part of the company as to the health and safety of the public is evidenced not only by the unsafe state of rails which in many parts are exposed fully two inches, but also in the pools of water that are allowed to accumulate and become stagnant and offensive in the hollow between the rails at the several corners of the streets. No effort whatever is made to remedy these evils, and it is only on those occasions when, and in these places when the traffic is interrupted or interfered with that any attention is paid to remove the cause.
. . . .
The writer then suggested that the municipal authorities were also to blame for not enforcing the regulations in place for the operation of the street cars; unfortunately most of the rest of the letter is illegible.
The case did go to court, and the plaintiff, G. E. Burke, was awarded £50 with costs, against the Street Car Company.
[I think this was the G. E. Burke who became a prominent business man and mayor of Kingston, dying in late 1907.]
It is quite time that the directors of the company should be made to know that they have interests to serve other than those on which they rely for their annual dividends. The almost, I should rather say the altogether criminal indifference on the part of the company as to the health and safety of the public is evidenced not only by the unsafe state of rails which in many parts are exposed fully two inches, but also in the pools of water that are allowed to accumulate and become stagnant and offensive in the hollow between the rails at the several corners of the streets. No effort whatever is made to remedy these evils, and it is only on those occasions when, and in these places when the traffic is interrupted or interfered with that any attention is paid to remove the cause.
. . . .
The writer then suggested that the municipal authorities were also to blame for not enforcing the regulations in place for the operation of the street cars; unfortunately most of the rest of the letter is illegible.
The case did go to court, and the plaintiff, G. E. Burke, was awarded £50 with costs, against the Street Car Company.
[I think this was the G. E. Burke who became a prominent business man and mayor of Kingston, dying in late 1907.]
Daily Gleaner, June 12, 1886
A Satisfied Knight Sir,— I observe in the columns of your paper a notice by the Solicitors of the Jamaica Street Car Company to the effect that the Company intends to alter the position of the tramway between Cross Roads and Torrington Bridge, by placing the lines at one of the sides instead of in the centre of the Road as it now is. Everyone who drives any kind of wheeled vehicle will understand the great improvement this will be to the traffic on the Halfway Tree Road, but only bicyclists will thoroughly appreciate and value the boon the Company (I believe of its own accord) thus confers upon them. The writer has more than once whilst riding a bicycle down the stretch of road in question, been in danger of having his neck broken between the passing cars and vehicles. Take an example: If a Bicyclist be riding rapidly round the corner at Cross Roads and see a few yards before him a Car and dray coming up abreast, he has no alternative but to ride through the space between the two and he is thus left at the mercy of a careless drayman who is probably keeping his dray about a foot clear of the Car, chatting to a companion by his side and caring for no one's safety but his own. This is often the case, and it is wonderful that more accidents do not occur to Bicyclists in this way. With the cars running at the side of the road the danger will be greatly minimized, if not entirely obviated, and all the Kingston "Knights of the Flying Wheel" will thank the Car Company for thus removing a formidable obstacle from their path. The "knights" of the Jamaica Bicycle Company will buckle on their armor more fearlessly than of yore, when they can pursue their delightful exercise with this barrier to their greatness removed! |