For some strange reason, I would unconsciously scroll down the Blogs and stop at Syd’s photograph of the” Water Tank”. I would then think about why I am drawn to this photograph. After all, it is a water tank which is gradually getting rusty. It is in need of a facelift. A few fresh coats of paint will do the job. But why is this photograph so alluring? Do you often get that feeling when something seems to attract your attention and you have no explanation? It’s been weeks now and I need to address this fascination with the “Water Tank”.
As a child growing up in Albion Estate, the water tank was non-existent, except the huge Red Vat at the south side of the Hospital. This red vat collected rain water. Out –patients and visitors got their drinking water from this vat. There were stand pipes scattered throughout the Estate. There was a water filtration plant which pumped water to the standpipes through pipelines. There was a pipe which connected Trench Over to the Filtration Plant. That pipe spanned the “lease water trench” which separated Trench Over from the Hospital Compound.
Those who were fortunate to obtain a steel drum used it as a water barrel. I remember Uncle Banka having two. One was used for detoxifying the hassa which he caught in front of his house. Water Tanks were nowhere to be seen in Albion. Incidentally, while Trinidadians used steel drums to make steel pans for music, many throughout Guyana used them for more functional purposes in storing potable water. Ironic is it not that today in industrialized countries , people are encouraged to have “rain barrels” to collect water especially for washing their cars and watering their lawns and gardens in the hot, dry summer months when water is rationed? Those of us who grew up in rural Guyana are familiar with rain barrels /steel drums. They were a necessary part of our lives.
The first overhead Water Tank, which I can remember, at Albion was erected at Belvedere when an artesian well was dug. This was probably in the late fifties when residents were relocated to the nuclear scheme, namely, Nigg, Belvedere, Hampshire and Williamsburg. The artesian well with the Water Tank supplied water to the residents in these areas. The water from the artesian well did not go through the filtration and purification process like the Black Water brought into the Water Pump in the Estate. This water tank became a prominent landmark in the area. But there were water barrels and vats in people’s yards. This brings me to the Red Vat.
I will elaborate upon Red Vat which was in the Hospital Compound not in any way similar to the one in the photograph. It stood upright about seven to eight meters above ground and had a diameter of about two meters. About the same time when the Hospital was demolished, my father had contracted Uncle Yonus to build our house at Chesney Front. Somehow, through his daily contact with Senior Staff, my father was fortunate to be given the Red Vat which stood tall at the back of the Hospital for many years before I was born. We were ever so thankful for this magnanimous gesture of goodwill. I do not think any of my siblings knows who gave the Red Vat to my father. But the Red Vat became an important in our daily lives.
To this day, I am still amazed at how this vat was transported on a lorry from inside the Estate to Chesney Front without modern technology. Another amazing feat was the skill with which Uncle Johnny Apadoo (Herman and Herbert’s dad who was the chief carpenter for the Estate) and Uncle Cheddi (uncle of Buddy, Tribeni Mohabir an “Albion Boy” who later became the Administrative Manager at Blairmont Estate) cast the concrete foundation with specific dimensions for the rectangular protrusions on the bottom of the vat to fit into its foundation. Even more spectacular was the manner in which this vat was hoisted by eight men using ropes and scantling into its perpendicular position. There is no poured concrete around this vat. It is standing in position by the protrusions meticulously fitted into their slots. The Red Vat is still standing at Chesney Front. It was relocated to our property around 1954. There were two other vats given to my father by the Estate. I think one has rotted over the years but the black cylindrical tank which is about two meter tall with a diameter of one meter is still standing in its place. The other Water Tank on our lot was a one similar in shape to the one in the photograph but a little smaller. This was sitting on a scaffold on top of the septic tank. This water tank was filled by manual labour. There was a “hand pump” which we operated manually a by pushing and pulling at the handle at 180degrees back and forth -especially at night when the water flow was greater. Over the years the scaffolding rotted through neglect. The tank fell and has since rotted.
So why is the photograph of the “Water Tank” so alluring? It has tapped into my childhood memory bank. It brought back memories of days at Trench Over when we had running water and did not have to worry about water barrels. There was a vat in our yard at Trench Over. It collected rainwater which was used for washing clothes. More significant is the Red Vat at Chesney Front. It was a blessing when there was no running water. When it ran dry during the dry season, we had to cart water from Fyrish Road and No.1 in steel drums at night. I state, quite categorically, that the property at Chesney Front houses authentic pieces of history reminiscent of Albion Sugar Factory Factory and Albion Hospital. I would surmise that the Red Vat is almost ninety years old. It has been standing at Chesney Front for over fifty-seven years. I hope that the current owners are preserving it with loving, tender care as my father did before he passed away.
Finally, I can stop thinking about the “Water Tank”. It took me on a journey into my childhood when we had to collect and conserve water on the Sugar Plantation. Fast forward to Addis Ababa, year 2012, I have plastic water barrels in my apartment. There are frequent water stoppages. Overhead water tanks moulded out of fiberglass and industrial plastic are a common sight almost a blight. Overhead steel water tanks are rare in Addis . There is no comparison with Albion Estate which had none prior to the one at Belvedere. Here ends my nostalgic journey and my attraction to the “Water Tank”.
Arnold Lachana
I write you with great restraint because I consider myself a lesser man when I think of all the great men and women that funnelled through our great school.
