OLD GRUMPY
[Our Curmudgeon-at-Large]
Southern Abaco is well known for its beautiful and relevant names. Sandy Point is, well, a sandy point. Crossing Rocks has a crossing of large rocks at the reef line. Guess what? Casuarina Point has lots of casuarinas. You can expect to see a certain type of bird over Man O' War Cay. Elbow Cay? Take a look at the map. How did Cherokee Sound get its name? This article is not long enough to cover that topic. Little Harbour is, of course, a little harbour. Quite big enough for its purposes, but very well named. The naming of Crown Haven was covered in November's Journal. I lived in Spring City for many years but never saw a spring. No matter, the name is fine.
It is not clear whether Marsh Harbour was called so because the harbour was marshy or because one of the biggety fellows from Carleton Point called Marsh had the area named after himself. When it rains, the name seems to fit. Dundas Town and Murphy Town were named after British governors involved in the relocation of settlements during their respective tenures. Very appropriate.
New names arose as people moved into new areas: Pelican Shores, Bahama Palm Shores, Great Cistern, Bahama Coral Island, Eastern Shores, Lubbers Quarters, Forest Drive, Pigeon Pea. Nice names.
There were one or two blots on the nomenclature landscape: The Mud, Government Sub Division. Two very different areas but sharing functional names. True, The Mud was created by mud dredged from the harbour. Gov Sub was, indeed, a government sub-division. Poetry got lost somewhere along the way. Is it possible to go lower?
Try Dundy-Mar. Dundy-Mar? Dundy-Mar! Yes, Dundy-Mar. That's the name the Ministry of Housing says Abaco people have suggested for the new community between Marsh Harbour and Dundas Town. Dundy-Mar? If all is true, someone from the Ministry needs to tell the people from Abaco who suggested that name to get a life. Dundy-Mar? It's supposed to be a cutesy blending Dundas, Marsh and Murphy. If I was a Murphy Town resident (shucks, I am!) I would raise hell (I am!) and ask where Murphy Town is in this concoction. Dundy-Mar? Where does Murphy Town appear? Do government people really think we are so easily satisfied?
Thank the Lord, Murphy Town does not make itself obvious in this horrornym. Dundy-Mar? Is this a joke that Nassau people are imposing upon us to see how gullible we are? Dundy-Mar? Maybe all the kindergartens are going to stationed there and the pre-schoolers will remember the pre-grade school catchy name if they get lost.
Dundy-Mar is a dreadful name. I really can't imagine anybody who intends to build there suggesting such a name. I also can't imagine government officials even countenancing such a name. Am I alone in my dismay?
If the community is going to be called Dundy-Mar, what on earth are the streets going to be called? Diddley-Doo Drive? Bubbly-Boo Boulevard? Hubba-Bubba Highway? Scratch muh Back Cul-de-Sac?
The Abaco of such magnificent names as Crown Haven, Mount Hope, Hole in the Wall and Carleton deserves a better name than Dundy-Mar. Lord Dundas must surely be turning over in his grave.
[Editor's Note: Calm down, Grumpy... Shortly after you wrote this,
the Minister of Housing announced that Dundy-Mar was a temporary name and
called for input from Abaconians to come up with a satisfying permanent
name for the development. A competition is under way that will allow all
Abaconians to offer a name for new sub-division. Jackson McIntosh, Charlene
Fernander, Monica Adderley and Silbert Mills will be the judges and there
is even talk of a free lot of land being the grand prize. Forget about
it, Grumpy.]