HISTORIC TREE PLANTING CEREMONY
DUPPY GATE AND CANNON BALL GATE
Rear Admiral Hardley Lewin, Chief of Staff of the Jamaica Defence
Force (JDF), following the tradition of his predecessors, planted a
series of plants at Cannon Ball Gate and Duppy Gate, during a
tree planting ceremony on 23 February 2007. The plants bear similar names to the gates they now adorn.
The naming of Cannon Ball Gate and Duppy Gate are linked to historic
and legendary events associated with the British colonial regiment
based in Jamaica and the placing of the Cannon Ball monument on
Arnold Road in 1856.
Rear Admiral Hardley Lewin shovels earth over the first of four plants, two cannon ball trees at the Cannon Ball Gate and two duppy sour sap trees at Duppy Gate, the second plants being spares.
Cannon Ball Gate
research suggests that this gate was named after the Cannon Ball monument at the intersection of Arnold Road and South Camp Road. South Camp Road runs adjacent to the westerly boundaries of Up Park Camp. Arnold Road was constructed by 3rd West India Regiment and led directly to Up Park Camp via Cannon Ball Gate. The following is the inscription on the monument:
“The Arnold Road opened and made by the 3rd West India Regiment Maj Gen EW BELL Commanding A.D. 1856”.
The Commandant for Up Park Camp, Lieutenant Colonel Rocky Meade, shares on the legends surrounding the naming of the Cannon Ball Gate and Duppy Gate.
Duppy Gate
The southern gate to Up Park Camp is known as Duppy Gate because, the legends say, members of the West India Regiment keeping guard at this gate were at night regularly visited by an officer for inspection. He would be dressed in old style clothing with his sword slapping against his leg. The guard would turn out but as they were about to report the ghostly officer would vanish.
Force Chaplain, Captain (Reverend) Denston Smalling, blesses the tree planting ceremony.
Tree Planting Tradition
It was at a similar tree planting ceremony, about 1982, that former
Chief of Staff Major General (Retired) Robert Neish, replanted the
cotton tree that now marks Cotton Tree Gate, the main entrance to Up
Park Camp, JDF’s largest military base. Similarly, in 1999, a major
tree planting effort took place, when 2,025 trees were planted across
Up Park Camp.
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