Personal Information
Organization / Workplace
Town Of Arima, Arima, Trinidad And Tobago
About
In 1936 Joseph and Helen Bruce-Holmes bought Spring Hill Plantation (now the Asa Wright Nature Centre) from the government, which acquired it in default of taxes. Mr. Holmes, an oilfield engineer, was particularly interested in the property because of the very accessible Oilbird Cave. They renovated the plantation house, and lived in their "Garden of Eden" until after World War II, when they returned to the United States.
The plantation suffered from neglect, and eventually it was sold to Newcombe and Asa Wright. As Mr. Wright was "sickly," his wife Asa, a strong, confident, Icelandic woman, managed the plantation. At the same time the Wrights bought Spring Hill, William Beebe of the New