Saint Andrew Parish, Jamaica
Saint Andrew (
capital Half Way Tree) is a
parish, situated in the
south east of
Jamaica in the
county of Surrey. It lies
north of
Kingston and stretches into the Blue
Mountain. The Right Excellent
George William Gordon (d.1865), one of Jamaica's seven National Heroes, was born in this Parish.
St. Andrew was one of the first parishes to be established by
law in 1867. Before being established, it was known as 'Liguanea'.
St Andrew is located at
latitude 18°01'N, and
longitude 76°54'W and covers an area of 455
sq km (181 sq
miles). The parish lies just
north of
Kingston, bounded in the
west by
St. Catherine,
north by
St. Mary,
northeast by
Portland along the Blue Mountain range, and
east by
St. Thomas. In 1923, the parishes of St Andrew and
Kingston were administratively merged to form the Kingston and St Andrew Corporation (KSAC), with a single elected council and a Mayor. The geographic area of the KSAC is often referred to as the "Corporate Area."
Cross Roads, Half-Way-Tree and Constant Spring are important commercial centres in St. Andrew, but may be regarded as
suburbs of Kingston. West St. Andrew, however, is a populous
residential area. Total
population of the parish is an estimated 540,715.
A lot of the parish is given over to
agriculture. Its principal products include
coffee,
mangoes,
cacao,
peas,
beans,
sugarcane,
cattle;
dairy goods,
cigar and
cigarette,
vegetables and ground provisions. To encourage the movement of
Industrial Plants from the
business areas of Kingston, and to facilitate the establishment of new industries with local and overseas capital, the government has established an
industrial estate in St. Andrew, bordering on Western Kingston.This Industrial Estate is over 1.2 km² (300
acres) in size.
Gypsum is found in large quantities, in
eastern St. Andrew, the largest deposits being in the area of Bull Bay, a mile and a half of the
coast.
At the
south of Papine, several
miles
north-east of
Kingston is the
University of the West Indies, occupying 2.6 km² (1 mile²) of the Liguanea Plain at the foot of Long Mountain. The College of
Arts,
Science and
Technology, which has now become the University of Technology, is situated nearby.
*The
Governor General's Residence at King House
*The
Prime Minister's Residence, modern commercial New Kingston Complex,
*
Bob Marley's Museum,
*The National Sports Stadium.
*
Political Geography of Jamaica*
St Andrew*
Statistics
