By NORMAN ROLLE, Weekender Editor

norman@nasguard.com

Robert (Bobby) Hallam Symonette was the oldest son of Sir Roland Symonette who became the first chief minister or premier after The Bahamas got its first constitution and gained internal self-government from Great Britain in 1964. He and Sir Roland became the first father-son pair in recent memory to serve in the House at the same time.

In 1949, he was elected junior member for Exuma, which he represented for 19 consecutive years. He was elected deputy speaker of the House in 1958 and in 1962 at age 24, the youngest Speaker ever, succeeding Asa H. Prichard. He served until 1967 when the Progressive Liberal Party came to power.

A part of the white oligarchy, he presided over the House during its most turbulent period. It was in the 1960s that the PLP was unrelenting inside and outside of the House for majority rule, threatening and in fact taking drastic actions. Among the contentious issues were adult suffrage, 'one man, one vote,' the extension of the voting franchise to women and the limitation of speaking time in the House and the electoral boundaries. In the 1962 general election the PLP polled considerably more votes than the United Bahamian Party but ended up with fewer seats.

To bring local and international attention to the litany of inequities, the PLP was prepared to go to the limit, which meant ignoring what the party regarded as unjust House rules. Arthur Hanna was first to challenge the rules, which resulted in his removal from the chamber on instruction from Speaker Symonette. But it was on April 23 1965 – Black Tuesday - that Lynden Pindling and Milo Butler did the unthinkable.

Pindling walked up to Speaker's desk, grabbed the Mace (the symbol of the Speaker's authority) and hurled it out of the window. Milo Butler then grabbed the hour-glass (the timing device) and also tossed it out of the window, while a crowd cheered.

The Symonette speakership, which lasted five years, was indeed eventful. Bobby, as he was commonly referred to, in his own right was an outstanding Bahamian.

At his passing in 1998, Sir Lynden Pindling made the following comments: "He tried as best he could top make room for others. If more in his group would have done the same, The Bahamas would have been a little further today." A protégé of Sir Stafford Sands on the Nassau (Tourism) Development Board, he was instrumental in the development of our tourism industry. An avid yachtsman, in his John B, he won two World Championships and represented The Bahamas in five Olympics.

In 1953, he was a founder of the George Town (Out Island) Regatta (now the National Family Island Regatta) and served as chairman until 1968.

He served in the U.S. Navy (1942-46) during World War II. He was a graduate of the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and became one of the country's most successful businessmen. Among the businesses he was involved in were Burns House Limited, Bahamas Meter Cab, Automotive and Industrial Distributors (AID), Nassau Yacht Haven, Bahamas Gas and Bahamas First General Insurance.

Hubert Ingraham, who was prime minister when Symonette died, made the following observations: "He was a very successful businessman who contributed in large measure to the broadening of the economic base of ownership in The Bahamas by attracting and involving large numbers of Bahamians into enterprise where they had not hitherto had an opportunity. And he was very, very successful in that regard.

"He was a Bahamian to the core. He was great patriot and nationalist who did not have too much interest in the foreigners engaging in certain aspects of business in The Bahamas."

Deputy Prime Minister Frank Watson perhaps said it best: "He lived a life that was full, accomplished and beneficial to the nation."

Bobby Symonette was born Jan. 31, 1925 and died March 1, 1998 at age 73.