The historic Tacky Falls, St Mary

Tacky, a Coromantin (Coromantee) slave from central Ghana, is not a Jamaican National hero, but there are persons in St Mary who insist that he should receive that high honour for leading the rebellion against the British in 1760 which one historian described as "...the most significant slave rebellion in the Caribbean until the Haitian Revolution in 1790".

One of the permanent tributes to Tacky's role in this country's history is the naming of a waterfall near Islington in St Mary, in his honour, for the waterfall and environs played a very important role in the rebellion.

All this we heard about from a proud 'St Marian' and fellow rider, Charles Simpson, who arranged for us to take a ride there and learn a bit more about another significant place that played a role in the long struggle for freedom.

To get to Islington, we took the Junction Road, one of the most scenic routes in Jamaica where the long Wag Water River runs, sometimes over humongous boulders, through the picturesque valley surrounded by some of the most colourful variegated mountains and lush expanses of foliage you will see anywhere, to Agualta Vale, then we headed west.

Once in Islington, we were told we had to continue on to a small district called Roadside. There, we discovered that these falls are not operated on a commercial basis and access was only through a private yard, but the very hospitable owner happily gave us permission to pass through.

Accessing the falls

However, to access the falls, was only via a very steep, slippery, heavily overgrown tract behind the small home and we had to hold on for dear life to thick vines to save ourselves from slipping and falling down a deep ravine.

When we got there, we realised that the small, remote waterfall named after Tacky is not your traditional waterfall like Dunn's River or Reggae Falls where one can frolic in the water with wild abandon. For during the rainy season, this waterfall comes raging over a high cliff which is around 40 feet high with a torrent so fierce that anyone near it could be washed away into the deep ravine below. Fortunately, it was drought season when we visited, so we were able to go under it and enjoy the small trickle that was coming down.

So these falls are not significant from an entertainment point of view, but rather because of its historical significance during the rebellion led by Tacky. For we were told that at the edge of the ravine, there are caves under the huge rocks which lead to a clear cool underground lake (which we did not of course explore!) where Tacky was able to hide from the British and surreptitiously conduct his very successful assaults.

Joan Williams, moderator of the Joan Williams Online broadcast on Power 106, describes herself as an unapologetic addict to the Jamaican outdoors. A foundation member of Fun and Thrills Adventure Club, she explores the island at any given opportunity cycling, hiking or swimming with that group, family, Jah 3 and anyone else who will have her. In 1995, she published the popular 'Tour Jamaica', and the fourth edition is now an ebook available at http://www.amazon.com/Tour-Jamaica-Joan-Williams-ebook/dp/B00EJWCSHS/ref. Contact gratestj@gmail.com.