Bahamas Banknotes One Dollar banknote 1984 Queen Elizabeth II
The Central Bank of The Bahamas
Obverse: Portrait of HM Queen Elizabeth II. On the left side are two fish near the coral. On the background is a map of Bahamas. More to the right is Bank of Bahamas logo. Is a stylized flower Tecoma stans or Yellow elder (Bahamas national flower).
Reverse: Royal Bahamas Police Force Band. The picture is surrounded by various images, which include, on the right, a rainbow-arc flanked by the numeral $1 and the words “One Dollar”, above, the words “The Central Bank of The Bahamas”, and on the right, the coat of arms of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas. In lower left corner is a sea shell (conch).
Watermark: Spanish galleon "Santa Maria", the flagship of the first expedition of Columbus sailing on the sea the sun shone. Her foremast shows pennant Expedition (white with a green cross and the first letters of the names of the Spanish royal couple, sent an expedition - Ferdinand and Isabella), and on the main and mizzen-mast - then flag and pennant Spain lion of Leon and Castillo.
Bahamian Banknotes - Bahamas Paper Money
1984 Issue, Central Bank Act 1974
Royal Bahamas Police Force Band
The world famous Royal Bahamas Police Force Band has been, for a long time, a major cultural icon throughout the Commonwealth of the Bahamas. The rhythmic beats and harmonic tones that the sharply dressed military musicians produce are crowd pleasers for local and international audiences.
In 1893 the Police Band consisted of 12 members who performed normal police duties but were given time off for practice and official engagements with no extra payment. In 1913 the band was used for recruitment for Nassau and the Out Island, also during this time Mr. R. H. Crawford was interested in improving the police force band which was short of instruments to which the government could not afford at that time. This is when Mr. Leon E.H. Dupuch founder/editor of the Tribune assisted with obtaining the funds for the instruments. Also, during this time the members of the band would perform a concert every Friday evenings at the Library Green which is now called the Garden of Remembrance where the Annual Remembrance Day service is held to honor those veterans who dies in World Wars 1 & 2.
In 1930s the band had discontinued because of lack of funds, but was soon revived soon thereafter with an increase in strength of 16 members and continued as a part time band. During the 1950’s the band made progressive improvements with the addition of instruments, music classes conducted Warrant Officer EduBauchaire, band master from the U.S. Air Force band, to which the band members greatly benefited from.
Sometime in 1958 Mr. Dennis Morgan was recruited for the band from Jamaica to serve as the conductor and director of the band where he served until 1978. During his tenure the then Commissioner of Police Mr. Colchester Weymss introduced a change of attire for the entire Force. The Band was allowed to wear the white pit helmets with the chain attached to the peak; also a red band feather adorned the helmet. The drummers wore leopard skins with a red and gold belt that replaced the leather belts. Also all members wore the dark blue trousers with red stripes and white bush jackets. These few adjustments resulted in an impressive uniform. Also, during this time Mr. Morgan made recommendations that the band be established as a complete entity for it’s musicianship to develop that marked a noticeable improvement in the bands performances. The beating of the retreat was also introduced by Mr. Morgan and the lowering of the flag at 6:00pm accompanied by a bugler. All of which later became a grand ceremony thus having the band and guard parade from Police Headquarters to Government House grounds where the ceremony took place. The band became a platoon of the Bahamas Police Special Company Reserve Riot Unit.
At this time the band was growing rapidly and hours for practice had increase to six hours in addition to their normal duty came to an end and the band became a separate and complete unit in 1964 with 32 members, with a very hectic and demanding schedule. This led to the band’s first international trip to Las Vegas, Nevada for three (3) days which was used a promotional trip for The Ministry of Tourism.
In 1978 Dunstan Babb took over as the band director and served for about twenty years, during which time the band became a tourist and public attraction and also a State Band, performing mainly for state function such as the Queen’s Visits, Supreme Court Opening, Changing of the Guard, Independence Celebrations and various other Military Functions. The band has traveled to Europe, Dominica, Canada, Trinidad, Mexico, and Spain for The World’s Fair, Texas and many U.S Cities inclusive of Miami in 1972 for Super Bowl XIII, New York 2004 and Orlando in 2006, all for The Ministry of Tourism’s Promotional Exercise. The band would perform anywhere from 73 to 156 engagement or appearances each year.
In 1992 the strength of the band was about sixty-five (65) members; Chief Superintendent Sylvester George (retired) was the band’s director who in 2008 handed over to the first Bahamian Director Superintendent Nigel Clarke (retired) who served as director for 2 years. In January 2010 Superintendent Ronald Campbell became the second Bahamian Director of Music, with 2 Inspectors and 103 officers / musicians under his command.