Port Antonio Puot Antuoni | |
|---|---|
 Port Antonio's Clock Tower | |
 Location of Port Antonio shown withinJamaica | |
| Coordinates:18°10′N76°27′W / 18.167°N 76.450°W /18.167; -76.450 | |
| Country |  Jamaica |
| County | Surrey |
| Parish | Portland |
| Population (1991 Census) | |
• Total | 14,400+ |
| • Portland Parish | 81,000+ |
| Time zone | UTC-5 (EST) |
Port Antonio (Jamaican Patois:Puot Antuoni) is the capital of the parish ofPortland on the northeastern coast ofJamaica, about 100 km (60 miles) fromKingston. It had a population of 12,285 in 1982 and 13,246 in 1991. It is the island's third largest port, famous as a shipping point forbananas andcoconuts, as well as one of its most importanttourist attractions, tourism being a major contributor to the town's economy.
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Port Antonio was a settlement first established inSpanish Jamaica, when it was known as Puerto Anton.[1]
Portland formally became a parish in 1723 by order of theDuke of Portland, the then-Governor of Jamaica after whom it is named. The existing port was to be called Port Antonio and was slated to become a naval stronghold. To that end, by 1729, thecolonial government began to build Fort George on the peninsula separating the twin East and West harbors known as the Titchfield promontory. The fort was intended to protect settlers from attacks by the Spanish from the sea, and from theJamaican Maroons who lived in the mountains.[2]
In the 1880s, Lorenzo Dow Baker started the banana trade in Jamaica and successfully promoted Port Antonio as a destination for wealthy American travelers. The banana trade and the tourists who came in thebanana boats, was once so large that at one time, weekly sailing from Port Antonio was greater than weekly sailing from the English port ofLiverpool.[citation needed][3]
The town featured inHollywood films in the 1940s and 1950s,[citation needed] and in later movies such asClub Paradise andCocktail. In 1946 actor,Errol Flynn arrived in the Port Antonio when his yacht, theZaca washed ashore in bad weather. He subsequently bought nearbyNavy Island, part ofFort George in Port Antonio as well as hundreds of acres of farmland along the Portland coast.[citation needed]
Port Antonio features a trade-windtropical rainforest climate under theKöppen climate classification. Like many areas with this climate type, average temperatures vary little throughout the course of the year, with average monthly temperatures roughly at 24 °C (75 °F) throughout the year. The town has a noticeably drier period from February through April, however it has no truedry season month as all 12 months on average easily exceeds 60 millimetres (2.4 in) of precipitation. Port Antonio averages a copious 3,000 millimetres (120 in) of rainfall annually.
| Climate data for Port Antonio | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 28.1 (82.6) | 27.6 (81.7) | 28.6 (83.5) | 29.3 (84.7) | 29.5 (85.1) | 30.7 (87.3) | 30.7 (87.3) | 30.7 (87.3) | 30.5 (86.9) | 29.8 (85.6) | 29.2 (84.6) | 28.5 (83.3) | 29.4 (84.9) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 19.2 (66.6) | 18.9 (66.0) | 19.4 (66.9) | 20.1 (68.2) | 21.1 (70.0) | 21.6 (70.9) | 21.8 (71.2) | 21.8 (71.2) | 21.8 (71.2) | 21.7 (71.1) | 20.8 (69.4) | 20.6 (69.1) | 20.7 (69.3) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 224 (8.8) | 144 (5.7) | 113 (4.4) | 170 (6.7) | 299 (11.8) | 339 (13.3) | 257 (10.1) | 250 (9.8) | 277 (10.9) | 352 (13.9) | 359 (14.1) | 298 (11.7) | 3,082 (121.2) |
| Averagerelative humidity (%) | 78 | 77 | 77 | 77 | 76 | 78 | 75 | 75 | 77 | 80 | 81 | 81 | 78 |
| Mean monthlysunshine hours | 189.1 | 178.0 | 210.8 | 222.0 | 223.2 | 210.0 | 235.6 | 235.6 | 216.0 | 213.9 | 195.0 | 189.1 | 2,518.3 |
| Mean dailysunshine hours | 6.1 | 6.3 | 6.8 | 7.4 | 7.2 | 7.0 | 7.6 | 7.6 | 7.2 | 6.9 | 6.5 | 6.1 | 6.9 |
| Source: Meteorological Service (Jamaica)[4] | |||||||||||||
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A popular sight in this area is the Blue Lagoon, Jamaica, which owes its colour to its depth of 60 m (200 feet). Other sights include the secluded Frenchman's Cove Beach, the ruins of Folly Mansion and the DeMontevin Lodge. In there also is the Bay View Eco Resort located on a former coconut plantation and Pimento Lodge in Long Bay among others.
Port Antonio is a hub for bus transport in the north-eastern part of the island.
Port Antonio was the terminus of therailway from Kingston via Spanish Town and Bog Walk, which was primarily built to serve the banana export trade.
The city is served by theKen Jones Aerodrome.
Day-O (The Banana Boat Song), best known fromHarry Belafonte's 1956 hit record, was originally set at Boundbrook Wharf in Port Antonio, still the loading point for shipping bananas to Europe and the United States.[5]
The 1963 drama filmLord of the Flies and the1990 remake of the same name were both filmed atFrenchman's Cove.[6]
The 1986 comedy filmClub Paradise was filmed on location mostly in and around Port Antonio as the fictitious island of St Nicholas. Local sites such as the town's courthouse, the tax office (which in the film served as the police station), Blue Lagoon, Frenchman's Cove,Winifred Beach, were used as the backdrop to the story.
The 1988 romantic comedy drama filmCocktail was partially shot in Port Antonio, also with scenes of Frenchman's Cove and Blue Lagoon.
The 1988 drama filmClara's Heart has scenes filmed in Port Antonio.
The 1989 thriller filmThe Mighty Quinn was filmed at various locations throughoutJamaica, with the principal outdoor scenes shot in Port Antonio.[7]
The official music video for the 1995 hit single "Fu-Gee-La" by the hip-hop trioFugees was filmed in and around Port Antonio.[8] scenes include Folly Ruins and the town's Cenotaph Square.
The 2010 action comedy filmKnight and Day has scenes filmed at Frenchman's Cove.
The 2021 spy filmNo Time to Die was partially filmed in and around Port Antonio.
In 2024, ArtistJ. Cole has made a song named Port Antonio, where he speaks about his decision of withdrawal in theDrake–Kendrick Lamar feud.
18°10′33″N76°27′01″W / 18.175701°N 76.450253°W /18.175701; -76.450253
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