Two new exhibits for the public to enjoy have just been installed at Carter House, the museum of the St. David's Island Historical (SDIHS) Society, at Clearwater.

The first, collated by Ronnie Chameau, a trustee of the Society, honours the women of St. David's. The display includes a combination of photographs of the distaff members of various families, fine palmetto and other handiwork created by women, as well as artefacts related to their domestic duties, including irons, a washboard and a kettle.

The second includes a selection of miniature sailing vessels and boats connected to Bermuda, which are part of a large collection patiently hand-crafted by St. David's Islander Wilfred (Buster) Hayward and kindly loaned to the museum.

In an overview of her exhibit, entitled 'Honouring Women of St. David's', Mrs. Chameau notes that, with the exception of Barbara (Higgs) Roberts, all of the women in the display are now deceased, and she pays tribute to Mrs. Roberts for her invaluable assistance in not only lending photographs but also helping her to put the display together.

Given the area of St. David's Island, it may be surprising to learn that the community was geographically defined as being from the 'west end' or the 'east end', and Mrs. Chameau has arranged the photographic display accordingly. Among the 'east enders' are such names as Eva Minors (St. David's only school teacher), Theresa Pitcher McCallan, Rosa (Dummy) Burchall, Kathleen O'Connor Minors, proprietor of the 'Log Cabin' restaurant in the 1920s, and her mother Lizzie, who was born in 1864; Belle Pitcher and her descendants; herbalist Helen Foggo and daughters; daughters of the Alice Burchall clan, Alice Wilkinson and her descendants, and Rosa (Mamma Dolly) Fox. West enders include Gladys (Lambe) Millett, mother of pilot Harold Millett, and Susan Higgs (mother of Mrs. Roberts), her sisters and grandmother.

A child's immaculately worked Sampler is testimony of the mastery of needlework, while a clay pipe recalls the days when the women commonly smoked 'plugs' cut from a solid block of tobacco.

There is also a palmetto broom made by Emily (Hayward) Pugh and donated to the museum by Scott Stallard.

A St. David's Islander herself, Mrs. Chameau is well known for her banana-leaf dolls, an art she learned from the late Marie Gleeson. Of the display, and her dedication to the fascinating museum that is such a living history lesson, she says:

"I enjoy history, and I enjoy doing research, which I have been doing since 1994 when I lost my father and aunties. I started doing St. David's history because it is changing rapidly, and we have got to preserve these things for the youngsters of today. You go to St. David's today and you don't know anybody, so this little museum tries to preserve things for the St. David's Islanders. We have a lot of history."

The Wilfred (Buster) Hayward display of ship and boat models features vessels which were either important or related to Bermuda in some way.

"They were either wrecked here or towed in after a storm, salvaged and beached somewhere in St. George's somewhere," SDIHS president Rick Spurling says. "Buster has researched them and made the models, as well as finding lots of pictures of them."

Indeed, like all St. David's Islanders, Mr. Hayward's relationship with the sea began in early childhood. His father fished and caught lobsters in winter and turtles in summer. He recalls accompanying brothers Herbert and Bert, when they travelled all the way to Somerset in Herbert's dinghy (now in the Bermuda Maritime Museum) to catch turtles, which were delivered to Hamilton before the sail back home.

Mr. Hayward also listened to his brothers' tales about ships and sailing, particularly Herbert, who had sailed around the world on the full-rigged tall ship, 'Bragdo'. They both encouraged their sibling to learn about boats and how to build them, and eventually Mr. Hayward worked with Bert building dinghies until he was 15. Later he would build a motor boat. Between the two brothers, Bert was known as an excellent craftsman who built more than 20 boats, and he also handknitted the nets they used to catch turtles until catching them was banned.

Throughout his life, Mr. Hayward made ship models intermittently, but on retirement devoted much more of his time to his hobby.

Today, thanks to an agreement between Mr. Hayward and Mr. Spurling, visitors now have a fine opportunity to study and enjoy the work of a true St. David's Islander who admits he not only disliked everything about school but also learned very little, except how to read, which proved to be an invaluable asset throughout his life, as he bought books and acquired a wealth of knowledge.

Among the models, some of them set on an artificial sea in cedar and glass cases, are the pilot gig 'Gazelle', built in 1928 and owned by Tommy Fox, and the 'Taifun', a fully-rigged tall ship under full sail, which was towed through the St. George's channel in 1921 with her masts snapped and back broken, after being abandoned at sea following an horrendous storm. Beached in east St. George's harbour in 1921, she can still be seen today, slowly rusting away in the company of other wrecks.

Bermuda cedar replicas of local boats include a pilot gig, a turtling/fishing boat with sails, and a Bermuda dinghy, as well as an eel eating a rockfish, and a rockfish ¿ all of them detailed and meticulously crafted.

Born in 1915, Wilfred (Buster) Hayward married Norma Outerbridge in 1940 and they built their home, 'Narrowby', on St. David's Island, where the widower continues to live. The couple had one daughter, Lynn, born in 1957. Mr. Hayward is a descendant of John Hayward (1670) and Martha Carter Hayward, who died in 1791 at the age of 114.

"Martha Carter Hayward was the great granddaughter of Christopher Carter, who arrived on the Sea Venture, and that is why this building is called 'Carter House',"Mr. Spurling says. "So this display is even more significant because Buster Hayward is related to the person after whom the building is named."

In an introduction to the museum, Mr. Spurling invites visitors to enjoy the unique character of the old St. David's Islanders as portrayed in the exhibits.

"This is a monument to a wonderful way of life that is vanishing daily," he continues. "Almost every day one who understands, remembers, and knows this dies, and another who is born does not. I hope the museum not only entertains but makes those who visit think about what is really important."

Carter House, believed to be one of the oldest buildings in Bermuda, was constructed circa 1640 by descendants of Christopher Carter. It is open to the public on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is $2, or by donation.