Nearly three decades after the Virgin Islands government purchased Great Thatch Island with the intention of protecting it, the island has officially been transferred to the National Parks Trust (NPT), clearing the way for its long-planned designation as a national park.
The formal transfer was marked during a July 1 ceremony at Long Bay Beach Resort, where Deputy Premier and Minister for Environment, Natural Resources and Climate Change Julian Fraser described the handover as more than an administrative milestone.
“This is far more than a transfer of land,” Fraser said. “It is a transfer of responsibility, of stewardship and of a shared commitment to preserve one of the territory’s most significant natural and cultural treasures for generations yet not born.”
Located off Tortola’s western tip, Great Thatch Island is expected to become the National Parks Trust’s 22nd protected area. While officials have not yet released a detailed management plan, Fraser said the island will eventually become part of the British Virgin Islands’ sustainable tourism offering.
“Across the world, travellers are increasingly seeking authentic experiences where history, culture and nature come together,” he said. “Great Thatch Island offers exactly that.”
A Long-Planned Conservation Effort
The transfer follows Cabinet approval on March 11 authorizing ownership of Great Thatch Island to pass from the government to the National Parks Trust for long-term management.
The island comprises two land parcels totaling nearly 300 acres. Cabinet also approved the transfer of approximately 108 acres in the Smugglers Cove area—including the surrounding hillside and salt pond—to the NPT, though that property was not discussed during the July ceremony.
Fraser said the addition of Great Thatch strengthens the Trust’s role in protecting places that reflect the territory’s natural and cultural heritage while creating new opportunities for conservation, education, and carefully managed tourism.
Layers of History
The ceremony also highlighted Great Thatch’s complex past.
Virgin Islands historian Dr. Angel Smith outlined the island’s economic importance during the plantation era, explaining that ownership changed hands repeatedly throughout the 18th and early 19th centuries through sales, leases, and mortgages.
In 1819, the property was acquired by members of the Callwood family, who developed agricultural operations centered on livestock, cotton, fishing, and food crops. Those enterprises relied on the forced labor of more than 100 enslaved people.
Today, ruins from the plantation era, along with three cemeteries, remain on the island.
Following the abolition of slavery in the British Empire in 1834, Smith noted that the Callwood family received £1,432 in compensation for the 106 people they had enslaved on Great Thatch. The formerly enslaved received no compensation and eventually relocated to Tortola, where some were later able to purchase land.
The island remained in the Callwood family until 1997, when Clifford Callwood—a descendant of the original plantation owners—sold Great Thatch Island to the Virgin Islands government for just over $3 million.
Smith described that purchase as an uncomfortable reminder of the lasting economic legacy of slavery, noting that the territory ultimately paid descendants of former slaveholders for land developed through enslaved labor.
Looking Ahead
National Parks Trust Director Cassander Titley-O’Neal said the island’s future management will recognize both its environmental importance and its human history.
“We cannot separate the nature from the history,” she said.
The Trust has not yet released a management plan, with Titley-O’Neal explaining that a full assessment of the island will now begin following the official transfer. No timeline has been announced for public access, future conservation projects, or tourism facilities.
For sailors cruising the western end of Tortola, Great Thatch Island has long been known for its natural beauty and secluded anchorages. Its designation as a national park represents an important step toward preserving both its landscapes and the complex history that shaped them.
