Sir Harold George Christie,

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(30 May 1896 – 25 September 1973), known as H.G., was a Bahamian politician, realtor, developer and businessman. Christie is known as "The Father of Bahamas Real Estate".

Early life and real estate business

Christie was born into poverty as the eldest of four children and a descendant of

Loyalist Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cro ...

Adam Christie. Christie was enlisted in the

Royal Flying Corps "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colors = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , decorations ...

in Canada during World War I. In 1922, he returned to the Bahamas to establish H.G. Christie Real Estate which began as a modest office, his brother Frank Homes Christie, CBE joined him in growing the company. H.G Christie Real Estate is credited as the first real estate company to capitalise on the luxury market in the Bahamas and had a hand in almost all real estate developments in the country during his career, most notably

Windermere Island Windermere Island is a small island in The Bahamas that is approximately five and a half miles long. The island is connected to the larger island of Eleuthera by a short bridge which is protected by a guardhouse. The bridge was built by Lord Tr ...

in Eleuthera and

Lyford Cay Lyford Cay is a private gated community located on the western tip of New Providence island in The Bahamas. The former cay that lent its name to the community is named after Captain William Lyford Jr., a mariner of note in Colonial and Revolutio ...

in New Providence. Christie is also credited in attracting well known investors to the Bahamas including Guy Baxter,

Arthur Vining Davis Arthur Vining Davis (May 30, 1867 – November 17, 1962) was an American industrialist and philanthropist, for many years president, chairman and largest stockholder of the aluminum producer Alcoa. Early history Arthur Vining Davis was born in ...

Wallace Groves Wallace Groves (–30 January 1988) was a prominent financier, who, after his release from federal prison in 1944, moved to the Bahamas and there founded and operated the free trade zone, resort, and casino development Freeport on Grand Bahama Isl ...

E. P. Taylor Edward Plunket Taylor, CMG (January 29, 1901 – May 14, 1989) was a Canadian business tycoon, investor and philanthropist. He was a famous breeder of Thoroughbred race horses, and a major force behind the evolution of the Canadian horse-racing ...

Lord Beaverbrook William Maxwell Aitken, 1st Baron Beaverbrook (25 May 1879 – 9 June 1964), generally known as Lord Beaverbrook, was a Canadian-British newspaper publisher and backstage politician who was an influential figure in British media and politics o ...

and many others.

Political career

In 1927, Christie was elected as a representative for the Abaco District and in 1935 he became the representative for Cat Island; he served this district until he retired from politics in 1966.

Bahamas Airways Limited

Christie and

Sir Harry Oakes Sir Harry Oakes, 1st Baronet (23 December 1874 – 7 July 1943) was a British gold mine owner, entrepreneur, investor and philanthropist. He earned his fortune in Canada and moved to the Bahamas in the 1930s for tax purposes. Though American by b ...

are credited with being the pioneers of commercial aviation in the Bahamas when they established Bahamas Airways Limited in 1936. Bahamas Airways was the first commercial airline in the Bahamas, growing the tourism and real estate sector. Flights allowed which was once a five day journey by vessel to the Bahamas to just a ninety minute flight. The company started with a twin-engined

Douglas DOLPHIN The Douglas Dolphin is an American amphibious flying boat. While only 58 were built, they served a wide variety of roles including private air yacht, airliner, military transport, and search and rescue. Design and development The Dolphin origin ...

amphibious aircraft and in a few years graduated to four-engined Locheed Constellation and

Boeing Stratocruiser The Boeing 377 Stratocruiser was a large long-range airliner developed from the C-97 Stratofreighter military transport, itself a derivative of the B-29 Superfortress. The Stratocruiser's first flight was on July 8, 1947. Its design was advanced ...

airliners that made trans Atlantic flights. Bahamas Airways Limited ceased operations in 1969.

Personal life

In 1959, Christie was married for the first time at age 63 to Virginia Campbell Johnson. They had no biological children; Lady Christie had a son from a previous relationship.

Death

Christie died on September 25, 1973, in Frankfurt, Germany, while on a business trip.

Legacy

Christie was honoured with a CBE in 1949 and a knighthood in 1964. Currently, H.G Christie Real Estate is the oldest and largest real estate company in The Bahamas.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Christie, Harold Real estate and property developers Bahamian businesspeople Bahamian politicians 20th-century businesspeople Royal Flying Corps soldiers People from Nassau, Bahamas 1896 births 1973 deaths Royal Air Force officers British Army personnel of World War I Royal Air Force personnel of World War I