- New Amsterdam is located in the East Berbice –Corentyne region of Guyana, 62 miles from Georgetown. Its four miles upriver from the Atlantic Ocean mouth of the Berbice River, on its eastern bank, immediately south of the Canje River. It’s one of the largest towns in Guyana with a population of approximately 33,000. Persons who wish to take a trip to this town do so by taking a 50 bus from the park, which takes roughly about 2 hours. There are also taxis available. There are many scenes to see while on this long trip.
New Amsterdam was formerly known as Niew Amsterdam. Initially, in 1784 the Dutch had decided to move their seat of Government to the confluence of Berbice and Canje Rivers and here the town of New Amsterdam was born. It got its new name from the Dutch, because at that time most of the shareholders were from the province of New Amsterdam in Holland.
The present town is fairly small that consists of three main roads. One Mayor and a thriving market. The schools in New Amsterdam are Berbice High school, Berbice Educational Institute, Vryman’s Erven Secondary, Tutorial Academy and New Amsterdam Multilateral High School (opened in 1975).
There is also an open public ground called Esplanade west of the Esplanade road and immediately opposite the Gardens. It brings back a lot of memories of times when it was once a popular picnic resort and a place where the people of Berbice met.
The following are old buildings thats are no more or reconstructed into new ones.
The following are old buildings thats are no more or reconstructed into new ones.
Mission Chapel Congregational Church in the 1950s
A panoramic view of Strand, New Amsterdamin the 1920
A panoramic view of Strand, New Amsterdamin the 1920
New Amsterdam Public Hospital in 1950
