Harbour Island

Before Europeans arrived, the Eleuthera islands were home to Lucayans, who were enslaved and removed by the Spanish within a few decades of Columbus's arrival. In 1648 English Puritans from Bermuda, the Eleutheran Adventurers led by William Sayle, arrived in search of religious freedom; their ship ran aground on rocks north of Spanish Wells, and they sheltered in Preacher's Cave, a short boat and road trip from Harbour Island. Theirs was the first concerted European effort to colonise the Bahamas.

Harbour Island sits on the outer edge of a lagoon in the north-east corner of Eleuthera, protected by a line of islands — Harbour, Jacobs, Man and Pierre — that looks like a reef. Its only town takes its name from John Murray, 4th Earl of Dunmore, governor of the Bahamas from 1786 to 1798, who kept a summer residence on the island.

Tourism grew in the second half of the 20th century, and hotels were being established by the mid-1960s. The pink-sand beach, the old town and the island's seclusion drew American visitors, and Harbour Island is now known as a retreat for the travel elite, with many upscale hotels and large holiday homes. The population has grown slowly, from about 1,760 at the 2010 census to about 1,860 in 2022.

Dunmore Town is one of the few settlements in the Bahamas whose population is predominantly of European descent, and the island's English colonial-style architecture — colourful buildings and flower-lined streets — has been likened to New England. Locals call their island Briland.

Life in Dunmore Town revolves around the harbour, the churches and the dock, where the water taxis arrive from North Eleuthera and porters handle the luggage. The island is part of the Out Islands, or Family Islands, and keeps their slower rhythm despite its fame. The pink sand itself has become the island's emblem: its colour comes from foraminifera, microscopic organisms with reddish-pink shells, washed ashore along the whole east side of the island.

Visitors and residents share the island closely. Holiday homes and hotels bring in a seasonal population of wealthy visitors, and many islanders work in the hotels, restaurants, golf cart rentals and boats that serve them.

About 1,860 people lived on Harbour Island at the 2022 census, making Dunmore Town one of the largest settlements in the Eleuthera group. Harbour Island is more densely populated than mainland Eleuthera and has the highest concentration of hotels in the area.

Tourism is the base of the economy. Hotels, restaurants, beach bars, holiday home management, golf cart rentals, porters and water taxis employ much of the population. Cars cannot be hired, and golf carts fill the narrow streets of the town.

The island depends on Eleuthera and Nassau for almost everything. Supplies come by boat, residents cross to North Eleuthera for the airport and many services. Hurricane season is watched closely each year.

The island is a popular holiday destination for Americans, and it is known as a retreat for the travel elite: luxurious holiday homes line the Atlantic side, while islanders live mostly in and around Dunmore Town, on the harbour side facing Eleuthera.

Harbour Island eats like the rest of the Family Islands, with conch at the centre. Conch salad — raw conch chopped and "cooked" in lime and citrus juice with onion, sweet pepper and tomato — is sold at Queen Conch, a stand on Bay Street north of the government dock, and cracked conch and conch fritters are on almost every menu. Fried and grilled fish, spiny lobster and grouper are everyday fare.

Plates come with peas 'n' rice, baked macaroni "pie" and coleslaw. Souse, a lime-and-pepper broth, and johnnycake are breakfast food, and guava duff, a boiled pudding with guava folded into the dough and served with a sauce, is the classic dessert.

The island also has many restaurants for its wealthy visitors, from hotel dining rooms to beach bars on the pink-sand shore serving rum cocktails and light meals. Kalik and Sands beer and Bahamian rum are the usual drinks.