Punta Brabo.-- Here on their honeymoon as guests of the Bucuti Beach Resort & Tara Suites, Duncan & Angie Roberts have deep historical ties to the island.
Duncan is Captain Roger’s grandson. He is the eldest son of Eileen Roger Roberts who grew up here in Seroe Colorado when the legendary Captain was at the helm of the refinery.
Captain Roger and representatives of Andrew Weir & Company, Ltd., a shipping company from Britain who provided the ships to transport crude from Lake Maracaibo, Venezuela, were sent to Aruba to explore a possible site for a new facility they were planning to build, in early 1925.
The site was to be selected by the representative of Andrew Weir, Captain Roger and a representative of Pan American Petroleum.
After much searching a site was selected. It was the San Nicholas Harbor, at the time just a small pier in much disrepair. It had been used for the shipment of phosphates, once mined on the east-end of Aruba.
The San Nicholas bay, a natural harbor, protected from the sea by natural reefs, boasting a narrow entrance, was deemed perfect by the Captain and thus a 99-year lease was signed with the Dutch government.
Piers, storage tanks & pumping stations began to mushroom at the end of 1925. The job was completed and the San Nicholas harbor was officially opened in November of 1927.
Then family homes were constructed extended back from Roger’s Beach with three rows of bungalows. Those homes accommodated the families of the officers on the tankers and the supervisory personnel operating the transshipping facility.
Captain Roger, who spotted the natural harbor of St Nicolas in 1925, lived in the colony with his family. It was an amazing industrial complex. When the last unit was completed in December 1929 this was, at the time, one of the most modern refineries in the world, with an initial capacity to process 111,000 barrels of crude a day.
Eventually, Pan American Petroleum sold the facility to Standard Oil of Indiana and later it was taken over by Standard Oil of New Jersey.
Eileen Roger Roberts grew up in the colony with her siblings, chasing lizards and running barefoot in the sand. It was a very happy, carefree childhood until the Captain decided his children required a more formal education, and shipped them back to boarding schools in England.
Eileen, who had never before worn shoes, was especially heart-broken, yet with time, she learned to appreciate England again and turned Aruba into her favorite vacation destination.
She also brought back her kids and her grandchildren on numerous occasions.
It is this historical and emotional connection which brought Duncan back to Aruba on his honeymoon, with Angie, who loves the Bucuti Beach Resort & Tara Suites and finds it easy to unwind and relax in this tropical atmosphere.
The Roberts are both elementary school teachers, while Duncan enjoys management, Angie teaches first graders. Their wedding was also attended by a great number of their students which made it special, says Angie. The Roberts will be in the area for two weeks, also visiting Curacao and Bonaire. They presently live in London.
Pictured here Eileen Roger Roberts’ son, the grandson of Captain Roger, Duncan Roberts with Angie at the Bucuti Bar.
