The 5 June 1975 issue of The Caymanian Compass contained a front-page story on the completion of a new telephone system that would support 2,000 lines. With the estimated $1 million exchange in place, located at the corner of Shedden Road and School House Road, five-digit numbers would automatically be in use. People calling telephones in George Town and West Bay would have to start by dialling the number 9.
At the top of the front page was a photo headlined ‘Annual Report Presented’. Pictured, from left, were Brian Uzzell, group general manager of Cayman Free Press, which printed the report; government information officer Olive Miller, who edited the report; and Governor Thomas Russell, who received the first copy.
In the other photo on the first page, the governor presented Cayman Islands High School student Donna Myrie with an award for her entry in the Royal Commonwealth Society’s essay competition, which the judges said was “highly recommended”. Myrie was flanked by her parents, with the society’s representative also pictured. This marked the first year that Cayman had entered the competition.
Following on from the front-page photo, page 8 had a story on the contents of the government’s ‘Cayman Islands 1974 Report’, the first publication to be printed locally. Headlined ‘Cayman’s Encouraging Growth’, the story nevertheless noted that the report said the economic outlook was “not as bright as might be desired”. While Cayman “did not suffer any great hardships as a result of the world fuel crisis”, it sustained “a serious economic blow when the Interbank Group of Companies went into Liquidation”, which the Compass had reported on extensively.
The annual publication also pointed to rising inflation and an “unstable” world monetary situation, while reporting that there was increased “interest in established agricultural enterprises”, which could eventually lead to Cayman becoming a net exporter, rather than importer, of produce. Also of note is that the population for 1974 was estimated as 11,363.
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