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The large pink building on the hill in the background is the Government House. The Governor-General, the official Queen's Representative to the Bahamas, lives in this imposing colonial structure. It is located on the elevated plateau of Mount Fitzwilliam, patrolled by armed guards at two gates and surrounded by pink-painted walls. The pink-and-white neoclassical colonial building, originally constructed in 1801 during Governor Halkett's administration, is not accessible to the public. The eastern wing including the ballroom was built between 1907 and 1910. It was a badly damaged during the 1929 hurricane and had to be pulled down. The new building was erected and was ready to receive the Governor Sir Bede and Lady Clifford and their guests the Right Honorable Winston & Mrs. Churchill in 1932. A 12-foot statue of Christopher Columbus imported by Sir James Carmichael Smyth in 1830 is a silent sentinel in front, honoring the explorer’s Bahamian landfall in 1492.
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North America
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