A Section of Mainstay/Whyaka Village. This part is called “Princeville”
Whyaka was established somewhere around the year 1887. The first set of families that came were the Sebicos, the Dejonges and the Pearsons when these families arrived they settled at Whyaka. The original name was Waiyaha which is an Arawak word meaning first person here at this place. This tells us that the first people were Arawaks. The people lived together for many years fishing, hunting and planting their cassava farms.
During the 1930s Mr. Thomas Ebnizer Pearson came in and settled at the place that is now being called Mainstay Lake. During that time the Lake was called Quakabuka Lake. Uncle Tommy brought families from Wakapoa and Pomeroon. The men came to do logging. They worked for a period of time traveling back and forth and sometime later they brought up their families to live. The women and children planted small farms. The families that came were the Gorges, the Malenoes, the Cornelious, the Fredericks and the Williams. Uncle Tommy was the first Toshao of the Village he took on the responsibility of leadership. He was respected by everyone.
Village life in those days involved working together for two (2) weeks then selling their wallaba posts, palings, staves or sawn lumber to Uncle Tommy. At the end of almost every month there was a celebration of some sort. The women prepare huge jugs and barrels of piwari for everyone to partake. As the years went by more people came to Mainstay/Whyaka to live. The people held many kayaps to clear roads, to cut farms and to dig canoes. Later on, Uncle Tommy built the first school at Mainstay. He brought a Teacher by the name of Sheek Kadier to teach. On the first day of school, six children attended. Uncle Tommy continued to support the school for a period of one (1) year before the
Department of Education took over.