Banjul trading post and base, constructing houses and barracks for controlling entrance to the Gambia estuary and suppressing the slave trade. The British renamed Banjul Island as St. Mary's Island and named the new town Bathurst, after the 3rd Earl Bathurst, Secretary of State for War and the Colonies at the time. Streets were laid out in a modified grid pattern, and named after Allied generals at the Battle of Waterloo. The town became the centre of British activity in the Gambia Colony and Protectorate. After independence, the town's name was changed to Banjul in 1973. On 22 July 1994, Banjul
African Cross Country Championships West Africa competing". A number of smaller regional championships have been held in Africa: the East African Cross Country Championships and the Maghreb Cross Country Championships in North Africa are both well-established competitions. West and Central African competitions have also been held in past years. African Cross Country Championships The African Cross Country Championships is a regional cross country running competition for athletes from Africa. The competition had a one off edition in 1985 in Nairobi, Kenya, and the medallists were mostly from the host nation. Following an announcement by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) that the IAAF