ALLANBURG – The 200-year anniversary of the sod-turning for the First Welland Canal will be celebrated tomorrow, Saturday, Nov. 30 with speeches and the unveiling of a plaque. But 50 years ago, a stamp was issued by Canada Post to mark the project’s 150th anniversary. It was, and still is by many, hailed as one of the greatest engineering achievements of its time
A brochure accompanying the stamp provides biographical information about canal builder William Hamilton Merritt. Because Merritt’s life story is widely available, the text won’t be repeated in this space. But two paragraphs from the brochure, the first and the last, follow below:
“The Post Office will honour William Hamilton Merritt ‘the father of Canadian transportation’ on the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the start of construction on his greatest project, the Welland Canal between Lake Ontario and Lake Erie.
“The stamp in honour of William Hamilton Merritt was designed by William Reuter. The portrait of Merritt is taken from an oil painting by Robert Whale (1805-1887). Whale painted this portrait around 1860 and it originally hung in his home “Oak Hill”. The painting is presently held at the St, Catharines Historical Museum. The view of the Welland Canal is a steel engraved interpretation of an original wood engraved illustration “Lock No. 23 Thorold”. The illustration is taken from George Monro Grant’s “Picturesque Canada” published in 1882. This work was illustrated under the supervision of L.R. O’Brien and the wood engraving itself was executed by Schell & Hogan.”
Just as a reminder, the starting time for tomorrow’s commemoration is 11 a.m. on the west bank of the canal at the Allanburg lift bridge.
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