GUELPH – New streets on Wellington Place lands at Aboyne will be named for a former owner of the property and two Victoria Cross recipients, despite a call from one county councilor to select from a more diverse list of potential honorees.
On Feb. 28 meeting, Wellington County council endorsed the street names Charles Allan Way, Frederick Campbell Street and Samuel Honey Drive, with a planned working exhibit and archeological dig site on the property to be named for teacher, archeologist and museum curator David Boyle.
Charles Allan emigrated to Elora from Scotland in 1835. He was a prominent businessman and politician, serving as village councillor, county warden and as a Member of Parliament before his death in 1859. In 1876, the County of Wellington purchased the land at Wellington Place from Allan’s widow. In 1877, the House of Industry and Refuge was built on the site.
Frederick Campbell (1867-1915) from Mount Forest was a Lieutenant in the Canadian Expeditionary Force, and posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross in 1915.
Samuel Honey (1894-1918) from Conn, a soldier in the Canadian Expeditionary Force, was awarded the Military Medal for Gallantry in 1917, the Distinguished Conduct Medal in 1917 and posthumously the Victoria Cross in 1918.
Boyle (1842-1911), Canada’s first professional archaeologist, grew up in Elora. He founded the Elora Mechanics Institute Library, the Elora School Museum and the Elora Natural History Society.
A report from Wellington Place administrator Janice Hindley and emergency manger Linda Dickson states the new names were needed because it was “not feasible” to continue addressing properties at Wellington Place using “Wellington Road 18” as a street name and internal numbers for all developments on site.
“The continued use of the current addressing system at Wellington Place is a concern from both a public safety perspective and from a general location perspective,” the report states.
“The public finds it increasingly difficult to locate a service on the property.”
The staff report recommends using the names Charles Allan Way, David Boyle Drive and Samuel Honey Drive, but an amendment presented at the meeting by councillor Jeff Duncan replaced David Boyle Drive with Frederick Campbell Street in order to honour both Victoria Cross recipients at the same time.
The amendment called for the site of the archeological dig set to begin later this year to be named for the archeologist Boyle.
“The Victoria Cross is the highest award for gallantry in Canada and with Wellington County only having two recipients, I believe both should be honoured rather than selecting one over the other,” said Duncan.
He noted only about 70 of the medals were awarded nationwide to First World War soldiers.
Councillor Diane Ballantyne objected to the motion.
“I speak against this motion not to diminish the accomplishments of the four men named here,” she stressed.
“As a person with a degree in history and a teacher of Canadian history for over two decades, I am well aware of their sacrifices and accomplishments and fully agree they are significant.”
Ballantyne said the street name decisions are important because “we are developing an extraordinary campus with the Wellington Place lands … and we should be thinking long and hard about what messages we wish to send with these street names – whose history we want to celebrate and commemorate.”
Noting she is one of just two women on a council that contain no members “obviously identifying as a person of colour or Indigenous,” Ballantyne stated, “Just because history has traditionally recorded the lives and accomplishments of white men does not mean … that Indigenous people, people of colour and women did not live, work and contribute greatly to the building of Wellington County.”
She added, “We can both celebrate, and honour, their contributions by putting their names on our list.”
Acknowledging it would take more work “to research and uncover less clearly recorded history,” Ballantyne said it would be worth it “to take into account and recognize – through these street signs – the history of a diverse variety of citizen experience in our county.”
Duncan stated, “I believe our museum and archives staff and council are inclusive, professional and balanced, as is the larger county corporation.”
He also pointed out that as part of a Feb. 20 Immigration Summit in Elora, hosted by the county, archives staff made a 15-minute presentation on historic black and non-anglo settlements in the county “and they did a very good job on that.”
Duncan also said the county “has not been hasty or rash in this honour,” as it comes over 100 years since the end of the Great War.
“It is time for us to proceed with this honour as it is the actions of these men and our broader community from that time that has allowed us our freedoms to be able to stand, meet and vote in this very place,” said Duncan.
“I don’t think anyone is suggesting that the county or the county staff is not inclusive in the way that they do their work,” said Ballantyne.
“And, with respect, the mentioning of Richard Pierpoint at the beginning of the settlement meeting is tokenism at best. It does not honestly give the honour and respect and commemoration that we are discussing with the other names that are here.”
She added, “There are other people of colour and of various genders that also contributed greatly and they deserve to have the same kind of honour and commemoration, not just to be mentioned at the beginning of a meeting.”
Following the meeting, Duncan told the Advertiser “the presentation at the summit was not tokenism in my personal view.”
He also pointed out the county museum staged an exhibit on Pierpoint, an early black settler to this region, which ran for about 30 months, far longer than a typical exhibit, between 2012 and 2014.
Councillor Campbell Cork said the process was too far along to change direction on these particular street names.
“I think we’re all on your side in terms of inclusive naming and the importance of that,” said Cork.
“However, I just think there’s a bit of water that’s gone under the bridge already on this. I think there was a public consultation period and these names have been put forward and I think that it would be a disservice to both the community and to the families who have been told that these names are coming.”
Councillor Doug Breen agreed the names should be accepted as presented.
“My suggestion is that it’s not an either/or proposition here,” he said. “There’s good points been made here at the table and I’m going to take the position that we move forward with the motion as it stands, that we should honour the people that have been listed … I think these are good choices. I agree that the Victoria Cross is very rare.”
However, Breen added, “I would say the next time we have something to name that we, by all means, have a group of options that does include women, that does include First Nations, that does include people of colour. Why would we not?”
Breen also suggested that in the future Wellington Place will contain structure and facilities to name, such as buildings, parks or fountains “that will bring far more honour” than a road.
“I think that possibly we’re getting too excited about naming the roads. That is the first thing we’re naming. It wont be the last.”
The amended resolution was approved with just Ballantyne opposed.
