Lord Selkirk'sGrant
Themostnotable
of the thesesettlements
was0n a 116,000
squaremiletractof land,originally
knownasAssiniboia,
thathe
purchased
fromtheHudson's
BayCompany
in 1811.
Theactualsettlement
wasto benear"TheForks"- thejunction
of the RedandAssiniboine
Rivers,to take advantage
of the
extensive
riverandlaketransportation
systemandtherichsoils
Valley.
oftheRedRiver
theJamesFordBellLibrary,
Mapcourtesy:
University
of Minnesota
0verthe decades,
the settlement
became
the city of Winnipeg
grant
land
andtheAssiniboia
became
the Province
of Manitoba.
Manitoba
in Canadaas
becameone of the richestprovinces
gnain
the headquarters
for Canada's
industry
booming
andas a
pointfortradethroughout
distribution
thecentreofthecontinent.
Winnipeg's
ScottishHeritage
"The Founders
of Western Canada"
Lord SelkirKs Settlers
havebecome
a partof the
Thenamesof the SelkirkSettlers
Manystreets,parks,
fabricof Winnipeg.
socialandcultural
in thenorthpartof thecitybear
andneighbourhoods
schools
pioneers.The
CityofWinnipeg
thenamesofthoseearlyHighland
Selkirk
descendents
of theoriginal
is hometo some125,000
years
herealmost200
whofirsttravelled
ago.
Settlers
The first permanent
residents
of westernCanada
and the
foundersoftheRedRiverColony
thatis nowtheCityofWinnipeg
werea smallgroupof Scottish
Highlanders
whoarrivedherein
August
1812.
Themonument
isplaced
intheroundabout
atBannatyne
Avenue
thesacrificial
andWaterfront
Drive.lt honours
determination
of
whostarteda newlifesofar fromtheir
thoseintrepid
settlers
Scottish
birthplace
almosttwocenturies
ago.
The St. Andrew/s SocieW
Theysettlednearthe confluence
of the RedandAssiniboine
- and established
Rivers- TheForl<s
the first permanent
settlement
in the region.
Thesettlerscreatedthe
agricultural
planted
thefirstwheatcropon
firstfarmsin Western
Canada,
prairies,
grainindustry
the Canadian
andstartedthe booming
thatspurred
thedevelopment
oftheregion.
The Highland Clearances
and the Red River Settlement
Thomas
theFifthEarlof Selkirk
in 1799,a time
Douglas
became
wereevicting
Highlanders
whenmanyof hisfellowlandowners
farming.
fromtheirlandsto makewayfor moreprofitable
sheep
wasnotinvolved
in"TheClearances"
Though
LordSelkirk
asthese
evictions
cameto be known,he wantedto helpthe displaced
America.
farmers
settlements
in North
andbegan
sponsoring
The Monument
Looking Back And Looking Ahead
- a man,a boy
Themonument
is three10-foot
bronze
figures
thatrepresents
family
anda womancarrying
a baby,
a Scottish
leaving
theirhighland
homeduring
the18thand19thcentury
Clearances
in Scotland.
lt is anexactreplicaof thestatuethat
stands
at themouthoftheStrathof Kildonan
nearHelmsdale
in
Sutherland,
Scotland.
Bothmonuments
arethe workof Gerald
Laing,a sculptor
of
international
standing,
andwerecastat BlacklsleBronzes,
his
foundry
in Nairn,
Scotland.
;l;*:lii
:iitt*I
:l:ritt
.tir:El
.Eqi!ft
it3!tlr
ItItis,!
:nat6bt
itr18rf*,
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:*tttr
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lll.'{
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TheSelkirkSettlers
monument
is a project
of theSt.Andrew's
TheSt.Andrew's
Society
ofWinnipeg
andmanyof itsmembers.
the oldestcontinuing
Scottish
Societyin
Society
of Winnipeg,
wasfounded
in 1871,theyearafterManitoba
Western
Canada,
TheSocietyhasthe distinction
of having
became
a province.
Legislature.
The
beenconstituted
by an act of the Provincial
Society's
mainconcernis the promotion
andpreservation
of
Scottish
culturein Manitoba.
The Settlers Monument
and the ScotsMonument
in theroundabout
TheSelkirkSettlers
monument
is located
at
Drive.
Bannatyne
andWaterfront
It is fiveblockssouthof another
St,Andrew's
Societyproject,
the ScotsMonument
DrivenearGaltAvenue.
on Waterfront
TheScotsMonument
is a six-foottall stainless
steelthistle
backedbya wallof stonesthatwerecontributed
by hundreds
in Scotland.
of parishes