T. B. MCQUESTEN PARK

This park was named after Thomas Baker McQuesten, a prominent Canadian and a dedicated public servant with a passion for parks and civic beautification. He made significant contributions to the City of Hamilton, the Niagara Peninsula, and the Province of Ontario during a political and civic career marked by diligence, integrity, and vision.

T. B. McQuesten was born in Hespeler, Ontario, on June 30, 1882. He attended Ryerson Central and Queen Victoria Schools, Hamilton Collegiate (graduating with honours in English, history and classics), and the University of Toronto, where he was a Gold Medalist in Classics and political science.

Through his high school days, he played football on the Hamilton Collegiate team which won the Ontario Championship in 1900. Later he played with the Hamilton Tigers. He rowed with the Argonauts while at the Toronto University.

During his freshman year in University, he worked his way to England on a cattle boat and often referred to himself as the chambermaid to the cattle. The major portion of the return trip was spent in the galley peeling potatoes. In his later College years, he spent the summer months in the lumber camps rolling logs down the Ottawa River, and so became an expert swimmer.

The North held a strong attraction for Mr. McQuesten. After his graduation from Osgoode Hall, he practised law at Elk Lake from 1908 to 1911, and became well acquainted with the country, the people and their needs. This perhaps was responsible for his sympathy, interest, and understanding of the working man. Many friendships were formed then which continued throughout the years.

Mr. McQuesten was elected as a Hamilton Alderman for the years 1913 to 1920. As an Alderman, he supported the proposal to buy the Gage Park lands. Not only the Parks Board, but the Hamilton Harbour Commission owed a great deal to Mr. McQuesten's faith and vision. When the Commission found itself unable to raise funds, the legal firm, of which Mr. McQuesten was a part, stepped in with guarantees that the loans would be repaid, which made the funding possible. A quotation from the weekly publication, Saturday Night, paid this tribute on April 20, 1935: "Only because T. B. McQuesten had faith in Hamilton's future and the courage to translate his faith into action does the city possess such a fine harbour to-day.".

He was appointed to Hamilton's Board of Parks Management in 1920, a position he held until the end of his life. With his involvement, over 2,500 acres of park lands were added in Hamilton by 1932. This land was comprised of all the choice landscape sites in the district and was made up of a larger acreage than that of any other city in Canada, regardless of the city's size! As chairman of the Works Committee, McQuesten was one of the driving forces behind the development of the parks system. Some of his accomplishments include the acquisition of Gage Park, Inch Park, Bruce Park, Mountain Park, the Civic Golf Course at Chedoke, and King's Forest Park. Mr. McQuesten was heavily involved with the beginnings and development of the Royal Botanical Gardens and the Queen Elizabeth Way, the redevelopment of the northwest entrance to the city of Hamilton, and the resettlement of McMaster University.

In 1931, he was Vice-President of the Ontario Liberal Association, and President from 1933 to 1934. It was during his term in office that the Hepburn Government swept into power. Immediately after his resignation in April of 1943, the Liberal party was defeated.

He was appointed Commissioner of the Hydro-Electric Power Commission in 1934 and resigned in 1937. He was Minister of Public Works from 1934 to 1937 and from 1942 to 1943. During this period he established the Ontario Hospital in the County of Elgin, settled plans, and let contracts for the most modern and up-to-date Ontario hospital at that time. From July of 1934 to August of 1943, he was Minister of Highways. In this capacity, he launched a province wide program of highway improvement which over the period involved expenditures of more than two hundred million dollars. The particular works included the development of the Queen Elizabeth Highway, which the Queen of England officially opened in 1939. At the time, it was the most modern piece of highway construction in America. He was Chairman of the Niagara Parks Commission from 1934 to 1943. Some of his notable works during this time were the rebuilding of Niagara-on-the-Lake's Fort George, according to the original plans, and the complete renovation of the surrounding area, the reconstruction of the Navy Hall - the seat of the First Legislature of the province, and the reconstruction of Kingston's Fort Henry.

Mr. McQuesten's accomplishments were province-wide. His hard work in the positions he held from 1934 to 1943 also resulted in the building of three international bridges - the Rainbow Bridge in Niagara Falls, the Blue Water Bridge at Sarnia across the St. Clair River, and the Ivy Lea Bridge across the St. Lawrence River. His dedication also resulted in the construction of the Burlington Skyway, the founding of the Niagara School of Horticulture, and the development of the Niagara Parkway.

He was appointed Vice-Chairman for the Niagara Falls Bridge Commission on July 8, 1938 and then Chairman on December 8, 1939 and held this office until June 18, 1947. This Commission was created by Special Act of Congress at Washington in 1937. On September 30, 1940, Mr. McQuesten was appointed Minister of Mines, but resigned the following month.

The great Hamiltonian, Mr. McQuesten passed away on January 13th, 1948 - only a few days after being named Hamilton's Man of the Year. Before he entered the Hospital, he ordered a taxi and took a final look at the fine expanse of Gage park.

In 1987, the High Level Bridge at the northwest entrance to Hamilton was named in his honour. His family's residence, a Georgian-style mansion known as Whitehern, housed three generations of McQuestens. It is now preserved as a museum by the City of Hamilton.

On March 8, 1977, the park was officially named T. B. McQuesten Park. On August 30, 1988, the Parks and Recreation Committee recommended that this site incorporate different theme gardens reflecting the cultural heritage of Hamilton. It was also recommended that the Japanese community be invited to participate in the project. Since 1989, many more cultural groups had received similar invitations. In January of 1992, the final land acquisition between the Ontario Housing Corporation and the City was completed. On May 26, 1992, City council approved the development concept of T. B. McQuesten Park, however, it was later determined that the waterfront would be a better location for the gardens. The project for the T. B. McQuesten Multicultural Gardens, which would have been the only one of its kind in North America and possibly the only one of its kind in the world, became part of the concept plan for the West Harbourfront Development Study.

T. B. McQuesten was a man with a passion for the beautification of park land. Friend and collaborator, C. V. Langs, once said of him: "T. B. McQuesten is a bachelor ... whose bride is the city parks system.". McMaster University's Chancellor Whidden also captured McQuesten's devotion to the parks when he said that he "wished that all cities had a citizen who would do as much ... to improve the open spaces for the benefit of this and succeeding generations.".