Sir Sandford Fleming Park

Fleming Park’s original plan and design

was that of first park superintendent, William Topple.

By Iris V. Shea

Sir Sandford Fleming Park

Care and maintenance of the tower and the park land around it dates back to August 1912 when the tower officially opened and the deed to the surrounding 95 acres of land was turned over to the City of Halifax for a public park. City Council named the park in honour of its donor, Sir Sandford Fleming. That section of the park was called the Dingle and it was not until 1948, and again in the 1960s, that Fleming Park was extended, through purchase, to the size it is today.

In the summer of 1913 City Engineer, F.W.W. Doane, reported to Council that the condition of the park was appalling. Damage was being done to birch trees and “nearly every person lunching at the park desires to heat a kettle of water, resulting in fires being built wherever it is convenient”. Doane reported that the water in the brook was not fit for use without boiling it first and recommended that a well be sunk and a pump provided so that a larger and better supply of water would be available.

In 1914, Mayor F. P. Bligh recommended that Fleming Park be managed by the Point Pleasant Park Commission. The acting solicitor, Robert T. MacIlreith, a resident of Jollimore, said this could not happen without legislation. He pointed out that Sir Sandford Fleming, under a certain Chapter and Act of 1908, stipulated that three persons, nominated by Fleming, were to supervise the park at an annual salary of $750. This amount was to be paid by the city for the maintenance, preservation and improvement of the park. Following Fleming’s death in 1915, however, the city appointed Mr. Michael Cochrane, under the control of the Point Pleasant Park Commission, as caretaker of Fleming Park.

On May 1^st, 1919, a full time superintendent of Fleming Park was appointed. Mr. William Topple of Jollimore was given the position. He had 44 years of experience in the work that was involved in planning, maintaining and preserving the park, hiring local men to help him. Topple was paid an annual salary of $600, with extra money allowed for expenditures. His annual salary eventually rose to $1200. He and his hired workers removed the rocks and spread loads of sand for a beach at Fairy Cove in the summer of 1920. That same year Topple began to build a seawall which would, over a period of a few years, extend from Critchley’s stone wharf to Boutilier’s Point (the ferry landing across from Oakland Road). Repairs to the seawall were required annually as a result of vandalism and storms. That same summer Topple built a Pavillion for a Tea Room . Mr. Lorne A. Morash paid an annual fee of $150 to the City Works Department to lease the Tea Room, continuing to lease it for several years.

At the end of each summer season, Superintendent Topple provided a written report to City Council on the work he completed that season. Each year vandals would not only destroy parts of the seawall, but cut down trees, especially fir trees at Christmas time. In 1925 he reported “I have practically finished rebuilding the Main Road from the Fleming Gate down around the Tower, with the exception of about 125 yards...we have 5000 feet of Main Road for vehicles and 2200 feet of Shore Road for pedestrians.” He terraced in the front and on two sides of the tower, planting shrubs and grass on the slopes; built an esplanade in front of the tower; built retaining walls along the Shore Road; and built and installed the Ferry Wharf and Float. He erected painted signs throughout the park, such as “Keep Right; Park Here; Keep off the Lions; Do Not Destroy Trees or Shrubs; Do Not Destroy Sea-Walls; Before Making Fires Get Permission from the Superintendent Who Will Show You Where to Build Fires.” The seawall and the retaining walls along the shore experienced a lot of storm damage over a period of years. Ongoing repairs and improvements to the seawall over the years (2013-2018) have resulted in a major funding project which raised the seawall to prevent further damage to it by storms.

Band concerts in the park were popular, and Illumination Nights and Venetian Nights brought crowds of people to the park during the 1920s and 1930s, creating extra work to clean up the following day. In his 1926 report, Topple wrote “We have built a Bandstand at a cost of $40 which still requires a roof and sub-floor”.

Road upgrades and repairs to the Tower were a constant draw on the money allotted by council for maintenance of the park. In 1934 City Council voted to spend $1500 on repairs to the tower, particularly to the leaking roof, and $1000 for general purpose maintenance of the park. Topple reported that “after 20 years of water running down as though a hose was being played up above, one would expect during the many winters of saturation and freezing that the walls would be entirely disintegrated”. The old Tar and Gravel roof over the concrete on top of the Tower was renewed in 1934. Cracks in windows were plugged and painted. The windows in the tower were panes of glass and could be opened by visitors which often resulted in breakage, no metal bars like there are today (2011). The memorial tablets on the walls were streaked from water damage and needed cleaning. The wall on the south side of the tower was repaired in 1935 and tenders went out to repair the remaining walls; but the roof continued to leak.

In April 1938, Superintendent Topple retired. Applications for his successor were received from F. Bignell, R.B. Salter, J.E. Slauenwhite. A.J. Smeltzer and A. Umlah. The successful candidate was Arthur J. Smeltzer of Jollimore. Superintendent Topple had been a driving force behind the layout and design of Fleming Park, and to this day his building and planning skills continue to be enjoyed by all who visit the park.

William Topple, Superintendant of Fleming Park from 1919 until 1938

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Subpages (3): Memorial Tower My Grandfather's Tower Sir Sandford Fleming Park