Dundurn Castle marks 1967 party
Fifty years ago a celebration was held for the completion of reno work at Dundurn
Fifty years ago this Saturday, Dundurn Castle threw open its doors after a massive restoration to a crowd of more than 3,000 people who lined up outside.
The day was June 17, 1967, and Dundurn Castle was the centre of Centennial celebrations in the city, with nearly 10 marching bands, a sound and light show and a theatrical performance.
Montreal got Expo in 1967, and Hamilton’s Centennial project was a renovation of the city’s most well-known historical landmark that was launched with The Spectator proclaiming: “A Proud Day for Hamilton: Dundurn Castle’s official reopening fired the imagination of thousands ... young and old alike.”
Ontario Premier John Robarts came out as did the chieftain of the MacNab clan, to acknowledge the man who built the house, Sir Allan MacNab.
On Saturday, Dundurn Castle officials will celebrate the anniversary with scaled-down version of the 1967 opening-day spectacle that will include tours, musical entertainment, and a new sound and light show.
And while the focus of attention will be the last 50 years, that’s only a small part of the longer history of Dundurn Castle, which isn’t even a castle at all.
Ken Heaman, the senior curator of Dundurn, says people just started calling it a castle back in the 1800s and it stuck.
After MacNab died penniless in 1862, the mansion was bought by busi-
nessman and politician Donald McInnes, who became a senator. He died in 1900 and the City of Hamilton bought the property, turning it into a museum.
“There were curiosities. There was military equipment. There was a fire engine in the front hall, various specimens, a bunch of things that were associated with Hamilton that came from various collectors” said Heaman.
There was also a zoo that actually had squirrels, black rats and deer among its exhibits. But most known were Leo the Lion and Jacko the Monkey, who killed his cagemate, Rosa, and ended up being put to death by the keepers of the zoo. Both Leo and Jacko, along with a buffalo, were stuffed and continued on as exhibits for many years after they died.