Lögberg-Heimskringla - 07.05.1982, Page 5

YVINNIPEG, FOSTUDAGUR 7. MAI 1982-5
Lord Dufferin's visit
to New Iceland
The visit of Lord Dufferin, Governor-General of Canada, to Gimli, on
September 14, 1877, is an outstanding event in the annals of the colony. The
memory of the congeniality and charm displayed by him on the occasion of
his visit to Iceland, in 1856, and of his friendly intervention on behalf of the
colonists in 1875, had earned for him their enduring regard, and they
prepared to welcome him accordingly. Gimli and Lundi were en féte.
The preparations made at both places were similar. At Gimli, a portion of
the "market place" was cleared of stumps and brushþwood, the grass was
trimmed, and a row of sixteen-foot spruce trees was erected along the
south, east, and north sides of the square. A half-moon platform, eighteen
feet wide, was built on the west side, with the straight side facing in, and
flagpoles were placed on either side of the four platform steps. A curve of
firs backed the platform, closing that side of the square; on the platforms
was a display of grain and vegetables. Flanking the gateway, which faced
the lake, were two thirty-foot firs, with thé lower branches removed. Six
feet below the remaining branches was an arch, topped by a flagpole, and
on the arch was the word VELKOMINN (Welcome), formed of green bran-
ches on a white background. On the reverse side, in large black letters on a
white background, stood GOD SAVE THE QUEEN. Arch and gateway
were decorated with fir branches, and Fridjon Fridriksson's house, which
adjoined the square, was decorated with fir trees and branches, and firs lin-
ed the pathway to John Taylor's residence.
The steamer "Colville", arriving from a cruise to the north with the
Governor-General and his party, stood off the harbor at Sandy Bar, on the
thirteenth of September. A strong wind blew from the south-east, and the
skipper thought it unsafe to enter, so the "Colville" proceeded to the Stone
Fort. Thus the River Settlement was deprived of the. opportunity to
welcome the guést of honor. Framfari, voicing the keen disappointment of
the people, suggested that the skipper was suffering from a heart condition
as the result of a recent grounding of his ship near the Crossing.
At five o'clock on the morning of the fourteenth, the "Colville" left the
Stone Fort, arriving at Gimli at nine. The day was beautiful, and the lake
was as smooth as a mirror.
Flags were hoisted in the village, and messengers were despatched to the
nearby farms, to advise the people of the Governor-General's arrival.
Lord Dufferin immediately set out on a tour of inspection, accompanied
by his retinue and by Taylor and Fridriksson, the last named acting as inter-
preter. The party visited many homes in the village, as well as three farms
two miles to the west, along the road which the colonists had built in the
spring. Wherever he went, Lord Dufferin asked detailed questions. Were
the people satisfied? What hopes did they have for the future?
Gimli is situated on the west coast Excellency, in which Mr.
of Lake Winnipeg. Some two or Frederickson contrived to say a
three years ago the Canadian good deal about the esteem in which
Government set apart a large Lord Dufferin was still held in
reserve in the district of Keewatin Iceland, and whom he greeted as an
for the Icelanders who had 0ld friend of the country.
emigrated to Canada in 1875 and, Lord Dufferin's reply was very
settling in Victoria County, Ontario, happy. He spoke in the English
had become dissatisfied with the tongue and the interpreter conveyed
character of the soil. The whole his language to the Icelanders
body, upwards of two hundred and sentence by sentence. He said: —
fifty souls, were transported at the "Men and Women of Iceland, now
country's expense to the North citizens of Canada, and subjects of Her
West, and considerable effort was Majesty the Queen,—
put forward in Iceland to induce im- "When it was my good fortune
migration to Canada. As a result twenty years ago to visit your is-
nearly twelve hundred persons land, I never thought that the day
responded to the call. The reserve would come when I should be called
covers an area of 427 square miles. upon, as the representative of the
Gimli is the chief village of the set- British Crown, to receive you in this
tlement. country; but the opportunities I
The "Colville" anchored within have thus had of becoming ac-
half a mile of the beach, when a quainted with your dramatic his-
boat put out from the settlement tory, with your picturesque litera-
and presently Mr. Taylor, the agent, ture, and the kindness I have ex-
addressed some words to His Excel- perienced at the hands of your coun-
lency, when the whole party took to • trymen, now enable me with the
the several boats and rowed up to greater cordiality to bid you
the shore where they disembarked. welcome. I have learned with ex-
Mr. Frede'rickson received the visi- treme sorrow of the terrible trials to
tors, and a tour of the village was which you have been exposed so
made and the houses inspected. soon after your arrival by the unex-
Luncheon was then disposed of, pected ravages of a destructive epi-
when an address was read to His demic. Such a visitation was well
calculated to damp your spirits and
to benumb your energies, aggrava-
ting as it did those inevitable hard-
ships which attend the first efforts
of all colonists to establish
themselves in a new land. The pre-
cautions which the Local Govern-
ment was reluctantly compelled to
take to prevent the spreading of the
contagion through the Province
must also have been both galling
and disadvantageous, but I trust that
the discouragements which attend-
ed your advent amongst us have
now forever passed away, and that
you are fairly embarked on a career
of happiness and prosperity. In-
deed, I understand that there is not
one amongst you who is not perfect-
ly content with his new lot, and ful-
ly satisfied that the change which
has taken place in his destiny is for
the better. During a hasty visit like
the present, I cannot pretend to ac-
quire more than a superficial insight
into your condition, but so far as I
have observed, things appear to be
going sufficiently well with you.
The homesteads I have visited seem
well-built and commodious, and are
certainly far superior to any of the
farmhouses I remember in Iceland,
while the gardens and little clear-
ings which have begun to surround
them, show that you have already
tapped an inexhaustible store of
wealth in the rich alluvial soil on
which we stand. The three arts most
necessary to a Canadian colonist are
the felling of timber, the ploughing
of land, and the construction of
highways, but as in your own coun-
try none of you had ever seen a tree,
a cornfield, or a road, it is not to be
expected that you should im-
mediately exhibit any expertness in
these accomplishments; but practice
and experience will soon make you
the masters of all three, for you
possess in a far greater degree than
is probably imagined, that which is
the essence and foundation of all
superiority — intelligence, educa-
tion, and intellectual activity. In
fact, I have not entered a single hut
or cottage in the settlement, which
did not contain, no matter how bare
its walls, or scanty its furniture, a
library of twenty or thirty volumes;
and I am informed that there is
scarcely a child amongst you who
cannot read and write. Secluded as
you have been for hundreds of years
from all contact with the civilization
of Europe, you may in many
respects be a little rusty and behind
the rest of the world; nor perhaps
have the conditions under which
you used to live at home — where
months have to be spent in the en-
forced idleness of a sunless winter
— accustomed you to those habits of
continued and unflagging industry
which you will find necessary to
your new existence; but in our
brighter, drier, and more ex-
hilarating climate you will become
animated with fresh vitality, and
your continually expanding pros-
perity will encourage you year by
year to still greater exertions.
Beneath the genial influences of the
fresh young world to which you
have come, the dormant capacities
of your race, which adverse climatic
and geographical conditions may
have somewhat stunted and
benumbed, will bud and burgeon
forth in all their pristine ex-
uberance, as the germs which have
been for centuries buried beneath
the. pyramids and catacombs of
Egypt are said to excel in the ex-
uberance and succulence of their
growth the corn-seeds of last year's
harvest. But, as sun, and air, and
light are necessary to produce this
miracle, so it will be necessary for
you to profit as much as posible by
the example and by the intercourse
of your more knowledgeable
neighbours. I have learned with great
satisfaction that riumbers ot your
young women have entered the
households of various Canadian
families, where they will not only
acquire the English language, which
it is most desirable you should all
know, and which they will be able
to teach their brothers and sisters,
and — I trust I may add, in course of
time, their children — but will also
learn those lessons of domestic
economy and house-wifely neat-
handedness which are so necessary
to the well-being, health, and cheer-
fulness of our homes. I am also hap-
py to be able to add that I have
received the best accounts from a
great number of people of the good
conduct, handiness, and docility of
these young Ingeborgs,
Raghnhildas, Thoras, and Gudruns,
Continued on page 6
Festirama
'82 comes
back
by Dorothy Torfason
Festirama is coming back to
Gimli. Festirama was an event held
in Gimli last June to help celebrate
Gimli's centennial year, and proved
to be so popular that it will now
become an annual event.
Festirama is a family night, and
there will be six pavilions to visit
this year, Scandinavia, Irish, Scot-
tish, Dutch, Italian and Caribbean.
This pavilion will be run by Gimli
groups and feature authentic food.
Marge Arnason, who chaired the
huge event last year, will be chair-
man again this year, and the Icelan-
dic National League (Gimli Chapter)
will sponsor the event to be held at
the Rec. Centre on May 22.