Victoria’s secret

And history there is!

Tucked away on the east side of what was known for well over a century as Dominion Square is found a vestige of this city’s vibrant past. It takes the form of a colonial-era monument which commemorates a long gone queen and the empire over which she once ruled. So rarely noticed by anyone, I style it ‘Victoria’s secret’.

The 111-year-old ‘Diamond Jubilee Fountain’ was a gift to the City of Montreal from the Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada and marked the 60th anniversary of Queen Victoria’s accession to the British throne. It was originally installed on the south side of the square but was removed in 1953 to its new location in order take make way for the statue of Sir Wilfrid Laurier and also to facilitate, at the same time, the widening of Dorchester Street.

As its name suggests, the now much-disregarded memorial was in addition a public spout but, fortunately, that function ended years ago when the quality of Montreal’s water left a great deal to be desired.

Surmounted upon a formidable base of granite, the sculptor, George William Hill, placed an elegant lion 'couchant' — ever the symbol of that same British Empire upon which the sun never set and to which many Montrealers felt so attached. The big cat supports a granite shield depicting the Royal Standard while other nearby plaques (increasingly fading with the passage of time) pay tribute to various achievements realised during Victoria’s first 60 years as monarch: the construction of the Victoria Bridge, the Suez Canal, the Canadian Pacific Railway, among many others. Also memorialized are some of the famous personalities associated with Britain’s prestige during the great queen’s reign.

The reclusive sovereign died in 1901, four years after the handsome, yet simple monument was first erected. When Victoria came to the throne in 1837, Montreal was still a small town clustered around the harbour. By the time of her death, this city had become the principal financial and business metropolis of Canada, and one of the major commercial players within the Empire.

As such, the queen’s ‘Diamond Jubilee Fountain’ has proved itself to be a silent witness to the incredible changes that have taken place in Montreal, and elsewhere, since its inauguration in May of 1897.

Today, barely visible to the naked eye, the west side of the pedestal carries this epithet:

“The British Empire gratefully rejoices in the longest and most benefice and most glorious reign in her history.”

Down through the years, generations of Montrealers have nimbly circumvented this quaint artefact from the city’s colonial past, utterly unfamiliar with its provenance and background. The next time, however, you find yourself in Dorchester Square, have a good look at Victoria’s big cat, and revel, if only momentarily, in this somewhat surprising illustration of Montreal’s bright and varied heritage.

No longer a secret, you will almost feel the history.

· Robert N. Wilkins is a researcher and writer with the Quebec Family History Society, an anglophone genealogical association based in Pointe Claire. He can be reached at montreal_1900@hotmail.com