Remembering
Speedy on film -
Prominent author
interviewed
as part of Remembering
Speedy commemorations
 The
filming of a documentary
on the Brighton area’s
past has begun. The
filming is part of
the activities planned
by the Remembering
Speedy Committee
for this year. The
committee has commissioned
University of Toronto
film school graduate
Chris Mutton to compose
a documentary on
the local area’s
history.
Mutton,
fresh from editing
a documentary on
Canadian film, to
be aired on CBC television
this fall, accepted
the post in hopes
of increasing awareness
of local history.
According to Mutton,
“the history
of this area, and
particularly the
sinking of the Speedy,
is a story just waiting
to be told on screen”.
Production
of the video began
in June as footage
from the Remembering
Speedy Sail Past
was collected. Recently,
Mutton and the film
crew interviewed
Brendan O’Brien,
author of the book
Speedy Justice. O’Brien,
a 95-year-old retired
lawyer, was eager
to participate in
the project. The
interview footage
will be interspersed
throughout the video
as the sinking of
the Speedy is a common
thread that links
much of the area’s
history.
Efforts
are also being undertaken
to help bring the
Speedy back to life
on film. Mutton and
graphic animator
Doug Johnson have
begun developing
a 3-D model of H.M.S.
Speedy to show the
ship as it struggled
though the final
stretches of its
voyage. The ship
has been modeled
after historical
images by artists
C.H.J. Snider and
Peter Rindlisbacher.
To
help fill out the
production, Mutton
continues to collect
film footage of local
historical sites.
The film crew will
also be present at
the War of 1812 reenactment
August 21 and 22
and the Remembering
Speedy ghost walk
on October 9, 2004.
Editing
of the footage will
take place through
October and November
and it is hoped that
the final product
will be available
by mid December.
The film will be
made available to
local schools and
libraries once completed.
For
more information
on Remembering Speedy,
visit www.speedy1804.com.
Those without access
to the internet can
stop by the Brighton
and District Chamber
of Commerce and take
advantage of the
community computer
access program.
Downloads
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The
Battle of Presqu'ile
- A War of 1812 Experience
Saturday August 21
and Sunday August
22, 2004
Go
to download files
Come
to Brighton August
21 and 22 to experience
what life was like
during the War
of 1812!
Presqu’ile
Provincial Park’s
day use area will
be the site of a
large-scale, authentic
1812 military encampment
on August 21. From
9:00am to 5:00pm,
you can tour the
camp to see how soldiers
lived, complete with
period clothing,
a working blacksmith
and fife and drum
corps.
Watch
the British soldiers
defend the peninsula
in “The Siege
of Calf Pasture”
as American soldiers
land at 2pm at the
base of Presqu’ile’s
Atkins Lane. “Evening
Assault”, another
fictional battle,
is set for 8:00 p.m.
in Presqu’ile’s
day use area.
Re-enactment
activities resume
at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday
August 22 as the
militia march from
the Brighton arena
down Main Street.
Join in the parade
and follow to Proctor
Park where the British
and American soldiers
will settle their
differences in a
battle re-enactment
at 2:00 p.m. Special
thanks to Save our
Heritage Organization
and the Lower Trent
Conservation Authority
for facilitating
this event.
Through this and
other upcoming events,
the Remembering Speedy
Committee plans to
commemorate the loss
of the H.M.S. Speedy.
On October 8, 1804,
Speedy was traveling
from York (Toronto)
to the proposed district
town of Newcastle
for a trial, when
it sank off Presqu'ile
Point. After the
sinking, plans for
the settlement at
Presqu’ile
were cancelled, changing
the development of
the peninsula forever.
Due to its strategic
harbour, the Presqu’ile
peninsula became
an important stop
on the military supply
route during the
War of 1812. The
Americans knew of
ship building activity
at Presqu’ile
and even burned down
a nearly-completed
schooner! Members
of the Northumberland
Militia and the Glengarry
Regiment were stationed
at the peninsula
at times during the
war. As there were
no documented battles
at Presqu’ile,
the battles presented
on August 21 and
22 are fictional
re-enactments.
Local residents may
make a donation to
the Brighton Food
Bank at Brighton
Sobeys grocery store
to obtain a free
ticket to attend
events on August
21. Otherwise, regular
park admission fees
apply for events
in Presqu’ile
Provincial Park.
Events on August
22 in Proctor Park
are free to the public.
For
more information
on the Speedy and
upcoming commemorative
events, visit www.Speedy1804.com
or call (613) 475-4324.
Remembering Speedy
events are brought
to you by Brighton
History Week, Brighton
and District Chamber
of Commerce, Friends
of Presqu'ile Park,
Brighton Kin Club,
Law Society of Upper
Canada, Municipality
of Brighton, Northumberland
Tourism, Ontario
Parks, Ontario Trillium
Foundation, Presqu'ile
Point Property Owners,
Presqu'ile Yacht
Club, Brighton Rotary
Club, Save Our Heritage
Organization, Tal
Trees I
Downloads
|
Spirits
of the Speedy Ghost
Walk
Saturday, October
9, 2004
Go
to download files
Explore
what happened to
H.M.S. Speedy that
fateful night 200
years ago.
Twenty-year-old
John Anderson was
first person enrolled
in the Law Society
of Upper Canada who
was not called to
the Bar. Why? He
disappeared, along
with many others
aboard H.M.S. Speedy
in 1804. He was articled
to Jacob Farrand,
a cousin to Robert
Isaac Dey Gray, the
Solicitor General
of Upper Canada who
was also aboard the
Speedy. Anderson
was heading to Newcastle
(Presqu'ile) to assist
Gray and distribute
copies of the law
to local people who
could read.
No
government investigation
of the loss of the
Speedy was ever undertaken.
Two hundred years
later, you are invited
to a ghost walk along
the shores of the
Presqu'ile peninsula.
Join two of John
Anderson's fellow
law students to investigate
the tragic events
yourselves. Meet
witnesses who may
fill you in on the
details of the sinking
and acquaintances
of those who disappeared
with the schooner.
Then decide what
you think really
happened to the Speedy.
Meet at the amphitheatre
at 8:00 pm and bring
your flashlight.
During
the day, you can
also tour the deck
of a tall ship to
see what life on
a schooner was really
like. The St. Lawrence
II will be available
for tours from 10am
to 12pm and 1pm to
4pm at the government
dock
Through
this event, the Remembering
Speedy Committee
plans to commemorate
the loss of the H.M.S.
Speedy. In the early
hours of October
8, 1804, H.M.S. Speedy
was sighted off the
shores of Presqu'ile.
Since there was no
lighthouse, residents
of the peninsula
built a large fire
to guide the schooner
around Presqu'ile
Point. But the Speedy
never made it to
the Presqu'ile harbour.
Instead of delivering
its passengers to
the newly built courthouse
for its inaugural
trial, the schooner
disappeared into
the night, never
to be recovered.
The
loss of this schooner,
and more importantly
those aboard it,
was a devastating
blow to this area
and Upper Canada.
The passengers included
some of the most
prominent figures
in Upper Canada:
the Solicitor General
of Upper Canada,
a Judge of the King's
Bench, the Treasurer
of the Law Society
of Upper Canada and
the High Constable
of York. With such
a tragic event occurring
here, the plans for
the district capital
town of Newcastle,
to be located on
the Presqu'ile peninsula,
were cancelled and
moved to Cobourg.
Today, Cobourg remains
the administrative
capital of Northumberland
County, a destiny
that could have been
Brighton's.
Regular
park admission fees
apply for this event.
For more information
on the Speedy and
commemorative events
call (613) 475-4324.
Downloads
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