South African War Memorial
Municipality/Province: Toronto, ON
Memorial number: 35090-009
Type: Obelisk - stone, statues - bronze
Submitted by: Sandra Lougheed. City of Toronto.
Photo credit: Tim Laye, Ontario War Memorials
The South African War Memorial was unveiled on May 24, 1910, at 360 University Avenue, in memory of those who lost their lives in the Boer War. It was designed by Walter Seymour Allward who was assisted by sculptor Emanuel Hahn. The monument featured a granite base with three sculptures in bronze. The central figure represents Canada, pointing out the path of duty to two Canadian soldiers, and was inspired by and modelled after Allward’s mother, who had seen four of her children die before adulthood. The two other statues represent the Canadian contingents: one an infantryman, the other a dismounted cavalryman.
The obelisk, which rises 70 feet high behind the three statues, and the Peace figure were added in 1911. Funds for the statue were not secured until shortly before the 1910 unveiling. At nine feet in height, the Peace figure stands on a globe atop the obelisk with wings outstretched, as if in flight, and the crown of peace held in her hands overhead. The statue was delayed at the border for nearly a month because of American Customs.
The last piece of the sculpture, a bronze tablet listing Canadians killed in the South African War, was delayed due to a disagreement regarding the positioning of names. Ultimately, Allward’s suggestion that the names appear alphabetically in a single paragraph rather than in vertical rows was adopted and the tablet was finished in 1914. It is not known what happened to the tablet.
In 1947, the widening of University Avenue required that the monument be moved 20' 8". Russell Construction Company of Toronto moved the monument, on wooden rollers, in one piece because it was felt that if the monument was dismantled it would never look the same again. It was set onto a new poured concrete foundation. In 1960, when the Spadina subway was built, the monument was disassembled and moved off site while the subway tunnel was dug. The stones were labelled so that the monument could be reassembled. It is not known where the monument was stored during the subway construction.
In the fall of 2023, the memorial was moved because of construction at this location by Metrolinx. This is related to the Ontario Line station and underground digging which will be on the site for the next five to six years. The memorial will be undergoing conservation and storage while the Ontario Line is completed.
Inscription found on memorial
[front/devant]
PAARDEBERG
DREIFONTEIN
JOHANNESBURG
DIAMOND HILL
BELFAST
RELIEF OF
KIMBERLEY
RELIEF OF
MAFEKING
HARTS RIVER
TO THE MEMORY AND IN HONOUR OF THE
CANADIANS WHO DIED DEFENDING THE EMPIRE
IN THE SOUTH AFRICAN WAR 1899 - 1902
(base of the Cavalry statue)
WALTER S ALLWARD
1909
[right side/côté droit]
NATAL
SOUTH AFRICA
1901
SOUTH AFRICA
1902
[left side/côté gauche]
CAPE COLONY
ORANGE FREE
STATE
TRANSVAAL
RHODESIA
Note
This information is provided by contributors and Veterans Affairs Canada makes it available as a service to the public. Veterans Affairs Canada is not responsible for the accuracy, currency or reliability of the information.
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