Celebration of Sir Gilbert Parker – the scout

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Quinte Art Council

The Quinte region was home to several famous writers – some born here, while others chose the Quinte as their home. Among them are authors such as Susanna Moody, Farley Matat, Peter K. Newman and Francis Otani and poets like Al Perdy and Wallace Havelok Rob. These are familiar names, but there is also a finished author who is not widely known locally, but whose career and extensive achievements are nothing but incredible. He is Sir Gilbert Parker.

It was a very average born in the city of Camden, Adington County in 1862, graduated from the University of Toronto and received a teaching certificate, which took him to the Marsh Hill schools near Frankford and then to Bayide. This was followed by a task in 1882 at the School of Deaf in Belville, where his family lives. Parker discovered that teaching was not his fortress and entered the ministry of the English Church, becoming an assistant reactor at St. George’s Church in Trenton. At the same time, he was appointed Elocation Lecturer at the University of Queens in Kingston.

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Parker had put his view much higher than the local scene. In his heart, he wanted to be a writer, and for that he knew that he would have to expand his secular experience and move in the higher levels of Victorian society in order to influence possible publishers, but also to attract the audience. With all this in mind, he left in 1886 to tour the world. He crossed the United States by train, stopping often to live local cultures. Then in Hawaii, where he managed to meet with the local king. He continued in Australia, where he succeeded as a teacher and received a writer’s position with Sydney Morning Herald. In this capacity, he traveled widely to Australia and most importantly – he visited the South Pacific Islands. He re -soaked the local cultures and social life that would be material his future works

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In 1890, Gilbert Parker arrived in London and began writing and establishing himself in high society. He found that writers succeed with stories about the rude characters on the American border. He saw the opportunity by taking advantage of the stories of Canada – the Great North, NWMP, the French Canadians and the pioneers in the west. But he needed more personal experience

So he returned to Canada, first stopped visiting his family in Belville. He then toured the West Gathering concepts for his future books. Parker returned to Belville and made a lecture at the opera of his experiences and then returned to England.

He began to write, relying on his knowledge of Canada and the colorful characters on the New Earth and his books attracted high praise. He writes melodramatic stories about romantic fiction with colorful characters and exotic places, often placed in Quebec and Canada West. He was on his way to fame and wealth. In the 1890s, Parker wrote constantly and became the best-selling novelist, often traveling to the US and Canada, promoting his books and growing his reputation.

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In 1900, Parker decided to jump into politics and successfully run for Conservatives in Gravesend’s riding. He continued to serve in parliament for 18 years and was an active member. During the First World War, Parker received a very important task to be the UK propagandist in the United States to encourage their support for the UK. He created a secret office for the production of propaganda material and, using his status as celebrities, he spread this widely to influential Americans. He was traveling around the United States, giving speeches and establishing personal relations with the US elites. In 1917, the United States entered the First World War and Parker’s work was completed.

Gilbert Parker was a knight from King Edward VII in 1902 for his service in Canadian literature and was established in 1915. He retired from parliament in 1918, citing unsuccessful health and need for rest. But that did not stop him as he traveled to Canada for a 1920 conference, toured all over the country, and then went to Hollywood, where three of his books turn into films. One of them, here, was my wife, was the story of an angry aristocrat who married a native woman, sent her, saw the mistake of his paths and reunited in great happiness. This movie was shown in Griffin’s opera in Belville in March 1922.

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Parker’s wife, Lady Amy Parker, a rich heiress of New York, became seriously ill in 1925 and died in New York in September. In the end, she was questioned at the Belville Cemetery. That same year, speaking at St. Thomas Church, Parker commented: “I will return to this church … When it comes time to sleep my best dream under the caretake of Canada.” In 1926, Parker again toured Canada and the United States and spent time in Belville staying at the Quinte Hotel. In unsuccessful health, he spent his short years in London and died there in 1932. At his request, Parker’s remains were returned to Belville, where dignitaries from all over the country, including Prime Minister RB Bennett, gathered for a mass funeral. He is buried in the cemetery in Belville, where his above ground mausoleum is one of the most impressive in this cemetery.

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In March 2017, the Belville and Hastings Community archives received an incredible proposal for Sir Gilbert Parker’s personal documents. Obviously, they stayed in London with his niece, which eventually sent them to family members in Los Angeles. The family there contacted the community archives and offered the whole collection, 15 trunks and boxes, weighs 650 pounds. to the archives. This invaluable collection of personal and political notes, literary manuscripts and documents, along with steel trunks, is now constantly placed here in Belville.

This article was published earlier in the summer of 2024. 33 No. 2 of the umbrella.

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