Defence of Hong Kong Memorial

This memorial commemorates the defence of Hong Kong in 1941. You can see this memorial near the northeast corner of King Edward Avenue and Sussex Drive in Ottawa.

 

THE CANADIAN ROLE IN THE DEFENCE OF HONG KONG

In late 1941, 1,975 Canadians arrived in Hong Kong to reinforce the garrison. They fought with courage and determination against overwhelming odds after the Japanese attacked on December 8. Many distinguished themselves under fire, including Company Sargeant-Major John Robert Osborn, who won Canada's first Victoria Cross of the Second World War. During the seventeen-day battle, 290 men died. After the surrender, 267 more perished during long years of harsh captivity. The Canadians' role in the defence of Hong Kong stands as a eloquent expression of their lasting honour.

Champlain Monument

The statue of Champlain is at Nepean Point on the Ottawa River looking south on the Parliament buildings and overlooking the Ottawa River and the south shore of Gatineau.

Samuel de Champlain
(Died in 1635)

The "Father of New France," Champlain was at the heart of the French venture in North America from 1603 to 1635. Under the leadership of Pierre Dugua de Mons, he helped colonize Acadia and, in 1608, founded a settlement at Québec that became the centre of the colony. He formed important alliances with Aboriginal peoples and expanded the French sphere of influence, travelling up the Ottawa River and as far west as the Great Lakes. Champlain explored and mapped large areas of the continent, and in his travel journals left an invaluable record of his era for future generations.

45th Parallel Monument

This is one of the monuments erected in 1845 to mark the international boundary along the 45th parallel, between the province of Quebec and the state of New York, as determined in the Ashburton-Webster Treaty signed at Washington in 1842. The International Boundary Commission replaced the badly deteriorated original monuments with granite posts in 1902, and this original was presented to the City of Ottawa.

 

This monument was erected by the Women's Canadian Historical Society of Ottawa
Mrs. Thomas Ahearn, President
November 1914