Prints
Polly Celebration (1903)
Polly Celebration (1903)
Title: Polly Celebration, 1903
Image size: 6 x 8 1/8” [15.2 x 20.6 cm]
Description: Photograph mounted on mat card. Card measures 10 x 12” [25.4 x 30.5 cm].
On August 11, 1903, the descendants of settlers who arrived on PEI in 1803 by way of the ship Polly held a celebration. The event took place near Belfast at Halliday’s Wharf, on the farm of Frank Halliday. The celebration included speeches, food and entertainment. Proceeds from the event went towards a fund to erect a monument to commemorate the arrival of Scottish emigrants 100 years before. The celebration at Halliday’s farm raised about $500 - about $300 short of the $800 needed for the monument. In due course, the monument was built in Belfast, on the grounds of the island’s oldest church, St. John Presbyterian. The monument recognizes the Scottish Selkirk settlers with an inscription in both Gaelic and English. The monument was rededicated by the Belfast Historical Society in August 2007.