Ned Hanlan 1855-1908

Ned Hanlan 1855-1908
On October 3, 1971, a provincial history plaque commemorating Ned Hanlan was unveiled
near the ferry dock at Hanlans Point, Toronto Islands. This is one in a series of plaques erected
throughout the province by the Archaeological and Historic Sites Board of Ontario, and
subsequently by the Ontario Heritage Trust.
The unveiling ceremony was arranged and sponsored by the Toronto Historical Board; Mr.
Wallace J. Beaupre, vice chairman, acted as program chairman. Speakers included: Dr. J.M.S.
Careless of the History Department at the University of Toronto, representing the
Archeological and Historic Sites Board; Mr. Willis Blair, chairman of the Metropolitan Toronto
Parks Commission; The Honourable Allan Grossman, Ontario’s Minister of Trade and
Development; and The Honourable Donald S. MacDonald, Minister of National Defence. The
plaque was unveiled jointly by Misses Margaret and Aileen Hanlan, daughters of Ned Hanlan.
The plaque reads:
NED HANLAN 1855-1908
One of Canada’s greatest oarsmen, Edward Hanlan was born in Toronto. As a child
he took up rowing when his family settled in this vicinity, now named Hanlans Point.
Although standing only 5 feet 8 3/4 inches and rarely heavier than 150 pounds, he
became a leading international sculler. In 1873 Hanlan won the amateur rowing
championship of Toronto Bay. Becoming a professional in 1876 he defeated all
opponents in the Philadelphia Races of that year. He overcame all leading North
American competitors and in 1880 won the world single sculls championship in
England. Hanlan retained his title until 1884. A popular Toronto figure, he was
elected Alderman for this area in 1898 and 1899.
NED HANLAN 1855-1908
Un des plus grands rameurs du Canada, Edward Hanlan est né à Toronto. Enfant, il
commença à faire de l’aviron lorsque sa famille s’établit dans ce quartier, appelé
désormais Hanlans Point. Bien qu’il ne mesurait que 5 pieds et 8 pouces trois-quarts
et ne pesait que rarement plus de 150 livres, il devint un excellent rameur
international. En 1873, Hanlan remporta le championnat d’aviron amateur de la baie
de Toronto. En 1876, année où il passa professionnel, il battit tous ses adversaires
dans les courses de Philadelphie. Il battit également tous ses principaux adversaires
nord-américains et remporta, en 1880, le championnat mondial de rameur en
Ned Hanlan 1855-1908
Featured Plaque of the Month, July 2007
couple, en Angleterre. Hanlan garda ce titre jusqu’en 1884. Torontois populaire, il
fut élu conseiller municipal dans ce quartier en 1898 et en 1899.
Historical background
The sport of rowing had developed in England in the 1770s, and by the 19th century was being
introduced to North America by British émigrés. In the 1840s, rowing clubs and regattas began
to appear in Upper Canada in communities such as Brockville, Cobourg and Toronto.
Edward Hanland was born in Toronto on July l2, 1855. While he was still a young child, his
family moved to the Toronto Islands where young Ned spent his formative years. When not in
school or working at his father’s hotel, he was usually sculling in Toronto harbour on a homemade racing shell that he fashioned himself from a two-inch plank of wood. A sculling shell is a
light-weight, slender craft propelled by two sculls or oars, one held in each hand, whereas a
rowing shell is propelled by paired oarsmen, each operating a single oar.
In 1873, at the age of 18, Hanlan gained the single sculls championship of Toronto Bay. In a
series of races over the next three years, he proved himself to be the best single sculler in
Ontario. No definite rules or regulations existed at this time to define championship status or
amateur and professional standing. Would-be champions simply rowed against one another in
“all comer” matches. According to standards later established by the Canadian Association of
Amateur Oarsmen founded 1880, Hanlan became a professional in 1876 when he defeated all
opponents in the Philadelphia Centennial Regatta on the Schuylkill River. In 1877, he won the
Canadian Championship in Toronto Bay, and the following year defeated all comers on the
Alllegheny River near Pittsburg to take the American title.
In 1879, Ned Hanlan was the undsiputed master of rowing in North America. Looking for new
challenges, he travelled to England and on June 16, 1879, raced against the British champion,
William Elliott, on the River Tyne course for the championship and the Sportsman Challenge
Cup. Hanlan won the race by 11 lengths before a crowd numbering in the tens of thousands.
The following year, on November 15, he defended his title against Edward A. Trickett of
Australia who, because of his many wins, claimed to hold the world’s sculling championship.
Hanlan and the Australian giant (Trickett stood six feet, four inches and outweighed the
Canadian bantam by at least 50 pounds) rowed over the historic Thames championship course,
a distance of four miles, 440 yards. Hanlan won by three lengths, thus becoming the world
champion. He successfully defended his world crown six times, as well as winning many other
races, before losing it to William Beach, an Australian, in 1884. Hanlan continued to race well
into the 1990s, but never managed to regain the world championship.
© Ontario Heritage Trust
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Ned Hanlan 1855-1908
Featured Plaque of the Month, July 2007
Throughout his rowing career, Edward Hanlan continued to reside on the Toronto Islands, in
the area now known as Hanlan’s Point. For some years, he operated a hotel there, as his father
had done. After selling much of his property, he moved to the city proper. He ran for civic
office and was elected alderman for Ward 4 in 1898 and again in 1899. Ned Hanlan died in
Toronto on January 4, 1908.
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© Ontario Heritage Trust, 1971, 2007
© Ontario Heritage Trust
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