Founding of Sydney Under Desbarres - 1785 to 1830
X.114.08
Joseph Frederick Wallet DesBarres, the central figure in this mural, was a cartographer and founder of Sydney. In 1784 DesBarres was appointed lieutenant governor of Cape Breton Island. At that time, Cape Breton was an independent colony and separate from Nova Scotia.
The mural is organized clockwise from the bottom left. In the lower left corner, United Empire Loyalist settlers arrived on their ship Blenheim in November 1784. They landed at Point Edward during a terrible snowstorm in which many supplies were lost. Above this, a spring scene shows DeBarres at his drafting table drawing with his son Frederick. The man with the telescope is William Tate, a Loyalist from Florida. The circle of workers to the right represents the soldiers of the 33rd Regiment who arrived in the spring of 1785 to clear the land where Victoria Park is located today.
Next is the construction of St. George’s Church, an Anglican church where people have worshipped since 1785. The top right of the painting shows a meeting of the colony’s Executive Council. The scene below this takes place at Dixon House, (a courthouse on Charlotte Street), as settlers rally to oppose the annexation of Cape Breton to the mainland. Around hirty petitions were sent in the twenty-five years following the annexation of 1820.
The bottom right depicts an aerial view of Sydney’s historic North End in the 1840s or 1850s. The Victoria Park barracks are depicted in the bottom left of this view. The Esplanade, Charlotte Street and George Street are visible, as are St. Patrick’s and St. George’s churches. Wharves on the Sydney harbour front are busy with shipbuilding and trade.