Benjamin "Benny" Hollinger - Timmins, ON, Canada
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Loonwatcher
N 48° 28.357 W 081° 19.579
17U E 475881 N 5368883
Statue erected to mark Benny Hollinger's contribution to the Porcupine Gold Rush.
Waymark Code: WMGRYP
Location: Ontario, Canada
Date Posted: 04/06/2013
Views: 5
A 7-ft bronze statue of Benjamin "Benny" Hollinger mounted on a granite base. Benny holds a pick-axe ready to strike at a boulder.
To celebrate the city's 100th anniversary, three statues were commissioned by the Porcupine Prospectors and Developers Association (PPDA) and are erected in front of the Timmins Museum. Two of the three prospectors are seen holding a pick-axe, while the third holds a gold nugget.
One of the richest gold discoveries in the history of Ontario took place in late October 1909 when Benjamin Hollinger, the son of a Chalk River schoolteacher, peeled moss from a rock outcropping to expose a six-inch wide vein of gold-laden quartz. This would eventually spark the great Porcupine Gold Rush. The rich discoveries made by Benny Hollinger, Sandy McIntyre and John (Jack) Wilson in the northern Ontario wilderness led to the development of one of Canada’s premier mining camps and the founding of Timmins, the City with a Heart of Gold.
Wilson was responsible for finding the Dome Mine, McIntyre staked the McIntyre Mine, and Hollinger is credited with discovering the Hollinger Mine. While these three never made great fortunes from their discoveries, they contributed greatly to Canada’s economic prosperity and mining heritage. The City of Timmins celebrated the prospectors’ legacy as part of its 2009 Centennial marking the Porcupine gold discoveries. In August 2010 Timmins marked the 100th Anniversary of the start of gold production from these historic mines.
link to Wikipedia article
Sources Wikipedia; information pamphlets; newspaper articles