Andrew Bannatyne

Kindly Supplied by Dane Clouston, son of Cmdr Clouston

Andrew Graham Ballenden Bannatyne was, according to the Manitoba Pageant, the leading citizen in the City of Winnipeg at the time of its incorporation in 1873 and "the wealthiest, probably the most influential, certainly the most highly esteemed man in the Red River community." Born in South Ronaldsay in 1829 and educated in Stromness, he emigrated to Canada in 1846 and served with the Hudson Bay Company until 1851.

That year, Bannatyne left the Company and set up a dry goods store in Post Office Street, now Lombard Avenue, Winnipeg and married Annie McDermott. They had twelve children, seven of whom pre-deceased him.

The Hudson Bay Company attempted to protect their monopoly and had Bannatyne arrested for illicit trading. The case eventually went to the House of Commons in London, where Bannatyne won. During the Red River Resistance of 1869-70 he attempted to act as conciliator and chaired several of the meetings.

In 1871 he helped to form the first provincial government and became Winnipeg's first Postmaster General. His retail and wholesale businesses had flourished and the first Manitoba legislature met in four rooms of his large house. He served briefly in federal government but preferred business and philanthropy.

Bannatyne was the first President of the Board of Trade in 1873, the first president of the Manitoba Club, the first president of the Board of Trustees of Manitoba College and President of the St Andrews Society of Winnipeg. In 1872 he chaired the meeting to organize the Winnipeg General Hospital and, with his father-in-law Andrew McDermott, gave the land for the hospital. He was President of the hospital's Board of Trustees until his death. He was a member of the council that established the University of Manitoba and the Bannatyne Campus is named for him. There is also a Banntyne Avenue and School.

He became very wealthy through land speculation in the Manitoba land boom but lost almost everything in the 1882 crash. He attempted to rebuild his fortune but died in 1889.

His obituary in the Free Press described his noble quality of unselfishness and predicted that he would live in the hearts of thousands. Twenty years later the Winnipeg Sun said they had never heard an unkind word spoken about him.