Bowring Park, St. John's

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Statue of Peter Pan in Bowring Park

Bowring Park located in the Waterford Valley, St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada is one the most scenic parks in the city. Entrance to the park is via Waterford Bridge road passing by a sculptured duck pond and a statute of Peter Pan with an inscription to a little girl for whom the stature was erected. It was donated to the city in 1911 by Sir Edgar Rennie Bowring on behalf of Bowring Brothers Ltd. on their 100th anniversary of commerce in Newfoundland. The park was officially opened by His Royal Highness, the Duke of Connaught in 1914.

The area was once a piece of farmland that was known as Rae Island. R.H.K. Cochius was the developer and the park was officially opened on July 15, 1914. The park has many recreation facilities such as tennis courts, swimming pool and playgrounds. There are a number of statues in the park with two of the sculptures by Basil Gotta, one a Caribou and the other The Fighting Newfoundlander. The Caribou is a replica of the monument at Newfoundland Park at Beaumont Hamel and it was presented to the park by Major William Howe Green, a cousin of Sir Edgar Bowring. The Fighting Newfoundlander a tribute of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment with Corporal Thomas Pittman as the subject was also a gift from Sir Edgar Bowring. The statue was unveiled by Sir William Horwood in September of 1922.

The Peter Pan was erected in memory of Sir Edgar Bowring's godchild, Betty Munn, who had drowned along with her father at the sinking of the Florizel at Cappahayden. The statue was unveiled on August 29, 1925 with the following inscription;

In memory of a little girl who loved the Park.

The work to the building and erection of the statue was supervised by Sir George Frampton, the sculptor who created the original statue at Kensington Gardens, London.

The park has expanded to take in some of the surrounding areas for its natural beauty. The original tract of land was 50 acres, in recent years it has acquired land that was once the estate of Sir Richard Squires known as Midstream.