Collingwood’s chain of office a tribute to shipbuilding past

When Collingwood’s new mayor, Yvonne Hamlin, was inaugurated this week, the town’s chain of office was placed around her neck.

With a blue velvet background and a metal chain with a series of deliberate medals and symbols, each mayor of Collingwood since 1965 has worn the municipality’s chain of office, but the tradition of mayors and heads of state wearing a chain of office dates back more than 1,000 years.

“The chain of office was crafted to reflect the historic character of the Town of Collingwood and each of the medallions represent a part of that important history which built our beautiful and desirable community,” town clerk Sara Almas told CollingwoodToday this week.

“The Municipal Act establishes specific duties that set apart the role of the mayor and their leadership and ceremonial responsibilities and the chain of office helps represent and acknowledge the importance and traditional role of that office,” she said.

The practice of wearing a chain of office is steeped in historic tradition.

Historic scholars generally agree that for more than a thousand years, originating with the Dukes of Normandy, civic officials have carried an official seal to symbolize their authority. This seal was originally worn on a chain around the neck of the chief official. This chain has evolved into the modern chain of office, in some occasions also called a livery collar.

Most English, Welsh and Irish mayors, and Scottish provosts, wear a collar/chain of office, and new ones are still designed for new municipalities. Following British practice, most Canadian, Australian and New Zealand mayors also wear chains of office.

The design of modern mayoral chains mimics the ancient gold collar of Esses worn by the Lord Mayor of London in the early 1500s.

According to information provided by the Collingwood Museum, Collingwood’s chain of office, as it exists today, was presented to the town in 1965 by the Kiwanis Club of Collingwood to mark their golden anniversary, which is inscribed on a medallion that sits on the back of the chain to this day.

The first mayor to wear the chain was Alick H. McDonald, who served as Collingwood’s mayor from 1961 to 1969 and was Collingwood’s 34th mayor.

On the front of the chain is the crest of Collingwood with the name of the current mayor, Yvonne Hamlin, on a small engraved plaque just above the crest.

Above that is a medallion with a maple leaf. The body of the chain is made up of various symbols representative of Collingwood’s industries and recreational activities including a boat propeller, a mechanical gear, skis, a fish, and a crest of Ontario.

The names and dates of the previous mayors going back to McDonald are inscribed on small plaques in between the symbolic medallions.

“Including the name plaques of previous mayors pays homage to the stewardship and leadership of previous mayors and their councils,” said Almas.

Collingwood’s chain of office is kept in the mayor’s office in a leather case, with a royal colour velvet interior.

It is typically worn during official functions of the municipality such as council meetings, the Mayor’s Levee and ceremonial events. It can also be worn for public functions connected with the business of the municipality or at which the mayor is present by invitation.

While Almas says there are no plans yet to update or replace Collingwood’s chain of office, one day the current chain of office will run out of spots for new mayor names.

“We will have to establish a process for when we run out of space for former mayor name plaques to potentially store them for public display at a municipal facility,” she said.