(Taken from The Islander November 1999)
The picture above is the most significant historical document on the Isle of Dogs. And it is visible for all to see. It is mounted on the wall near the old entrance to the West India Dock in Hertsmere Road opposite Barclays Bank. It commemorates in a final flourish of 18th century English the event 200 years ago when the first sod was cut on the site of the first dock to be constructed on the Island. This marks in effect the birth of the Isle of Dogs as we know it. The date was 12th July 1800 and the Bicentenary of the Island will happen next year. For Islanders it will be the most important event of the year 2000. Plans are already being made notably by Canary Wharf. The principal person at the opening in 1800 was the Prime Minister,William Pitt the Younger. Inevitably the current Prime Minster, Tony Blair, has been invited to the Commemoration and sparing a conflicting international or constitutional event, is expected to be there, arriving as Pitt did in a barge on the River Thames. Indeed it is expected that the Watermens City Livery Company will provide a 'sallop' complete with twelve oarsmen so as to get as close to 18th Century precedent as possible.
He will then (or in his absence another luminary of the present Government) officiate at the open ing of a replica of the "Hibbert Gate" which is another piece of Island history. This will take place in what is to be known as "Hertsmere Park".
George Hibbert was, in 1800, as the plaque tells us, the Chair of the West India Dock Company. And the Hibbert Gate, which was at the entrance to the West India Dock was a tribute to him. George Hibbert was, like Robert Milligan, the Deputy Chair of West India Dock Company, a slave owner in the West Indies, but funds for the enterprise did not come chiefly from West Indian merchants. Of the £500,000 or so which it cost, about £150,000 was subscribed by West Indian merchants and planters.
Hibbert, incidentally, regarded Robert Milligan as the mastermind of the whole Isle of Dogs venture. He was the man who had thought it all through and battled successfully against highly influential opponents (especially those who wanted the docks at Wapping).
The official Canary Wharf shindig is only half the story. For the important people the Islanders there will be on Sunday 16th July 2000 a revival of the Fun Day. The big event will be a huge marquee given up to the history of the Isle of Dogs. A whole lot of local worthies are being roped in to contribute to this with their own memories and ideas. This will be masterminded by Peter Wade of Canary Wharf, no stranger to some of the Island's dramatic events, and Sue Brown of Tamesis. And with it will be the fun of the fair from camel races to top bands.