The Robert McLaughlin Gallery, in partnership with the Oshawa Senior Citizens’ Camera Club, is proud to present the Oshawa Creek Project: Then and Now. Using historical images from the Thomas Bouckley Collection as a starting point, members of the Oshawa Seniors’ Citizens Camera Club have photographed the Oshawa Creek as it appears today.
Historically, the Creek’s water transportation was the primary reason for the first European settlers to call the Oshawa area their home. The Creek would later contribute to industry; without it “there would have been no power to turn the water wheels of the first grist and lumber mills.” (M. McIntyre Hood, Oshawa: The Crossing Between the Waters – Canada’s Motor City)
Today, it is enjoyed more recreationally but is still a central part of the city. The Thomas Bouckley Collection and Oshawa Senior Citizens’ Camera Club’s photos are juxtaposed, allowing for examination of the evolution of the Creek, then and now, and illustrate its continued importance to the foundation of this community.