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A gallery in a Winnipeg park dedicated to Winnie-the-Pooh
On the second floor of the Pavilion at Winnipeg, Manitoba’s Assiniboine Park you’ll find The Pooh Gallery. How did a gallery dedicated to the beloved Winnie-The-Pooh, the central character in A.A. Milne’s children’s book series, wind up in Winnipeg, Manitoba? A bit of history about the inspiration for Winnie-The-Pooh explains that.
A.A. Milne and his son, Christopher Robin, were frequent visitors at the London Zoo. One of the attractions at the time was a black bear named Winnie. Christopher added Pooh to the name. He renamed his teddy bear from Edward to Winnie-The-Pooh. A.A. Milne began to write stories based on the bear.
Christopher Robin Milne and his teddy bear.
Photo taken by Marcus Adams in 1928 and printed in England to support the National Portrait Gallery.
Winnie came to London Zoo from Canada. Lieutenant Harry Colebourn had purchased an orphaned black bear cub from a trapper in White River, Ontario. He named the bear after his home town of Winnipeg. When Lieutenant Colebourn’s regiment shipped to England, Winnie went too. In 1914, the Lieutenant received news he would be sent to France. He made arrangements for the London Zoo to keep Winnie while he away and Winnie was officially donated to the zoo in 1918. Winnie was relatively tame and allowed closer contact with people than other bears at the zoo. She gave children rides on her back and ate out of their hands.
A wall of Winnie The Pooh illustrations
Ernest H Shepard was the illustrator for the Winnie-The-Pooh books.
Copies of the original preparatory drawings for the Winnie-The-Pooh books
Painted on the wall in the reading room
Winnie-The-Bear statue at one end of the Nature Playground at Assiniboine Park
The Pooh Gallery is small, just two rooms, but a treat for Winnie-The-Pooh fans. Admission is free.
To close, here are a few quotes from A.A. Milne’s Winnie-The-Pooh.
When you go after honey with a balloon, the great thing is not to let the bees know you’re coming.
A day without a friend is like a pot without a single drop of honey left inside.
Don’t underestimate the value of Doing Nothing, of just going along, listening to all the things you can’t hear, and not bothering.
How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.
You can’t stay in your corner of the Forest waiting for others to come to you. You have to go to them sometimes.
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28 Comments
flattiresandslowboats.com
September 29, 2014 at 5:40 pmI had no idea that Winnie the Pooh was ever a real bear. Now that I know the stories a re even more sweet. Thanks for the lines at the end. They made a rough day not so rough. I do have a question though. When Winnie was on loan to the zoo and Colebourne was sent to France; did he not return?
Donna Janke
September 29, 2014 at 6:01 pmColebourne did return. He visited the bear in the London Zoo whenever he was on leave. And in 1918, when the war was over and he returned to Canada, he decided not to take the bear with him because he saw how popular she was with the adults and children visiting the zoo.
JeriWB
September 29, 2014 at 6:21 pmFantastic background information I was totally oblivious of! My older sister used to read Pooh books to me when I was a kid and I loved all of the cartoons. Lots of great lessons I’ve learned from those stories 🙂
Donna Janke
September 30, 2014 at 7:27 amAnd there are so many wonderful quotes from the stories.
Ken Dowell
September 29, 2014 at 10:02 pmSo Winnie the Pooh was named after Winnipeg? Who knew? Thanks for the interesting history.
Donna Janke
September 30, 2014 at 7:28 amMany Winnipegers are aware of the origin of the name, but I don’t know how many people outside of our city are.
Lenie
September 30, 2014 at 5:56 amDonna, this was just so interesting, I had no idea. Of course I read Winnie the Pooh to the kids when they were little. I wish I had know this information then. I think it would have made things even more interesting for the boys and myself. The statue of Winnie the Pooh and, I assume, Colebourne is endearing. Thanks for this bit of background. It’s still not to late to share with our grandchildren.
Donna Janke
September 30, 2014 at 7:30 amThe story of Colebourne and his connection with the bear is fascinating, one that might be worth learning more about.
jacquie
September 30, 2014 at 9:49 amOh my goodness where have I been? I never knew that Winnie was ever a real bear! And I’m not sure why, but they were never a prt of my repertoire as a child or even with my nephew and great nephews? Hmmmmm…but I love those quotes and most especially these 2 :
Don’t underestimate the value of Doing Nothing, of just going along, listening to all the things you can’t hear, and not bothering.
How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.
This was such a lovely post Donna. I’m going to have to come see this museum. All of your posts have me longing to come to Canada
Donna Janke
October 1, 2014 at 9:20 amJacquie – I think those might be my favourite quotes too.
Beth Niebuhr
September 30, 2014 at 3:13 pmSuch an interesting article. I wish I’d known about the origin of Winnie back when I was reading it to children. The museum sounds like a magical place.
Donna Janke
October 1, 2014 at 9:22 amThe museum is small. If you aren’t a Winnie-The-Pooh fan, you may go in and out quickly, but I think you’d still find something to put a smile on your face.
Tatia
September 30, 2014 at 7:01 pmHi Donna. This was such an interesting post! I used to read Winnie the Pooh as a kid, but I had no clue there was so much to the backstory. Loved the picture of the Nature Playground at Assiniboine Park. The museum must be a great attraction.
Donna Janke
October 1, 2014 at 9:25 amI think that knowing the backstory often changes and enhances our appreciation of something.
20Pat
October 1, 2014 at 12:47 amI love Winnie The Pooh and would love to visit the museum. I did know Winnie the Pooh was based on a real bear and a Canadian connection. But I didn’t know there was an actual museum. I loved reading the stories of Pooh and Tigger and all their adventures in the 100 ACRE woods. Lately there have been some books on the Tao of Pooh which I’ve noticed have been very popular. And really couldn’t we all use a little more Winnie The Pooh in our life?
Donna Janke
October 1, 2014 at 9:25 amLots of wisdom in Winnie The Pooh. Agree we could use more.
artpartnersbunbury.com
October 1, 2014 at 4:21 amThanks so much for this. It’s always great reading and being reminded of Pooh. I’ve been to Assiniboine Park many times, but I’ve never heard of The Pooh Gallery. What a great tip!
Donna Janke
October 1, 2014 at 9:32 amThere are lots of free attractions to take in at Assiniboine Park.
William Rusho
October 1, 2014 at 12:07 pmI grew up near Canada and heard this story on CBC network, they use to have a history minute around 5 pm. That is a wonderful story about Winnie the Pooh, and the park. One darker not, read the entire story where the “Teddy” bear got his name from.
Donna Janke
October 1, 2014 at 12:50 pmI just looked up the story of where the Teddy bear got its name. I did not know that. It is a little darker.
Susan Cooper
October 1, 2014 at 12:24 pmOh My Goodness, that is way to cool. I have always been a Winnie The Pooh Fan, it’s the kid in me. I would love to have seen this, regardless, thanks for sharing it with another big fan.
Donna Janke
October 1, 2014 at 12:55 pmThanks Susan. I’m discovering that there are a lot of Winnie The Pooh fans.
Anna Khan
October 1, 2014 at 8:03 pmOh I just came to know that Winnie The Pooh was real. May daughter is a big fan. I love the pictures and when I see your post in thread of BHB, I get excited to see some lovely photos.
I love A.A. Milne this quote ” A day without a friend is like a pot without a single drop of honey left inside. ” It is great to know that admission in Pooh gallery is free of cost.
Donna Janke
October 2, 2014 at 6:43 amThanks Anna. There are so many great quotes from the Winnie The Pooh books.
Jo at ZigaZag blog
October 1, 2014 at 8:45 pmAhhh, thanks Donna. I didn’t really know the history of Pooh although I read the books as a child and read them to my children too. Thanks for the background information – very interesting.
Donna Janke
October 2, 2014 at 6:43 amThanks Jo. It’s interesting background, I think.
Christina
October 2, 2014 at 11:00 amOh boy, that was fun reading about the history of Winnie the Pooh. I worked at a zoo with a bear and couldn’t imagine children having rides on its back. That’s pretty amazing.
Donna Janke
October 3, 2014 at 1:57 pmIt is pretty amazing to think how tame and gentle the bear was. Very unusual. You don’t generally want to get too close to a bear.