Honouring one of the pioneers of Southampton.
An interpretive plaque was unveiled yesterday at the foot of Morpeth Street along Southampton Beach known to many as The Knowles Block.
The area was dedicated to William F. Knowles who was the first to develop a hotel in Southampton and was hailed as the father of tourism in the town.
Duncan McCallum of the Southampton 150th Anniversary Committee was Master of Ceremony of the unveiling.
Surviving family members were also at the ceremony.
McCallum says the genesis of the plaque was to remember some of the old cottages in the area and specifically to the ones built by Knowles.
McCallum says Knowles built the Park Hotel back in 1888 and at the time was the first such temporary accommodation in the area.
He says there were other hotels in the area but they were mainly drinking establishments.
The Park Hotel eventually became the Breakers Lodge after it changed hands in 1948.
Bob and Marine Cammage last owned the Breakers Lodge before the building was torn down in 1991.
