{"id":19870,"date":"2018-02-16T10:09:23","date_gmt":"2018-02-16T15:09:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/?p=19870"},"modified":"2018-02-16T10:09:23","modified_gmt":"2018-02-16T15:09:23","slug":"brocks-banter-central-perks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/brocks-banter-central-perks\/","title":{"rendered":"BROCK’S BANTER: Central Perks"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Brock Weir<\/strong><\/p>\n

What\u2019s that old saying about the other man\u2019s grass always being greener?
\nMovies have been made on the subject, Petula Clark sung about it, throwing in the additional perspective that the sun shines brighter on the other side (does it?), and people throw it out left and right when trying to justify something questionable that has come into \u2013 or gone out of \u2013 their lives.
\nI wonder how many residents of Aurora were evaluating the truth in that hoary old chestnut last week when the Town of Newmarket announced its purchase of 11.6 acres of land at the corner of Mulock and Yonge to create what they envision to be a \u201ccentral park\u201d just north of Aurora.
\nThe Town to the north of us describes the chunk of land in question as \u201ciconic\u201d and, despite the word \u201ciconic\u201d being used with alarming frequency these days to describe people, places and things that don\u2019t come anywhere close to actually being iconic, this property actually is.
\nThe graceful white mansion has stood on the site for well over a century and has been used as a landmark for generations and generations of people who have called this area home. For certain generations, it was an epicentre of society, serving as home to Sir William Mulock, this area\u2019s MP for many years, who served as Postmaster General, and being one of the few people of his generation to actually become a centenarian, lived long enough to be described as the \u201cgrand old man\u201d of Canadian politics.
\nHis is a legacy that endures, with his living memory recently making the transition into history with the death of his granddaughter Kathleen, through the street which bears his name, a local high school which also proudly bears the name of Sir William Mulock and, here in Aurora, can be seen every November 11 when local residents gather at the Cenotaph, a monument in large part spearheaded, and ultimately dedicated by Mulock himself.
\nThe purchase of the 11.6 acres of farmland will set the people of Newmarket back $24 million, which will be financed through debt financing. In last week\u2019s announcement, the Town of Newmarket broke it down further, stating that it would ultimately cost a one-time $50 increase in household taxes, or $10 per year phased in over five.
\nThe development of the property, they added, will be financed through growth with grant funding from the provincial and federal governments.
\n\u201cThis is a very significant day in the history of Newmarket,\u201d said Regional Councillor John Taylor, Deputy Mayor of Newmarket, in a statement. \u201cThe vision includes land to accommodate walking trails and a one kilometre skating trail throughout the site that could be programmed with lights, fire pits and market vendors, plus an outdoor skating rink. We look forward to further engagement with the public on the vision of Newmarket\u2019s new gathering place.\u201d
\nThe purchase was, of course, music to the ears of Mulock\u2019s heirs who have ultimately unloaded the property.
\n\u201cMulock Farms has been a very special place to our family for six generations and it will forever remain close to our hearts,\u201d said Jenifer, Lindsay and William Mulock. \u201cMoving forward, it is our hope that the public, and particularly the residents of Newmarket, receive as much happiness and enjoyment from this property as we have.\u201d
\nAdded Debbie Mulock Barbour: \u201cEach generation of the Mulock family has taken great pride to maintain this beautiful and historical home and property as it is today. Every day is a gift and I have been so very privileged to have received so many gifts at Mulock Farms. Thank you to Sir William Mulock and the many people that worked so hard to keep us there for nearly 140 years. Enjoy, respect and protect our meeting place and home as a tribute to Sir William Mulock. May its beauty and love that comes from that beauty last forever.\u201d
\nAs someone with a not-so-casual interest in history, I read the news when it arrived in my inbox with some instant excitement. Having grown up in Newmarket less than 500 metres away from this house, I\u2019ve always been interested in peeking inside for a look \u2013 an interest that was heightened when I learned the Mulock Farmhouse was the starting point for the Prince of Wales\u2019 (later Edward VIII and, later still, Duke of Windsor) famous fox hunt through Newmarket, Aurora and King.
\nThis excitement was tempered with the thought, \u201cJeez. Newmarket is always trying to one-up us.\u201d
\nNewmarket\u2019s announcement came little over a week after Aurora finally, after nearly 20 years, made a decision on what Library Square will largely look like with the approval of a new extension to the Church Street School joined to the historic landmark by an atrium which will connect the two to Library Square.
\nIt was a long gestating decision, but it finally arrived, albeit without any sense of unanimity, and stakeholders and nearby residents were largely excited about all the possibilities it might bring.
\nAnd then, along comes Newmarket Mayor Tony Van Bynen:
\n\u201cWith unanimous support of Council, the vision is to secure this large, rare, natural property now, to become our Central Park, to service existing and future residents,\u201d he said in a statement. \u201cAs intensification takes place over the next two decades on the Yonge Street corridor, this oasis \u2013 connected by trails and transit \u2013 will serve as a community meeting place for the people of Newmarket.\u201d
\nUltimately, with the exception of trails and environmental heritage, this is exactly what is hoped to be achieved at Library Square but the unanimous drive to get things done quickly in Newmarket is something to be envied.
\nBut spare a moment for some groups in Aurora who have clamoured for similar initiatives here at home.
\nAn effort to combine Hillary House, Aurora\u2019s only National Historic Site, with the two heritage building immediately to its south, including Horton Place at the corner of Irwin Avenue, into a heritage park, financed with the money in Aurora\u2019s Hydro Reserves, fizzled at the table amid dissention. Some around the table saw it as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to create a park that would endure for generations, while others tut-tut-tutted the idea of a \u201cHeritage Disneyland.\u201d
\nAnd then there\u2019s the residents of Highland Gate who, before a deal was ultimately reached between the Town, ratepayers and developers, pushed the Town to buy the land \u2013 albeit an offer Mayor Dawe says came to the town with a price tag over $90 million \u2013 to create a \u201ccentral park\u201d complete with many of the outdoor amenities suggested for Mulock Farm.
\nAurora has Library Square coming, along with a revitalized Armoury to house a campus of Niagara College\u2019s Canadian Food and Wine Institute so we shouldn\u2019t feel too bad, but imagine the perks Aurora might have with a splash of unanimity.<\/p>\n\"Facebook\"<\/a>\"twitter\"<\/a>\"mail\"<\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Brock Weir What\u2019s that old saying about the other man\u2019s grass always being greener? Movies have been made on the subject, Petula Clark sung about it, throwing in the additional perspective that the sun shines brighter on the other side (does it?), and people throw it out left and right when trying to justify […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[29,28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19870","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-columns","category-opinion"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3D2k4-5au","publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-11 11:13:36","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19870","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19870"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19870\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19870"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19870"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19870"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}