Kirk Wipper | |
---|---|
Born |
Kirk Albert Walter Wipper December 6, 1923 Grahamdale, Manitoba |
Died | March 18, 2011 Peterborough, Ontario |
(aged 87)
Nationality | Canadian |
Occupation | Academic |
Known for | founder of the Canadian Canoe Museum |
Kirk Albert Walter Wipper, CM (December 6, 1923 – March 18, 2011) was a Canadian academic and founder of the Canadian Canoe Museum, which is located in Peterborough, Ontario. He has been called a "pioneer in the development of outdoor education in Canada."
Wipper was born December 6, 1923, in Grahamdale, Manitoba.
Wipper formed the Kanawa International Collection of Canoes, Kayaks and Rowing Craft. His collection, which consisted of more than six hundred individual watercraft, including kayaks and canoes, became the basis for what would become the Canadian Canoe Museum. In 1957, Wipper was gifted a dugout canoe, which is believed to have been crafted in 1890. Wipper soon began collecting other watercraft, which grew to approximately one hundred fifty pieces by the late 1960s. Wipper constructed a facility to house his collection at Camp Kandalore, a summer camp he owned in the vicinity of Dorset, Ontario. However, his growing collection outgrew this building, necessitating a search for a new facility. Wipper was contacted by a group of individuals, including several affiliated with the Trent University, who were interested in moving his collection to a permanent exhibition space in Peterborough, Ontario. Wipper agreed to the proposal and a board of directors was formed for the project in 1989. In 1994, Wipper donated his entire collection to the new Canadian Canoe Museum in Peterborough. He remained active in the museum as a volunteer and consultant.
Wipper became a faculty member of the University of Toronto's School of Physical and Health Education in 1950. He worked as an assistant professor at the University of Toronto until his retirement in 1987. Wipper then served as the director of The Duke of Edinburgh's Award of Canada and the President of the Royal Life Saving Society of Canada following his retirement from academia. Wipper also founded Camp Kandalore in Ontario and co-founded the Canadian Recreational Canoeing Association