Rare footage of the first Graduation of McMaster in Hamilton

With graduation season upon us and nobody able to experience graduation in person, McMaster University has posted some rare video of its first Hamilton graduation convocation in 1934. McMaster had existed for decades as a small Baptist college in Toronto, but it was lured to relocate in Hamilton in 1930 by a group of farsighted citizens which included Thomas Baker McQuesten, Vice-Chair of the Hamilton Board pf Parks Management. McQuesten arranged for the school to receive a free plot of land in Westdale for its campus, and a community fundraising drive provided the University with $500,000 to seal the deal.

1934 Marked the graduation date of that first Hamilton class.