The Rise of the Newcomers

When I left off Monday, the town of Granville was just given royal assent to incorporate the City of Vancouver. Ninety-five years after explorers Narvaez and Verdia first talked to the Indians of Musqueam, the City of Vancouver came into existence. Then it ran from Heatley Avenue on the east to Trafalgar Street on the West, from Burrard Inlet on the north to Sixteenth Avenue on the south.

The newly formed city's first order of business was to form a city government. The difficulty with that was that although more than 400 people signed the petition for the new city, few of them had lived in Granville for at least a year. In fact, all of Burrard Inlet had only 175 names on the provincial voters list.

So in order to qualify to vote in the city election, a person had to own land, possess a cabin, room or lease of the value of $5 a month. Four hundred and sixty-seven votes were cast in the election of May 3, 1886.

The two candidates were Hastings Mill manager, R. H. Alexander and real estate dealer, M.A. MacLean. It was a battle between the old timers and the new comers.

Alexander had a few things working against him. First, he employed Chinese labour at a time when the Chinese were being released from the railway construction. This led to hard feelings because the Caucasian workers felt the Chinese were taking jobs away from them.

Another error made by Alexander was the attempt to get the Chinese workers to vote. His supporters marched the Chinese workers in a large body to the polls. Stage driver, Charlie Green charged the procession with his vehicle. The whites drove the bewildered workers back to the mill with clubs and fists.

At the close of polling, Malcom A. MacLean was elected by 242 to 225 votes. It was a victory for the newcomers.

Thanks to the book, Vancouver, From Milltown to Metropolis by Alan Morley for the above information.

I hope you find the beauty around you.

Pacific Spirit Park

Located on the Point Grey peninsula on University Endowment Lands in Vancouver is 862 hectares of 'wilderness' known as Pacific Spirit Park. There is 78 kilometres of trails and more than fifty km are multi-use. Walkers mingled with dog walkers, joggers, cyclists and even horses. I visited the park on Saturday and had an enjoyable stroll through nature.

In 1975, BC Parks established 90 hectares as the UBC Endowment Lands Ecological Reserve. Those hectares are designated for forest research and are not open to the public.

Pacific Spirit Park also includes a beach section, which I didn't get to. And when I do go, I probably won't be able to take many photos because it is a clothing optional beach. That is where the famous Wreck Beach is located.

The upland area of the park is typical of cone bearing trees such as Western Hemlock, Western Redcedar, Douglas Fir, Sitka Spruce and other such varieties. Other trees found in Pacific Spirit Park that annually shed their leaves are Red Alder, Bitter Cherry and Black Cottonwood to name a few.

The park is also home to the Point Grey Cliffs and left over from WWII, the Point Grey Towers on the beach level. There is an ancient remnant from the Ice Age, Camosun Bog.

There are several natural fish bearing streams in the park and one restored, artificially stocked salmon bearing stream at Spanish Banks.

This land was logged in the 1890s, 1930s and 1951. Much of the land has been regenerated with a mixture of trees.

The Aboriginal settlement on Pacific Spirit Park was carbon-dated to 3,000 years ago and the land was part of the territory of the Musqueam Nation.

There is so much to see at this park that I didn't get to. I spent two and a half hours wandering around the coastal rain forest, mainly because I got turned around and couldn't find my way out, but there is so much more to see. Next time, I will be smarter and follow the map instead of just walking!

I want to thank the Park Profile website and Wikipedia for the information on the park. And I have a lot more photos so be prepared for a summer of green and trees.

I hope you find the beauty around you.