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An interesting photo from 1914 shows a group of 撸奶社区Valley residents assembled for a 鈥淔irst Annual Dance 鈥� Orange Lodge.鈥� The Orange Order was established in Canada specifically to promote Protestantism and loyalty to the British Crown.
The photo was taken for the Pacific Great Eastern Railway to be included in a prospectus for British investors. The company and the provincial government were seeking to raise more money for railway completion. The 撸奶社区photo was sent to London to show off the patriotic and loyal citizens of this new port city of the British Empire.
Settlers coming to the 撸奶社区Valley during the 1890s up to WWI were nearly all of British background. Ties to Northern Ireland and Scotland were especially strong, also among early business investors from outside 鈥� for example, William Shannon, George Magee, Duncan Bell-Irving, and J.C. Keith.
Valley settlers also included a number of 鈥渞emittance men鈥� from English aristocratic families. Theresa Gertrude Read, wife of Thomas Read, wrote in 1900 to the London Daily Mail that the Queen鈥檚 Birthday was better observed here in the 撸奶社区Valley than in the Motherland and should be renamed 鈥淓mpire Day.
The progress of PGE Railway construction and the establishment of the new terminus townsite of 撸奶社区in 1914 were described to both Canadian and British audiences as 鈥渁chievements of the Empire.鈥�
According to Premier Richard McBride, the tremendous resources that could be accessible with the new railway and port at 撸奶社区were 鈥渁 heritage not for Canadians but for humanity, although we would specialize the Britisher as the one capable of bearing the responsibility of citizenship.鈥�
The 1914 City of 撸奶社区Incorporation Act provided that 鈥渘o Chinese, Japanese, or other Asiatics or Indians shall be entitled to vote at the said elections.鈥� This was simply in compliance with a provincial law on municipal elections passed in 1908.
Chinese, South Asian, Japanese and Aboriginal Canadians were finally given the right to vote in B.C. provincial elections only in the late 1940s.
However, despite the lack of reference in photos sent to England, and despite long delays in granting of civil rights, the real picture in the valley and around northern Howe Sound in 1914 was certainly already one of ethnic diversity.
Chinese work crews had recently been building more sections of diking around the 撸奶社区delta. Chinese, South Asian, and (both 撸奶社区and Lil鈥檞at) Aboriginal people provided much of the labour for the hop farms of the valley.
Japanese people worked in logging camps, mines and mills all around Howe Sound. East European and Italian immigrants made up a large portion of the railway construction crews camped at Cheakamus and further up the line.
Immigrants from many Motherlands and First Nations people were contributing substantially to building this place, a century ago and ever since.
撸奶社区evolving to become a true 鈥淢ulticultural Community鈥� over the course of the past century is a great achievement to celebrate.
