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BRIDGE to the WORLD: the Life and Times of Sea Island

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BRIDGE to the WORLD: the Life and Times of Sea Island CopyrightO 2002 Ci ty of Ri chmond Published by Ci ty of Ri chmond Archives 7700 Mi noru Gate Ri chmond, RC. Canada, V6Y 1R9 Nati onal Library of Canada Catalogui ng in Publicati on Data Keen, Mary, 1942- A bri dge to the world (Ri chmond nei ghbourhoods seri es ; v. 1) ISBN 0-969003 1-5-3 1. Sea Island (Ri chmond, B.C.)--History. 2. Ri chmond (B.C. )--Hi story. 1. Ri chmond (RC. ). Archives. ll. Ti tle. Ill. Seri es. FC3849.R53Z5 2002 971.1'3 3 C2002-9 10887-X F1089. 5. R53K43 2002 Cover Photo: Sea Island fi elds and farms in background. Aeronca ai rcraft on fi nal approach to Vancouver Ai rport. Gi lbert's Aero Service ai rcraft CF- BAT prepares to land. ca 1937. Eric Rathborne photograph. Ci ty of Ri chmond Archives 199 1 5 55. Preface "A Bri dge to the World: The li fe and ti mes of Sea Island" is the first volume in a seri es entitled Ri chmond Neighbourhoods. This series is intended to document the history of the settlement of various areas of Richmond. The selection of the neighbourhoods is loosely based on the Ward system previously used for electoral representation in Ri chmond. The idea for this series was implemented by former Ci ty of Richmond Archivist Ken Young and has been calTied forward to this point of publi­ cation by the present Ci ty of Ri chmond Archivist Lynne WaIler. The success of future endeavours depends greatly upon the founda­ tions of the past. Previous pUblications on the history of Ri chmond are still av ailable to the community and researcher through the resources found in the Ci ty of Richmond Archives. These holdi ngs include the valuable contributions of the following pUblications: "Richmond, Child of the Fraser" and its supplement by Leslie Ross; the fi rst history of Richmond by Thomas Kidd, "History of Lulu Island" ; "An Archaeological Heritage Resource Ov erview of Ri chmond" by Leonard Ham; and the Marpole Richmond Review newspaper. This series would not have been possible wi thout the extensive hold­ ings of the Ci ty of Ri chmond Archives and the capable assistance of Lynne WaIler, Ci ty of Ri chmond Archivist. I would like to acknowledge the financial assistance of the Friends of the Richmond Archives. I owe a large debt of gratitude to Don Gordon for hi s generous donation to the Ci ty of Ri chmond Archives of a li fetime collection of information about Sea Island, and for hi s constant encouragement. Any elTors or omissions in the text are solely my responsibility and should not be attributed to the Ci ty of Richmond Archives or those who assisted in this effort to document an important part of our community history. in Table of Contents Preface .............................................................................................................................................. iii Fi rst European Settlers ......................................................................................................... 5 Establishi ng a Community ................................................................................................ 8 Local Government ................................................................................................................... 10 Ditches, Dykes and Roads................................................................................................ 12 The Bri dges ................................................................................................................................... 15 Eburne ............................................................................................................................................... 15 The Grauers ................................................................................................................................. 16 The Laings, McDonalds and Cooneys ..................................................................... 18 Schooli ng ........................................................................................................................................ 19 Dairying .......................................................................................................................................... 20 Crops on Sea Island ............................................................................................................... 23 The Tax Base and Threat of Secession ................................................................... 25 The Canneries............................................................................................... .............................. 26 The Ai rport .................................................................................................................................... 28 The Ai rport and World War 11................. ....................................................................... 31 Burkeville ...................................................................................................................................... 34 Sea Island School ..................................................................................................................... 35 Community Centre....................................................... ............................................................ 36 Cora Brown Subdivision .................................................................................................... 37 A Benefit to the Ci ty .............................................................................................................. 39 Iona Island .................................................................................................................................... 40 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................... 42 Endnotes ........................................................................................................................................ 43 v A BRIDGE TO THE WORLD: The Life and Times of Sea Island Modem day visitors to Sea Island, and there are many, are probably unaware of the ri ch history of the area beyond the runways and terminal bui ldings of Vancouv er Intern ational Ai rport. Jet-lagged travellers perhaps would fai l to realize that they were actually arriving on an island at all. The physical location of Sea Island has meant that it has always played a Hugh McRoberls ca 1865 prominent role in the development of Ri chmond. The advantageous geo­ Cityof Richmond graphical position of being situat ed between Lulu Island and Vancouv er, Archives 1978 2 29. also bei ng sUlTounded by the North and Mi ddle Arms of the Fraser River, has created many opportunities for change and dev elopment. The first non-native settler, Hugh McRoberts, was bom in Ireland in 1815 but immi grated to Australia in 1838. He then caught "gold fev er" and followed hi s dream first to Cali forniain 1856 and subsequently was caught up in the Cari boo gold rush of 1858. Instead of losi ng hi s money and health by prospecti ng, Mr. McRoberts helped to bui ld trai ls for the brand new colony of British Columbia, founded in August 1858. He received Govern ment script for hi s work rather than cash, which he then used to pay for land on Sea and Lulu Islands. With the adv ent of Coloni al govern ment came the necessity of sur­ veyi ng the land and dividing it into manageable entities. Mr. Joseph Trutch and his brother John were placed in charge of a survey of the area between the International Boundary li ne and 12 miles to the n01ih, nlll­ ning east to west. This survey divided the land holdings into 160 acre allotments in a block and range system. By the 1860 Pre-emption Act and its amendment of 1861, settlers had a pre-emptive ri ght to 160 acres each, provided that they immediat ely occupy and improv e the land and were prepared to pay the sum of 10 shi lli ngs per acre when thei r holdi ngs were surveyed by a gov ern ment appointed surveyor. Hugh McRoberts obviously felt he would be able to fi nance this enterprise as he purchased a total of 1,640 acres on Sea Island as well as other parcels of land elsewhere. As he was the fi rst settler, the island began locally to be known as McRoberts Island but it was named Sea 1 Island on the Bri ti sh Admiralty charts of the ti me. The name of Sea Island would have been most appropri ate at the time of the fi rst settle­ ments. Before the extensive dyking and drai nage work was undertaken by the fi rst farmers, the island was often washed ov er by ti des and storms and subsequently hard to di stinguish from the grey surroundi ng waters. Ri chmond occupies the two major islands and numerous smaller islands in the Praser River delta. Three di stributary channels separate these islands. The North Arm flows the entire length of both Lulu Island and Sea Island. The Mi ddle Arm separates Sea Island from Lulu Island, whi le the South Arm forms the southern boundary of Lulu Island. CD Joseph Trutch made this Sea Island in the pre-European settlement era had a large patch of sketch of the western spruce trees on the south si de of the island and a small copse on the north portion of Sea Island at the time of the first legal si de. There is a possi bi li ty that the exi stence of vegetation on Sea Island survey in 1859. Along the may pre-date that on Lulu Island due to the prevalence of salt tolerant middle of the drawing is spruce trees. The island may have formed while Daniel' s Arm, a north written: "Dense growth of west di stributary channel whi ch once spli t Lulu Island in two, was still Crabapple & Spruce with many
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