VICTORIA THE NEW AND THE OLD.
I have been asked to tell of some of the changes that have taken
place since Victoria, the fairest city of the West, commenced her
career, viz., in 1858. I have produced several photos that explain a
good deal without my help, but they may require explanation. As my
endeavor shall be to give our visiting friends of the Methodist
Church an insight into some of the changes in fifty years, I shall in
the small space of time allowed me confine myself to events connected
with the early history of the Methodist Church in Victoria, as I know
them. Although not a member of their body I have claimed many of the
founders of the church as my most intimate friends. There were Thomas
Trounce and Mrs. Trounce, Edwin Donald and Mrs. Donald, Sheriff
McMillan and Mrs. McMillan, Jonathan Bullen and Mrs. Bullen and
Father McKay (as he was called by his friends in the church), and
Mrs. J. W. Williams and Mrs. Lawrance Goodacre.
Of the pioneer clergy I well remember Dr. Robson, Dr. Ephraim Evans,
Rev. Mr. Pollard and Rev. Mr. Derrick. Of these I best remember Dr.
Evans, as having been here so many years with his wife, daughter and
son. It will be remembered by old timers the sad story of his son's
death by drowning which I will in a few words relate. He was very
fond of gunning, and one afternoon in December he went off with
his gun to shoot duck from the beach off Beacon Hill, which was the
common practice in those days. Having shot one or two and not being
able to get them any other way, he stripped off his clothes and swam
out after them. This was a very bold thing to do, as the water is so
cold there, and especially in December. It is supposed he got the
cramps or got caught in the seaweeds where the ducks were shot from,
and so was drowned. Not coming home at his usual time, search was
made, and having been seen going to Beacon Hill, it was there the
searchers found his clothes and gun on the beach that evening. The
poor father seemed heart-broken, for he would not leave the spot, but
walked up and down all night calling "Edwin! Edwin, my son!" In the
morning they recovered the body under the seaweed. Great sympathy was
felt for the parents, and I well remember the funeral on a snowy day,
and the unusual number of friends who attended the funeral in the
old Quadra Street Cemetery. The granite monument is still to be
seen there.
[Illustration: Bastion at S.W. corner of Fort.]
In the view of Government Street in the early sixties here produced,
may be seen marked with a X Theatre Royal. In this building, which
then was used for theatrical productions, concerts and lectures, I
heard the Rev. Morley Punshon, then president of the Wesleyan
Conference, I think. He lectured on Macaulay, and was reciting from
"Lays of Ancient Rome" when the fire bells rang, and in less than
five minutes there were only a score or so left of his audience. He
stopped an instant, proceeded, but finally stopped for good, saying
that it was the first time he had ever had to stop one of his
lectures for a fire. But when he was told that it might have
been the home of any one of his audience and that it was the custom
for citizens generally to assist the firemen (who themselves were
volunteers), he continued his lecture to the end, and very
interesting it was.
The first Methodist services were held in Judge Pemberton's police
court room on Bastion Square until the church on lower Pandora Street
was finished. This church was built on the corner of Broad and
Pandora on land given by Governor Douglas, and was considered just
outside the city (1859), the tall pine trees being much in evidence a
couple of blocks away. In order to get to the church you had to pass
over a gully with water at the bottom; a sort of trestle sidewalk on
stilts was afterward constructed until the gully was filled in. At
this date the Methodists had the most pretentious church in the city.
The basement was used for Sunday School, prayer meetings and
lectures. I must not forget the tea meetings which were given in
those days. They were presided over by prominent ladies of the
congregation--Mrs. Trounce, Mrs. Donald, Mrs. Bullen, Mrs. McMillan,
Mrs. Spencer and Mrs. N. Shakespeare--and the admission to these "tea
fights," as they were termed generally, was $1.50, and well
patronized they were at that price. I attended many, and I think I
can see now the tables spread with good things, and those sitting at
them, nearly all of whom have passed away. We were early birds in
those days. Entertainments commenced at six o'clock and all over at
ten. By the large view of Government Street in 1858 it will be seen
how it has progressed. It was not metalled until 1859, and nearly all
the buildings were frame. The first brick is now to be seen on
the corner of Courtney Street, the "Windsor Hotel." Where the
Empress Hotel now stands, and all the land to the south and east, was
the upper part of James Bay, and mudflats, and at times not very
savory. It was not until late in 1858, or 1859, that a bridge
connected the north and south sides of James Bay, people having to
walk around the bay eastwards. The population of James Bay District
was very sparse. Trails instead of streets ran in all directions.
Belleville Street, that is now so thronged with passengers to and
from the C.P.R. steamers every day, was not then in existence, for
the beach reached to the trees in the front of the Parliament
Buildings. Where the new Pemberton block now stands, down to the
corner of Government Street, was an orchard and vegetable garden.
Across the street where the Five Sisters Block stands was a vacant
lot with a log hut in the rear where the Hudson's Bay Company baked
bread for the citizens, four-pound loaves being twenty-five cents,
and very good it was. From Mr. Harry Glide, who arrived in Victoria
in 1856, and has lived near the Outer Wharf for fifty-four years, I
have learned much of the condition of things previous to the inrush
from California in 1858-1859. He says all James Bay District was
covered with fir trees and all the land from the mouth of the harbor
along Dallas Road to Beacon Hill was "Beckly Farm." He says there
were quite a number of Cherokee Indians here, who came from their
native place to the coast of British Columbia for work; most of them
were over six feet and strongly built. It seems strange that they
should have travelled so far from their homes for work. There were
also many Kanakas here who came on vessels from Honolulu at
odd times. They formed a small colony and located on Humboldt Street,
then called Kanaka Row. I can remember them in 1859, one family
attending Christ Church regularly. There are many buried in Old
Quadra Street Cemetery. The first sheets of the _Colonist_ were
printed on the Hudson's Bay Company's wharf in a large shed or
warehouse, and later on the paper moved to Wharf Street to about
where the Macdonald Block now stands. This was fifty-two years ago,
and our visiting friends can draw a comparison with what it then was,
a small double sheet, to its Sunday issue of to-day, with its many
illustrations. For the information of our visiting friends I might
say that the Hudson's Bay Fort shown in the view of "Government
Street in 1858," enclosed the two blocks running south from the
corner of Bastion (the brass plate on the corner will show this) to
the corner of Courtney and westwards to Wharf Street. In this fort
all hands took shelter at night at the date of its erection. In 1858
and for years later, the fort bell rang at six o'clock in the
morning, when the gates at the east and west ends were opened, and at
six o'clock in the evening they were closed. There were two large
general stores, and many storehouses and barns inside, and at the
stores you could buy anything from a needle to an anchor, from a
gallon of molasses to the silk for a dress. I might say a deal more,
but it might not interest those for whom this sketch is written. As
it is, there are many repetitions of what I have already written in
the _Colonist_ and _Times_ during the last six years.
The Metropolitan Methodist Church.
To-day, February 13th, the Metropolitan Methodist Church celebrates
the fifty-third anniversary of its foundation as a congregation. It
was exactly fifty-three years ago yesterday that the first Methodist
missionaries, sent out by the Wesleyan Methodist Church of Canada,
then part of the English Wesleyan conference, landed in Victoria.
They were Rev. Dr. Ephraim Evans, his wife and family; Rev. Arthur
Browning, Rev. Ebenezer Robson and Rev. Edward White, who also
brought his family, one of his little sons being Rev. Dr. White,
to-day Superintendent of Methodist Missions in this province. Rev.
Dr. Robson was married shortly after his arrival. Of the gallant
little party who faced the hardships of the then comparatively little
known West with such tranquility and courage, all have now passed to
their rest, Dr. Robson, the last survivor, dying less than a year ago
in Vancouver.
The missionaries were received by Mr. John T. Pidwell, father-in-law
of Mr. D. W. Higgins, and entertained in his home until they could
secure permanent quarters. The following Sunday, February 13, service
was held for the first time in the courthouse, and Rev. Dr. Robson
subsequently went on to Nanaimo, where he found Cornelius Bryant, a
young schoolmaster, who enjoyed the distinction of being the first
member of the Methodist Church to set foot in British Columbia. He
afterwards entered the Methodist ministry and died a few years ago.
Rev. Edward White was quartered in New Westminster, where he
established Methodism, and Rev. Mr. Browning, after acting as
evangelist at different coast points, became the pioneer Methodist
missionary in the Cariboo country.
[Illustration: First Methodist Church.]
Laying Corner-Stone.
During the following August the corner-stone of the first Methodist
church in Victoria was laid. The building was situated at the corner
of Broad and Pandora Streets, and was afterwards known as the Pandora
Street Methodist Church. The stone was laid by Governor Douglas, and
the building was dedicated the following May. Its usefulness was
considerably lessened, however, by the building of the Metropolitan
Methodist Church in 1890, which claims the honor of being the mother
church of Methodism in the province, as, though the Pandora Street
edifice was built first, it was not used for church purposes alone.
The first pastor of the Metropolitan Church congregation was Dr.
Evans, who was assisted by Rev. Dr. Robson, Rev. Arthur Browning and
Rev. D. V. Lucas and Rev. Coverdale Watson (whose widow is now living
in Vancouver), who acted as pastor for two separate terms.
Of the pioneers of Methodism, the following families were prominent
and whom I counted among my friends: The Trounces and Donalds we had
known in California; Sheriff McMillan and family, Captain McCulloch,
Mr. and Mrs. T. S. Bone, Mr. and Mrs. Humber, Mr. and Mrs. Norris,
Alderman Kinsman, and Father McKay, as he was affectionately termed
by his intimate friends. All these have gone to their rest. Of those
who are still with us, hale and hearty, are Mrs. Bullen, Mrs. Capt.
McCulloch, Mr. and Mrs. David Spencer, Mr. and Mrs. N. Shakespeare,
Mrs. Carne, Mrs. Branch, Mr. and Mrs. Pendray, Mrs. John Kinsman,
Isaac Walsh, and others I cannot remember. I have attended many tea
meetings held in the basement of the old church, presided over by
these pioneer ladies.
Transcriber's notes.
For this digital transcription, illustrations have been repositioned
and page numbers in the table of illustrations have been omitted.
Minor punctuation errors have been emended without notice.
Corrections to original printed text:
Page Original Correction
7 Recolections Recollections
39 Johnston Street Johnson Street
79 1558. 1858.
108 Pfizenmeyer Pfitzenmayer
180 abroad aboard
256 peacable peaceable
291 Courtenay Courtney
292 Courtenay Courtney