Victoria’s Grand Old Man of the Cloth

Bishop Cridge in his later years.

Religion played an important role in the society of colonial Victoria. Perhaps the most important, and well known and controversial church men of the colony was Bishop Edward Cridge. A fixture in early Victoria, Cridge first arrived on the island  as the first chaplain of the HBC Fort. Islander author Leonard Myers, describes the life and times of Bishop Cridge.

Edward Cridge was born in Bratton, Devonshire England, Dec. 17, 1817. he was a graduate of Cambridge University, as well as one time assistant master at Oundle grammar school in Northhamptonshire. In 1851, he was appointed rector of Christ Church in Westham, London, and three years later, in 1854, he was invited to come to the colony of Vancouver Island as chaplain of the Church of England to the Hudson’s Bay Company in a young frontier settlement.

A much younger Edward Cridge

With his new bride[Mary], he arrived in the outpost of Victoria via sailing ship on April 1, 1855, and held his first service in the HBC fort.

Passing his theological examination and ordained in Cambridge, England, the young Reverend Cridge and his equally young wife must, upon arrival in the new world, have been endowed with infinite faith and a healthy optimism when, after leaving their comfortable home in a civilized and cultured society not lacking in the amenities of life, saw for the first time the sparse, rough and ready environment which was to be their new home.

A year after Cridge came to Victoria, a real church was built, and completed in 1856. Named Christ Church, after Cridge’s old parish in Westham, the wood frame building stood until 1869 when it was destroyed by a fire. The new church was rebuilt on land donated by Governor Sir James Douglas, this was Cridge’s “spiritual home”, until he left the Church of England. Meyers describes what came to be known as the “Cridge-Hills Dispute”.

Dean Cridge, along with a contemporary of his, Bishop Cummins, openly dissented and spawned a congregational revolt through which the “Reform” denomination was brought into prominence at the expense of his own pioneer church.

Dean Cridge, it seems…objected to certain changes in the ritual and liturgy of the Church of England, and it was argued by him that the “Reformed Church” was more in keeping with the creed and observance of the church in its original form, including the use of the English prayer-book, while, at the same time, dispensing with certain aspects of the formal service and rituals resembling to closely those of the Roman Catholic Church.

Soon the fat was in the brimstone. This came about when Dean Cridge, critical of a sermon dealing with traditional ritualistic practices delivered by a visiting cleric at Christ Church, was moved to proclaim at the close of the service that such practices and doctrines would never be countenanced at Christ Church as long as he was its rector.

Bishop George Hills

In short order, following the the dean’s post-pulpit pronouncement, an ecclesiastical court was convened, Dean Cridge was found guilty of “brawling in church” and stripped by Bishop Hills of his license to preach as a minister of the Church of England. And the doer of kindly deeds was unceremoniously sacked to the chagrin of his faithful flock.

Before taking his leave from Christ Church Cridge stated:

“My Dearly beloved friends, it is with great shame and humility that as a matter of conscience I feel it is my duty to say a few words to you before we part.  As your pastor, after what we have just heard I feel it is my duty to raise my voice in protest against it.  During the 17 years that I have officiated as your pastor in this spot, this is the first time ritualism has been preached here, and I pray Almighty God it may be the last.  So far as I can prevent it, it shall be the last.”

An appeal was launched to the civil courts, and the errant Dean was called upon by Mister Justice Begbie to apologized to Bishop Hills. Dean Cridge eventually complied but not before he changed his allegiance and joined the Reformed Episcopal church[of America], and [was] consecrated as the first Bishop in 1876.

The Church of Our Lord, Reformed Episcopal Church in Canada today.

There must have been poetic justice in the maverick man-of-the-cloth following his defrocking and secession, as he brought most of his congregation, including very prominent [members], such as Sir James Douglas, Senator W.J. MacDonald, Judges Pemberton and Elliot, Charles Hayward, Dr. John Sebastian Helmcken  and Joseph P. Pemberton with him to his new parish.

Residing in his home on Carr street, named Marifield after his wife, Cridge served his congregation and community for more than 35 years. Cridge was involved in the founding of the YWCA in Victoria as well as Central High School. He also became instrumental in establishing Victoria’s first hospital, and the Protestant Orphans Home in 1873. He died in Victoria in May of 1913 at the ripe old age of 96.

Additional Source:  http://web.uvic.ca/vv/student/orphans/founders.html

Amazing Escape from Doomed Grappler

Ss Grappler

In early British Columbia, nautical disasters were common occurrences.One of the 120 vessels sunk or damaged in the Seymour Narrows off of Vancouver Island was the Grappler,a former colonial navy gunboat turned cargo freighter, which sank on April 28th 1883, near Duncan Bay. Islander author T.W. Patterson describes Grappler’s fate.

Her captain was  John T. Jaegers, a seasoned mariner and well known local captain. In the article, Patterson provides some background details about the captain. After arriving in Victoria aboard the vessel Gondolier in the late 1870’s, Jaegers acted as mate aboard the Hudson’s Bay Company steamer Beaver under Captain J.D. Warren, until he himself was given command of the ship, which he captained for a further three years. After more than twenty years as a mariner on the B.C. coast, he was forced to retire from his command of the Canadian Pacific Navigation Company Steamer R.P. Rithet, when he was diagnosed with cancer. He succumbed to the disease, and “crossed the bar” in September of 1898.

However, in April of 1883, Jaegers was in command of the ill-fated  freighter Grappler and carrying a load of gunpowder, cannery supplies and a 100 chinese cannery workers on a return trip from Naniamo. Soon after the Grappler left Naniamo trouble started.

Late that night, the Grappler passed Duncan Bay in calm seas. All was peaceful until engineer William Steele smelled smoke. Moments later, he passed the terrifying word to Capt. Jaegers that there was a fire in the forward hold.

By the time Jaegers and his mate, John Smith, were able to have coal cleared from ‘tweendecks thereby enabling them to reach the forward hold, they knew that the fire was well established. After ordering that all hatches be sealed, Captain Jaegers returned from the wheel house and gave four, sharp blasts from his whistle in the vain hope that someone ashore might be alerted to the Grapplers danger.

Then, as mate Smith and a deckhand attempted to fight the blaze with a single hose, Jaegers tried to head the dying steamer towards shore.

In spite of the captain and crew’s best efforts both attempts to avert the catastrophe failed. When the steering cables broke, the ship went out of control, steering spasmodically all by itself. This caused it to gain speed, which in turn fanned the flames and caused the Grappler to become a blazing inferno. The Colonist reported:

“The heavy engines, racing at full speed, were siding with the work of death and destruction by forcing the doomed craft through the water with a rapidity which made the lowering of a boat an impossibility. If one reached the water without swamping, the crazed Chinese at once loaded it with rice and personal effects, on top of which they piled in such numbers that it immediately went down.”

In the last few moments before the ship sank, Captain Jaegers resolutely remained at his post, he was forced to flee only when the forward deck of the Grappler collapsed. At the very last moment he jumped over the side and swam as hard as he could for the shore.

His ordeal was not ended, as the tide “carr[ied] him down [the shoreline] at a frightful rate, but at last with a despairing effort he reached an eddy which deposited him on a huge boulder, leaving him there unconscious.”

Many other passengers were not so lucky. A large majority of the ships passengers and crew either drowned when they tried to launch a boat and escape, or burned with the Grappler. Patterson states the death toll to be close to 89 people, however, more conservative estimates state that it was likely closer to between 71 and 77. It is highly probable that  the majority of the people who died where Chinese cannery workers.

Although he was originally presumed dead, captain Jaegers survived the ship wreck, and was rescued by a group of loggers. He went on to work for the Canadian pacific Navigation Co. until his death in 1898.

Letters to Martha

Martha Douglas with her sister Jane.

Between 1872 and 1874, the youngest daughter of Governor Sir James Douglas, Martha(or Marthe), lived in England and attended a finishing school for young ladies called Lansdowne House. In light of what her father assumed to be a rough, uncultured upbringing he thought it necessary that she was given the opportunity to as he put it “get rid of the cobwebs of colonial training and give [her] a proper finish.”

During her years abroad, Martha maintained a dedicated correspondence with her father in England. Islander author Derek Pethick provides these excerpts from a few of Douglas’s letters. Sir James Douglas is one of the most well known public figures in BC history. However, the sentiments that he expresses in these writings provide an intriguing insights into Douglas’s private life.

Composing lines daily, Douglas would send off a complete letter when he felt he had generated enough content. His letters seemed to be mainly composed of paternal wisdom and advice, but are also balanced by a fair amount news and current events from Victoria.

Here, Douglas gives his daughter a view pointers on improving her character and temperament.

This advice cannot have added much to Martha’s enjoyment of life in England. “Shun extravagance; it is the sure road to poverty and ruin. Arithmetic must not be neglected; no art is more necessary or useful in the affairs of daily life. You may speak of “resting your weary legs” would it not be nicer to say “weary limbs”?

“I wish you to be in all respects ladylike, both in speech and manner. A lady never uses slang phrases, which are essentially vulgar, and  to me unbearable.”

He even returned one of her letters to him with comments and corrections. “First I wish to observe that it is somewhat of a scrawl, carelessly written, and not so neatly worded as it should be. In order to improve your style, study the writings of good authors. I enclose a part of your last letter, pruned of redundancies, as a study. Observe how it is improved by the process.”

Governor Sir James Douglas

Douglas’s keen interest in political matters was also made clear by his writing.

In political matters, Douglas took a dim view of Amor de Cosmos,  premier of B.C. from 1872 to 1874. For unexplained reasons he told his daughter that “it is suspected de Cosmos is betraying the country.”

He added that “young ladies must not be so decided in their politics. They must always be gentle and good, carefully avoiding the use of strong language.

As a long time resident of Victoria, Douglas came to keenly appreciate the natural world around him. This tender passage portrays a very different side of Douglas’s personality, that bears little resemblances to his well known shrewd, hard fisted pubic persona.

The view from the bottom of Douglas's James Bay Garden

“You would be delighted with a morning peep of the varied and highly tinted foliage at James Bay. The splendour of its rich and gorgeous hues, reflecting the bright rays of the morning sun, are beautiful beyond description. The air is fragrant with the sweets exalted by the wild rose, now blooming in countless abundance. It is indeed delightful to wander about amidst the beauty and wild luxuriance of nature – so far surpassing in grace the beauty of the utmost efforts of art.”

Martha herself went on to become a noted artist. Throughout her life, she painted many still lifes and portraits and also collected and recorded the stories of Canadian aboriginal people.

Her interest in the culture was likely instigated by the stories that she was taught by her mother Amelia, who was half Cree. In 1901 she published a collection of 20 myths and legends, called “History and Folklore of the Cowichan Indians”. Interestingly, this was only after her parents deaths, as during their lives they had been extremely uncomfortable with their mixed racial backgrounds.

A stalwart of the Victoria arts community until her death in 1933, Martha was a founding member of the Island Arts and Crafts Society and the Victoria Hand Weavers Guild. As well she was involved in the Victoria Lace Club whose members at one time included Hannah Maynard and Emily Carr.

Extra sources:http://cwahi.concordia.ca/sources/artists/displayArtist.php?ID_artist=143

http://www.abcbookworld.com/view_author.php?id=6186

The Republic of Vancouver Island?

A early view of Esquimalt harbour, where navy guns fired to celebrate the amalgamation of British Columbia and Vancouver Island

The story of British Columbia’s amalgamation into a single province is now recognized as a simple fact of history, which went largely unopposed by most people in the province. However, in its own time, it was definitely a sticky issue that some people were concerned about. Islander author James K. Nesbitt tells the story of one of those people, Charles Bedford Young.

C.B. Young was a Victoria merchant and politician who was elected to the legislature several times. Though he left Victoria for unexplained reasons in the late 1860’s, he was a prominent, outspoken citizen of Victoria, who was well known by the populace. Despite his position within the community, it is evident that he was not held in high regard by the editors of the Victoria Daily Colonist.

The Colonist didn’t think too much of Mr. Young, unless he was doing what the colonist told him to do, which mostly he did not.

On one occasion The Colonist had this to say: “Mr. C.B. Young is a celebrity in his own right, much more distinctly defined then his mercantile brothers. He has to great a quality of vanity to allow himself much rest, consequentially before the public in every conceivable attitude; we have before described him as cantankerous, but judging from his career so far in the House, we must do him the justice to say that he has, in parliamentary life, given no occasion for the application.  He is a man of much wider general experience, than most of the members and no doubt would have been more liberal in some of his political notions had he spent more of his life in the British Colonies and less in the Mexican Republic.

Of course, this stinging rebuke was brought on because Young had hinted that he did not agree with the amalgamation of British Columbia and Vancouver Island. Despite the contrary views of C.B. Young, many Islanders were all for union and did not want to see Young’s argument hold sway. This became more evident at a town meeting held outside the Lyceum Theatre in downtown Victoria. According to The Colonist

“The platform remained unoccupied ’til  at length Mr. Fell (coffee and spice merchant) made his appearance, when he was greeted with a perfect storm of hoots, hisses and laughter, with shouts of coffee, chicory etc.”

And now comes our friend Mr. Young to the platform and he “was saluted with another torrent of groans, yells and hisses.”

When [Mayor]Mr. Harris called on Mr. Young to speak “the chairman was interrupted by a roar of yells groans and hisses.”

Mr Young, however was hardboiled…In a loud voice he said, “he accepted the hisses; Rome was saved by the hissing of geese, and he hoped Vancouver Island would be saved in a similar manner.” And so he went on saying Vancouver Island should remain aloof of British Columbia. The Colonist raised an eyebrow “The hon. gentleman kept on alluding to his fidelity amid mingled hooting and cheers. He unfortunately made an illusion to the heresies of certain persons in the house, which drew down another storm of hisses upon him. He said he had been maligned in all sorts of ways; they had descended so low as to call him a dog with a tin kettle tied to his tail (tremendous laughter). Every dog had his day, but a puppy would remain one all his life (hisses laughter and cheers). Mr Young went on in praise of his own honesty and uprightness, which created much laughter.”

But for the Mr. Youngs of his day, fortunately for us of today, was defeated. His lack of vision got him nowhere. He could see no further than beyond his own nose.

Unfortunately for Mr. Young, his troubles were not over. A subsequent bid to become mayor of the city proved to end similarly in dismal failure. As usual, The Colonist provided an acid description of the attempt

“Mr C.B. Young finding he had not the ghost of a chance for election cunningly withdrew…and left the field to Mr. Arthur Bunster and Mr. W.J. Macdonald. We are sorry that Mr. Young has taken this step, because we wished to convince him that he is the most unpopular man in town, and in no better way could this be shown than in going to the polls.

Inevitably, the union of the two colonies became a reality. When the amalgamation became official, the voices of the nay sayers were finally drowned out by the celebratory roar of naval guns in the Esquimalt Harbour. Presumably, at this point, C.B. Young decided to call it quits. For that point on, nothing more was heard of the unpopular agitator, and he apparently left the Island never to return.  On the occasion of the uniting of British Columbia and Vancouver Island, the Colonist’s editors stated

“The interesting nuptials of Miss Columbia and Mr. Vancouver took place; no sooner was the Gordian knot tied and the happy pair pronounced by the potent grave and reverend functionary who officiated, than her Majesty’s ships-of-war in Esquimalt caught up the dying chord of the sacerdotal benediction and boomed forth a royal salute of 21 guns in honour of the occasion.

THe wooing and engagement were not of the most harmonious character – but the proffered hand having been accepted and the vow solemnized, let us hope that their path through wedded life may be strewn with roses, that, appreciating each other the better stoically overlooking mutual foibles and being kindly affectioned the one to the other, they may not only enjoy much domestic felicity themselves, but may be the means of imparting it to those around them.”

Colourful Simeon Duck

Simeon Duck

Simeon Duck was a colonial business man, politician, Mason and early resident of Victoria. In this article, Islander author Elizabeth Gordon describes his life and accomplishments.

“Get back into your coop!” “You’re a lame Duck” These were just a couple of the remarks made in the legislature when Simeon Duck spoke up for an unpopular cause.

But Duck, whose name had been the but of many jokes was not bothered by derogatory remarks.

It was true that Duck would have liked to become premier of B.C. and although he did not get elected to that position, he did become minister of finance, and he was always active in politics.

Arriving in British Columbia hoping to strike it rich in the Fraser River Gold rush, he spent an unprofitable summer prospecting, before coming to Victoria and starting a carriage business. This venture was similarly unsuccessful,  but Duck’s fortunes changed when the Cariboo wagon road was completed. Suddenly many people were desperately in need of transportation to the Cariboo goldfields, and Duck’s business began to thrive.

Apparently he was skilled at his craft; according to the Colonist newspaper, “The style and finish of these wagons reflect much credit on the maker, and a practical test of their merit as had on Sunday when they gave entire satisfaction.” For a successful colonial businessman like Duck, an obvious diversion from work was a career as a politician.

Friends encouraged him to run for the legislature, which he eventually decided to do – and won.

People were impressed by his interest in public affairs, his industry ability and intelligence. The first premier of B.C., J.F. McCreight, had the strong support of Duck. However, when the time came up for an election, Duck, who had always supported the government, was severely castigated by the Colonist for being a most “consistent supporter of the government  in all their bad measures.”

The Colonist went on to state that the reason for Duck’s unswerving loyalty was that he had done a great deal of blacksmith work for the government and that he had been handsomely paid for it. In the forthcoming election he was defeated.

This was not, however, Duck’s last foray into the world of colonial politics.

In 1882 he again became a member of the legislature, and oddly enough, a man named Drake was elected too. Duck and Drake were the but of many jokes, but they merely laughed along with everyone else. Duck’s supporters were once acidly described as “quakers” but Duck seemed to have been unabashed by either jokes or criticism.

As a colonial gentleman, he was also obliged to entertain other interests in addition to politics and business. As a Mason and member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen, Duck became the Worshipful Master of the Vancouver Lodge in 1868 and was a member of both the Vancouver and Quadra lodges until he left the retired in 1881.

Duck also championed the establishment of non-sectarian free public schools, and was a member of the Victoria Volunteer Fire Brigade.

In his spare time at home, Duck became fascinated by spiritualism.

on at least one occasion [he] held a seance in his home. There were an even number of ladies and gentlemen present – 11 of each. Although women were no allowed to vote, and undue interest in politics was considered unfeminine, apparently they were allowed to take part in a seance, which must have been a very exciting event in their sheltered lives.

Duck and his friends, with the consent of the medium, handcuffed the later and trussed him up in a straight jacket. They had borrowed these items from what was known as the “lunatic asylum.” The reason for this was apparently to guard against fraud. The medium was then placed in a cabinet, the light was turned low, and several musical instruments were placed nearby including a drum and two drum sticks. The group of 11 men and 11 women sat round in a circle and waited expectantly.

There was a lot of movement in the cabinet and a drum stick rapped on the side of it. From inside came a voice identified as being a Indian voice , but it was not clear what it was saying. Perhaps the medium was left in the cabinet for too long, however – apparently well over an hour – because when he was released he had to be revived with water.

The report of this was given in the Colonist, but they were not sympathetic to the seance and described Dr. Peck, the medium, as “a humbug.” 

The story of Simeon Duck certainly proves that not all colonial politicians led stuffy boring lives..

The Adventurous Life of Richard Carr

Richard Carr

Emily Carr has become one of Victoria’s most well known artists, and is now renown for her powerful, stirring images of the West Coast. Her fascinating life was well documented, not only by her art, but also by her numerous published books and journals. Her father Richard, an important figure in his daughters life, was less well known than Emily, but led a surprisingly eventful life. His adventures are described in the Islander article “Emily Carr’s Gallery” by Margaret Belford.

Born in Beckley, Oxfordshire England in 1818, Richard came to America in 1837 in his late teens. He began to explore the continent immediately, never staying more than eight weeks in on place.

we learn much of his travels and adventures from his diary, and from it we read that he spent time in Texas, Alabama, and Illinois. he worked as a deck hand on the Columbus sailing from New Orleans to Cuba, and later left the country for New York. While there, according to his diary, he walked from New York to Philadelphia and back in seven days – a distance of 180 miles.

Between 1841 and 1863 when he was arrived in Victoria with his wife and children, Carr had many further adventures.

this peripatetic gentleman…worked as a seaman, traveling the world; returned to England at various times; “paid forty dollars to Mr. Plumb to [teach] me to take daguerreotype portraits” engaged in business taking such portraits; visited Canada; went to Vera Cruz in the middle of a small revolution; was involved in a near fatal canoe accident; and thought most Americans were no gentleman!

Carr visited a Quaker settlement in Albany and later paddled up the Cruse River in a hollowed-out log on his way to Panama. He went to Peru and Ecuador. He met a pretty little English girl in San Francisco. Her name was Emily Saunders and since he had done well in California,  he left his business in the hands of “Mr. J.Shunmay and F.Crichton having concluded to enjoy myself for six months.”He and Emily sailed to England and there he married her in Ensham Church, Oxfordshire, on Jan. 18 1855.

After moving back to California for a few years and prospering further in business, Richard decided he would like to raise his two young daughters, Edith and Clara, in the English countryside.

They settled in Devonshire and here two sons were born to them, neither of whom survived. Though Carr does mention the the birth and death of his son William, he omitted from his diary any reference to the birth and death of the second son John, during the following year. Indeed he devoted more time to the death of his beloved dog Spot, than he did to his daughters and his dead sons.

Life in England didn’t take, however, and two years later the family sailed once again for California and in June 1863 they were on their way to Vancouver Island to begin life in what was to prove their final home.

In an attempt to improve his wife Emily’s health, and to save himself from the boredom of retirement, Richard packed his family on a ship and sailed for Canada and Vancouver Island.On the the island, the Carr’s settled down for good. About a year after the family arrived another son was born, Thomas, who also died as an infant. In the following years Elizabeth, Alice, Emily and Richard were also born. Richard Carr. established a whole sale goods business on Wharf street in downtown Victoria, and also bought 10 acres of land in James Bay bordering on what is now Beacon Hill Park, where he built the Carr home.

The Carr House in James Bay

When his wife died in 1886, Richard was irrevocably effected by grief. After selling his business, he spent two years languishing in the sitting room of the Carr houses mourning the loss of his wife. Richard Carr died on November 20th 1888.

Image credit:The BC Archives

http://images.travelpod.com/users/lroff/world_2006-2007.1143013800.03_emily-carr-house.jpg

Additional source:http://bcheritage.ca/emilycarrhomework/family/dad.htm

Poet of Empire

Sir Clive Phillipps-Wolley...made to be admired(from the Islander's caption for the same photo.)

Today, only a very few in Canada still hold the opinion that Canada should be forever associated with Britain and considered a gleaming facet of her mighty empire. However, a hundred years ago, there were many notable citizens of this country who held a firm conviction that Canada should forever and always remain staunchly devoted to Mother England. Sir Edward Clive Oldnall Long Phillips-Wolley was one of these people.

A pioneering novelist, and probably one of the only BC writers ever to be knighted, Wolley was a staunch patriot. Though he was a long time resident of  Canada, until he died in 1918, 51 years after Canadian confederation, he ever considered himself to be “an Imperialist first, a patriot second, and a colonial citizen last.”

Wolley was a man who dabbled in may different occupations in addition to literature.  Islander author Roderick Stewart provides a glowing description of Sir Clive’s diverse resume:

Sir Clive Oldnall Long Phillips-Wolley is a substantial name; he was a substantial man. He was a poet, novelist, lawyer, big-game hunter, boxer, Navy league president and lecturer, mining inspector, news paper owner and editor, political candidate, and father of four. However, Sir Clive as he was commonly known, was remembered most as a patriotic Navy league member, and as a poet, one of the first in British Columbia to achieve more than local fame.

Interestingly a little further research turned up this contrasting depiction of Wolley, which may portray his personality in a slightly more accurate manner. According to the ABC Book World BC Book World Archive:

Clive Phillipps-Wolley was the classic Anglophile with Kiplingesque bravado and racist prejudices, a great white hunter who epitomizes an era of early B.C. literature that viewed B.C. as a rough Eden that only required English pluck and perseverance to be tamed.

After having inheriting his title and a fortune from a relative in Britain, he came to Canada at the age of 42, and immediatley moved to the Victoria neighbourhood Oak Bay. The Islander states that he moved to Canada and settled in Oak Bay because “He had heard a great deal about Canada – the bountiful wilderness, the opportunity and adventure, the fortunes to be made in the frontier – and coupled with a rebelliousnes at the confines of life in England, he decided to make the journey here.” However, it seems the place he chose to settle reveals a lot more about his true convictions as an aristocrat.

For the most part, his poetry, which is featured in the Islander article, declares his strong feelings and “undying religious faith in the Imperial Cause.” Published at the end of his life in 1917 his book of poems entitled Songs From a Young Man’s Land, he expounds on his visions of empire and rails against contemporary visions of Canada as a nation moving towards autonomy.

Who dares to ask? are you colonists veins

Ducts for some colourless fluid, or red with blood that stains the bosom of the earth…?

Blood that is…

True with the truth of those whose creed has been loyalty.

Though his views are clearly archaic and outmoded, Sir Wolley’s writing and views on life provide an interesting insight into attitudes and beliefs shared by few people today. It is also important to note his place in the Canadian literary canon. Not discussed in the Islander article  his prose and novels where widely known in his time and constitute some of the very first novels written in Canada about the country itself.

A historic view of Clive Drive in Oak Bay

His legacy is also preserved by the street in Victoria, Clive Drive, that was named after him, and his hunting lodge style home “The Grange”, designed by Samuel Maclure, which still stands on Drinkwater Road in Duncan. For a much more detailed description of Wolley’s life and accomplishments click here

Photo Credits:http://www.abcbookworld.com/view_author.php?id=5603

http://www.webturf.com/oakbay/history/streets/c.shtml