Category Archives: Heritage lighthouse

One50Canada Photo Shoot

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Weather

  • Visibility: 15+ miles
  • Wind: 0-10 knots N
  • Sky: sunny
  • Water: calm

The Sunset

Ecological

  • Seagulls woke me up at 6:00, something that never happened in February.
  • Had an easier time shooing away the Canada Geese today.
  • The river otter was out exploring and rolling around. It delighted the visitors.

A pair of seagulls

Maintenance

  • I helped Chris and Kyle install the new wifi “distributor” at the top of the tower.
  • Later I tidied up the extra cord, searched for outdoor rated Cat5 (unsuccessfully) and measured out the distance required for the future permanent cord. Twenty-five feet if you’re interested!
  • Cleaned the solar panels.

Boats

  • Two eco-tours came by at around 11:00.
  • Second Nature docked on the jetty at 11:00 and departed at 13:00.

Visitors

  • Chris came by in Second Nature with Kyle (a new dock hand) and a group of three from the One50Canada project.
  • Their names are Martin Gregus, Martin Gregus Jr. and Elena Gregusova.
  • The two Martin’s are trying to make the largest documented collection of photos and information about what Canada is like in the years around 2017, her 150th year of independence. The final project will include a massive coffee table book.
  • They were interested in all aspects of the Race Rocks Ecological Reserve.
  • They took photographs of and asked questions about the mammals, birds, lighthouse, other buildings, vintage Coast Guard equipment, First Nations rock formations, etc.
  • If you are interested in learning more about the One50Canada Society, check out their website at: http://www.one50canada.ca/index.html

The One50Canada family

New archival image of Race Rocks tower.

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racerocks_vancouver

This picture shows the tower (circa 1900) with the original light and tall cage installed . It also shows the stone residence attached at the base of the tower which the Coastguard “removed” in the 1960s.

The photo was taken by Major James Skitt Matthews,(1878-1970).
J.S. Matthews’ notes with print or negative are located in the Vancouver archives. Reference code AM54-S4-: SGN 1103.

Original untouched full size image: 8068153b-3849-4b94-9c9e-cfbe0ff55005-A07817(note stepladder in light room??)

Generating History

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High clouds settled in today and there were even a few minute raindrops for a short time in the late morning and early evening. Hazy marine air was evident along the coast to Victoria while across on the American side, it looked like it might really be raining in the Elwha Valley, Olympic National Park. The barometer continues its slow slide, which started last Thursday. The westerly wind is forecast again for tomorrow and it has already started.

A Humpback Whale feeding and resting to the south of the rocks and Killer Whales to the west, continued to draw whale–watching boats from Victoria and a total of 22 were noted in the Ecological Reserve today, mostly observing pinnipeds (Steller’s and California Sea Lions, Harbour and Elephant Seals). One commercial, charter, fishing boat also stopped by to watch the sea lions.

One of the Brown Pelicans came back today and some members of the Victoria Historical Society group saw it on their way out to the island. Three groups of twelve people each had historical tours of Race Rocks today.

The historians were very interested in Garry Fletcher’s on-site presentations about the history of Great Race Island, the 500 year-old plus, indigenous rock cairns and the 154 year history of the Lighthouse. Race Rocks is designated as a heritage site but that only means it is registered in Ottawa, not offered any conservation protection. The Race Rocks Ecological Reserve protects Race Rocks’ biodiversity and natural history and is part of BC Parks, but it does not include human history.

Federal law passed specifically three years ago to protect historical lighthouses does not apply to the six original Imperial Lighthouses, of which this is one. Race Rocks  light-tower pre-dates the confederation of Canada and it is the only stone-constructed light tower and one of a handful of standing stone structures this old, in western Canada. It needs protection. You can learn more about its’ fascinating history through this web-site under history. There is even historical video footage of the demolition of the historic, granite, light-keeper’s house in the 1960s by bulldozer and explosives. Fisgard Light which was completed six weeks before Race Rocks is a much less impressive brick tower and is endowed with full heritage protection by Parks Canada.

With 37 visitors to attend to, I did not spend much time making ecological observations today. I did a few maintenance chores before they arrived, washing windows, sweeping the main walk-way with an historical broom and weed-eating around the fly wheels of an old Fairbanks-Morse engine from the turn of the last century, with an historical weed-eater from late in the last century. There are quite a few pieces of old Fairbanks-Morse machinery lying around that could be of historical interest. Here is a YouTube link to a similar 1906 Fairbanks-Morse engine, running. What a beast. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTiK2B88EJs

My last tasks of the day are to move deionized water, delivered with the guests by Courtney on MV Second Nature, up to the energy building, and to make fresh water with the desalinator, while the historic Lister generator tops up the batteries which are powered mostly by solar panels.

Race Rocks Light Tower Construction Painting 1860

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towerconstruct2This image was painted by a crew member aboard the HMS Plumper in the summer of 1860. I found it first in a copy of The Private Journal of Captain G.H. Richards: The Vancouver Island Survey ( 1860-1862) by Linda Dorricott and Deidre Cullon. ( Vancouver, BC: Ronsdale Press, 2012) . The painting is archived as Image B-01601 in the Royal BC Museum, BC Archives.
The details of the picture when clicked for enlargement land ightened show some interesting features which are documented below. ( G. Fletcher)

 

Special Heritage Protection for the Race Rocks Lighthouse and Ecological Reserve.

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This proposal was submitted to Environment Canada and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans in June, 2013
The response came in September, 2013:

by Garry Fletcher
Race Rocks Ecological Reserve Warden
4645 William Head Road
Victoria, BC
In 2012, I submitted a petition by 25 members of the Metchosin  Community to Environment  Canada for including Race Rocks lighthouse on the list of heritage lighthouses in Canada to be protected by the heritage lighthouse protection act.  Environment Canada subsequently confirmed that the application had been approved. In order for DFO to authorize the disposal of the lighthouse, if indeed it is owned by the federal government, someone has to submit a business plan within five  years of the enactment of the Lighthouse Heritage Protection Bill, ie by May 2015.

I am proposing that :

1)   The historical branch of  Environment Canada will assume responsibility for the long term maintenance of the Heritage Light tower at Race Rocks. It could be under a special designation as marine view-scape heritage.

2)   Since Race Rocks and Fisgard Lighthouse were built together concurrently over 150 years ago under the direction of the First Governor of the Colony of Vancouver Island, Environment Canada could include both lighthouses in a National Marine Historic Park.

3)   That the Department of Fisheries and Oceans support financially the maintenance of this tower as part of its continued use as an Aids to navigation.

The reality is that there will be no business plan for the change of ownership of the Lighthouse.  Most people in British Columbia and Canada assume that this historic structure should be totally funded and maintained by governments on the basis of it’s historical significance as well as continuing function as an aid to navigation.

This proposal provides background information for this alternate proposal to the business plan required by DFO for heritage protection for Race Rocks lighthouse. Although I am a retired faculty member of Pearson College UWC, and am currently the Ecological Reserve Warden appointed by BC Parks for Race Rocks,  I am submitting this proposal as a private citizen, so the views presented herein are entirely my own.

The Canadian Lighthouse Heritage Protection Bill was designed to protect historic structures such as Race Rocks, in fact it was referred to in the house and senate debates as an example.  The early announcement of disposal of surplus lighthouses by DFO was certainly not intended with the legislation, and it has led to the unfortunate situation of a lack of protection for some of Canada’s most significant lighthouses.   There has to be an alternate designation that would ensure the protection of the light tower. Ideally a special designation is needed that recognizes the light house as a federally protected and preserved structure, perhaps the focal point of a marine viewscape heritage park. Continue reading →

Groups submit plans to save 128 ‘surplus’ lighthouses, Globe and Mail June 04,2013

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nw-lighthouses-0604This article appears in full on the Globe and Mail website
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/groups-submit-plans-to-save-128-surplus-lighthouses/article12354716/

Groups submit plans to save 128 ‘surplus’ lighthouses
Michael MacDonald Halifax, N.S. — The Canadian Press
Published Last updated

Ed Note: I have highlighted what I think are significant statements:

Community groups and municipalities in eight provinces have come forward with business plans to save only a fraction of the lighthouses that Ottawa says are no longer needed for navigational purposes. In all, 128 plans were submitted by the June 1 deadline, the federal Fisheries Department confirmed Tuesday.

Five years ago, the department declared 970 of its active and inactive lighthouses surplus, saying they were no longer needed as aids to navigation, mainly because mariners now rely on satellite signals to set their courses.

Federal spokesman Andrew Anderson * said despite the deadline, the department is willing to accept more business plans over the next two years, insisting that Ottawa isn’t about to start demolishing or selling off surplus lighthouses.

*(Ed note: Arthur Anderson is no longer in this position)

“We are acutely aware that some of them can be of tremendous historic importance,” Anderson said in an interview from Ottawa.

“If there’s a community interested … in taking a property and leveraging it for economic development in their community, then we certainly will enable that.”

Of the 128 plans submitted, there are: 50 from Ontario, 29 from Nova Scotia, 20 from P.E.I., 12 from Quebec, eight from Newfoundland and Labrador, five from New Brunswick, two from Manitoba and two from British Columbia. Continue reading →

Ottawa should be more pro-active in efforts to save Canada’s lighthouses_ Globe and Mail Editorial, May30,2013

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Editorial: Ottawa should be more pro-active in efforts to save Canada’s lighthouses.
The Globe and Mail
Published Last updated

The federal government should take a second look at the fate of some of the hundreds of iconic federal lighthouses that the Department of Fisheries and Oceans has declared surplus to its needs. A catch-22 in the Heritage Lighthouse Protection Act says the communities that want to preserve the historic but surplus structures must find ways to purchase and maintain them, but many just don’t have the money. There is no question that some lighthouses must be left to the elements, but it would be a shame if the grandest of these magnificent symbols of Canada’s past eroded away without at least a second look from Ottawa.

How important are lighthouses? They are “key symbols of Canada’s maritime heritage,” Heritage Minister James Moore said just last week as he announced the first two British Columbia lighthouses to be designated under the protection act. Pat Carney, the former cabinet minister and senator who was involved in the designation process, said, “Our lightstations are not only active navigation aids for maritime traffic but they are also a treasure chest of community history, stories and economic opportunity. Many coastal communities link their community identity with their lighthouses to promote tourism and the work of local authors, artists and crafts people.

The essential problem is that, in fact, most federal lighthouses are no longer needed for navigation, or are outdated. It would be fiscally irresponsible for the federal government to maintain them anymore, and Ottawa was well within its rights to declare in 2010 that close to 1,000 active and inactive lighthouses were surplus. The surplus ones are eligible for heritage protection as long as another level of government, or a group or person, steps up to assume ownership. But that is a prohibitively expensive undertaking, as many of the lighthouses are located in remote areas, or even offshore. Continue reading →