$550,000 gift to speed Island lighthouse restoration plan
A $550,000 donation from an Ontario lighthouse enthusiast could mean the restoration plan for Sheringham Point Lighthouse near Shirley is completed in as little as three years, rather than 10.
Preservation efforts have been underway since 2003, when a group dedicated to the lighthouse, 57 kilometres west of Victoria and built in 1912, was formed.
“Here we are now on the precipice of restoring this beautiful lighthouse to its original magnificence,” said John Walls, a Sheringham Point Lighthouse Preservation Society board member, at a funding announcement Monday at the Maritime Museum of B.C.
The major gift to the project, which is a multi-year commitment, was made by Ontario resident Peter Westway through his Westway Charitable Foundation, and is the largest private donation ever made to a lighthouse restoration in Canada. Westway previously made a $1,000 donation after hearing about the effort.
The society, with more than 350 members, will work to match the funds, Walls said.
“We have to,” Walls said. “Because restoring this is going to take a lot of money.”
Westway, who could not attend the announcement, said in a statement that he was impressed with the planning expertise of board members and volunteers “and their vision of this site as a coastal asset open to all.” The foundation, established by Westway and his sister in 1986, is largely dedicated to the arts, medical research and heritage ventures.
The project includes maintaining a park around the lighthouse, which has an automatic flashing light but is not fully operational. The goal is not to make it fully operational, Walls said.
Painting and further repairs to the lighthouse tower, about 20 metres high, are planned for this year, he said. Plans include refabricating the badly corroded metal structure on site, replacing broken windows with specially manufactured ones and installing a solar power array to provide electricity for the site. Repairs to the access road were completed last year, along with reinforcement of both sides of the causeway that connects the tower to the park.
Sheringham Point Lighthouse was built in response to the wreck of the SS Valencia off Pachena Point while en route from San Francisco to Seattle in 1906. The ship struck a reef after missing the entrance to Juan de Fuca Strait, and the official death toll was 136. An inquiry found more aids to navigation were needed on the southwest coast of the Island.
After operating for 77 years, the lighthouse was destaffed and automated in 1989, and the grounds were closed to the public.
One of 21 heritage lighthouses in B.C., its ownership and that of the two hectares around it were transferred to the society by the federal government in 2015, and the site was reopened in 2016.
Walls said the lighthouse is expected to become an attraction.
“That West Coast Road traffic, especially in the summertime, really picks up,” he said. “Our vision is that the lighthouse is going to be a destination for the Canadian ‘stay-cationers’ and the American visitors and international visitors.”
He described the view as “jaw-dropping.”
Mike Hicks, the Capital Regional District director for the Juan de Fuca Electoral Area, said the Sheringham Point Lighthouse is an important piece of history. As a veteran fishing guide, he said the lighthouse holds a lot of meaning for him as a beacon when coming back to port.
It also marks the spot where the ocean gives way to the Salish Sea, he said.
Former senator Pat Carney, a longtime advocate for lighthouses and the Heritage Lighthouse Protection Act, said lighthouses are “key icons” in B.C.
“Lighthouses are essential to the health of the coast,” she said. “They can be used for environmental protection. They can be used, and are, for weather. They can be used for safety.”
To donate, go to sheringhamlighthouse.org.