THIS WEEK IN HISTORY: 1895
‘Nameless schemers’ tried to get approval for a ‘marine railway’ on Deadman’s Island
The first resolution of Vancouver Council on May 12, 1886 was to ask the federal government to turn a naval reserve on First Narrows into Stanley Park, which officially opened on Sept. 27, 1888. The city believed the federal lease of the 1,000-acre site included Deadman’s Island, a 7.5acre island in Coal Harbour. But some provincial politicians and businessmen thought otherwise. In October 1895, word leaked out of Victoria that there was a proposal to turn Deadman’s Island into a “marine railway,” or dry dock. The Vancouver World thought it was a great idea. The Vancouver News-Advertiser thought it was a scam. The papers went at it with duelling editorials the week of Oct. 24, 1895, dubbing each other’s opinions “balderdash.” The News-Advertiser called it “The Island Raid.” “We observe that the nameless schemers who are trying to get the provincial government to be a party to one of the greatest pieces of jobbery that was ever planned in this province — the transfer of a valuable piece of the public domain, Deadman’s Island, to private individuals — are still hard at work in their efforts to secure the booty,” said the News-Advertiser. “As has been the case before in similar schemes, it is not difficult to find willing and compliant tools in the press to support such projects.” The World retorted “there is no proposal to give Deadman’s Island away to ‘speculators.’ The grant is made for the specific purpose of the erection of a marine railway on the island, which is so small in area that there is not more space than will be needed for the accommodation of the enterprise.” The World portrayed the marine railway as essential to a booming maritime trade that could make Vancouver “second only to San Francisco on the Pacific coast.” It was livid when the News-Advertiser pointed out the number of ships arriving in Vancouver since 1888 had remained steady, not boomed. “What can be said of the individual or paper that can descend so low in a childish fight … as to endeavour to prove that the ‘denomination’ trade of this port is going to the bow-wows,” said the World. “We can conceive of nothing more wicked, nay criminal, on the part of any person, than to slander and blight the place which protects him and affords him a living.” The News-Advertiser wondered why the marine railway couldn’t be built elsewhere, given there was 30 miles of coastline in Burrard Inlet. It argued it would make more sense to build it beside the Canadian Pacific Railway line, which would allow easier access to materials. The World huffed that “marine men” thought Deadman’s Island was a great location for a dry dock, and it would be a “cheering sight to have the island dotted over with busy establishments, giving employment to mechanics, artisans and others, than to have it an eyesore, as it now is.” The World didn’t say why it considered an island covered with trees “an eyesore.” But in the 1890s, progress was seen as industry, not nature. “Many of our citizens prefer to see our houses occupied and stores rented, filled with goods and customers, tall chimneys belching forth smoke and steam, and money being put into lively circulation,” The World stated. Vancouver Council agreed with the News-Advertiser, and sent a letter to the province stating its opposition to the marine railway. The issue died, but in 1899, the federal government signed a 25-year lease on Deadman’s Island with American industrialist Theodore Ludgate, who announced he would build a lumber mill there. Ludgate was to pay an annual lease of $500 for land valued at $100,000. The public was furious, and even The World was against the deal. When Ludgate tried to log the island, he was arrested. Ludgate fought the city through the courts, and in 1909, his men came back to log the island. Their skirmish with police was dubbed The Battle of Deadman’s Island. It resulted in more arrests, but after Ludgate’s men were released on bail they came back and successfully logged the island. The mill was never built.