Fifty years ago, in 1967, people started the year looking forward to a full 12 months of events, festivities and all sorts of wonderful things to celebrate Canada’s 100th birthday. British Columbia had something very special in January, and it happened right here in Queen’s Park Arena in New Westminster.
The opening of the provincial legislature honouring the anniversary of the first Legislative Council of the United Colony of B.C. took place in the Royal City on Jan. 24, 1967. In 1967, the arena was fully decked out for the provincial legislature’s anniversary meeting, but in 1867, the first such meeting was held in a hall in the former camp of the Royal Engineers.
The newspapers of the day in the United Colony of British Columbia and Vancouver Island were filled with stories of this important event. In New Westminster, the British Columbian paper told the story through weeks of issues.
Included in the accounts were remarks about the people coming from the island for the meeting. A naval ship was also to take part in the formality and festivities.
The event was very well reported, and the dignitaries in town celebrated with a formal dinner.
This was a very important event in the early government of the colonies, and an editorial prominently highlighted that fact. “The opening of the new Legislative Council on Thursday next will be invested with rather greater interest than similar occasions have hitherto been. We understand it is the intention of quite a number of Victorians to come up by the next steamer in order to be present. … We believe that Captain Pritchard’s Corps will furnish a guard of honour for the occasion.”
Many people, local and otherwise, gathered for the event. The dignitaries arrived, were met by a guard of honour, then took their places. The governor, Frederick Seymour, was formally greeted, presented his much-awaited speech, and then he left the council to its deliberations. Of his words it was reported: “Probably no public document was ever anticipated with greater interest in British Columbia than the speech of His Excellency the Governor upon the occasion of the opening the first Legislative Council of the United Colony, certainly no public document was ever received with greater satisfaction by this community, and we have no doubt that it will be similarly received by the great bulk of the colonists.”
Interesting historical events in 1867 and in 1967 – part of New Westminster’s past.
