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How does Sapperton Landing Park fit in to New Westminster's past - and future?

Many of you will know of Sapperton Landing Park – located beside the Fraser River below the Fraserview area – as you drive or walk along East Columbia Street in New Westminster.
Archie and Dale Miller
Our Past with Archie and Dale Miller

Many of you will know of Sapperton Landing Park – located beside the Fraser River below the Fraserview area – as you drive or walk along East Columbia Street in New Westminster. This is a great park from which to see the river, watch vessels of many types sail past, note wildlife of the area and experience the differences season after season.

It is also a great spot to remember the many local historical links, including the Columbia detachment of Royal Engineers and their camp, the early Government House, B.C. Penitentiary, early railroads and streetcars, royal visits and so on.

And now this site, which has been part of many of our presentations and walking tours over the years, is moving ahead towards a new phase of development that will add another place from which to enjoy more of the river and the local history.

You will likely have noted that a major construction project has been ongoing for some time upriver from Sapperton Landing Park. The project is the construction of Metro Vancouver’s new Sapperton wastewater pump station.

The website for this project shows that, along with the pumping station, the site will also include a new recreation area from which to look out over the river and, according to a diagram of the proposed layout, will tentatively be known as “Cumberland Point.”

There is much more to this project, so have a look at www.metrovancouver.org – search for Sapperton Pump Station.

The new riverside recreational location, which will now offer access to both sides of the mouth of the Brunette River, will also supply additional opportunities to link more sites and views to the heritage and history of this particular area.

The area was home to the Brunette Sawmill for many years, during which this mill was a prominent landmark. Along the waterfront upriver from here were many other industries well known to those near the river. This is also the location of some dramatic photos showing ships of sail loading lumber for destinations around the world.

The entrance channel of the Brunette River itself has a connection to sternwheel steamboats as it was sometimes used as a place in which to secure a paddlewheeler during winter to protect the vessel from crushing effects of river ice.

It is also important to note that the local First Nations knew the waters of the Brunette as well as those of the Fraser and would have used the Brunette River to travel inland from the main river and for shelter. 

This Sapperton pump station project is going to add some interesting historical connections to the already popular park.