This is always an interesting week in New Westminster. The Victoria Day salute by the Ancient and Honourable Hyack Anvil Battery begins the week; May Day festivities happen mid-week; and the Hyack Parade caps it off on the weekend. This community has always loved parades, from our earliest years to today.
In 1871 the parade was not very big, but the fire brigade’s vehicle, the Fire King, was definitely a highlight. Members of the brigade obviously saw that it was suitably dressed for the day, especially for its short trip to the cricket ground.
Part of early May Days involved leading a large group of citizens from the centre of this growing town to the “green” or cricket ground, which had been levelled and prepared for sports, gatherings and ceremonies. Newspaper accounts of the day tell us that a horse-drawn wagon, carriage or coach was often used (they were probably all much the same) and in 1876 it was referred to as a “triumphal car.”
It’s important to remember in those early days, the Fire King, whether it was going to a fire or transporting a May Queen, was pulled by members of the fire brigade, not by horses.
On another May Day – in 1873 – the festivities were held on the lawn of Government House and the Fraser River was the “road” used. That year, the formal groups that were the May Day suites embarked in two boats from the city’s waterfront, with the May Queen’s boat being referred to as “her majesty’s gondola,” and were rowed upstream to the landing at Sapperton. When they arrived, they walked up to Government House where there was a proper throne and May Pole. The rest of the community, coming over from the town, walked to join the fun.
In the 1876 event, a band was involved and as the newspaper described it, “the procession moved off in the direction of the Government House, the band leading the way with lively strains of fife and drum, …the scene was really enchanting.”
Some years later, on May Day’s 75th anniversary in 1945, the parade was special and referred to as the best in years. The May Queen’s float was horse-drawn to harken back to the earlier days of carriages. The four horses used were from R McDonald’s farm in Richmond, and the horse-drawn float was beautifully decorated by city firefighters.
The Chinese entry was also well received. “The Chinese float came in for special admiration from the hundreds who lined Columbia St. ‘China honours the 75th May Queen’ was the wording of a banner on both sides of this highly decorated conveyance.
