If you look up Sir Richard McBride you will find that he was born in New Westminster in 1870.
For people with family ties to Sapperton, Sir Richard is actually from their part of town.
The McBride property was apparently on Columbia Street (today East Columbia) near what would be Braid Street.
There are a few images of the property and of a house identified as being the former McBride home. Years ago, while doing Sapperton research, we had occasion to talk with old-time Sapperton residents who pointed to the site and said, "that's where he grew up."
McBride's father was involved with the local colonial and provincial jail, and became the B.C. Penitentiary's first warden. Richard grew up and had his early schooling in this area, then worked at a number of jobs while studying law at Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia.
After graduation, he articled and worked with the Corbould law firm in the Royal City, developed an interest in conservative politics, and ran for office. He was first elected to political office in 1898.
He was the first B.C. premier who was born in the province and when he was premier from 1903 to 1915, at 32 years of age he was the youngest to fill that position.
A further piece of B.C. political history trivia concerns his early election campaign, in which he ran on a conservative slate, thus introducing party lines to our provincial political system. Many people who follow our politics closely and decry its many "shortcomings," probably blame, rather than thank him for this innovation.
Richard was knighted in 1912 for his service. In 1915, he chose to resign his position in the B.C. government, and took the position of B.C. Agent General in London, England. He died there in 1917.
Sir Richard McBride's remains were brought back to B.C. and he was buried in Ross Bay Cemetery in Victoria. The family plot in Fraser Cemetery in New Westminster holds the remains of many family members, including his mother and father.
The town of McBride, B.C. was established in 1913 and named for the sitting premier of the province. In New Westminster, a school and a major road were named after him.
McBride was an interesting man whose story is worth looking into. He was a man of proud Royal City connections, of party politics, of knighthood and of submarines (that's another story).
Want to know more about Sir Richard and about another book on his history? The New Westminster Historical Society is pleased to have Patricia Roy, professor emeritus at the University of Victoria, at its next meeting to talk of her new book, Boundless Optimism, a study of McBride's influence in the development of B.C. This presentation will be on Wednesday, April 17 at 7: 30 p.m. in the auditorium of the New Westminster Public Library.
