One hundred years ago Saturday (July 31) will mark the centennial of naming the first B.C. expanse of land dedicated purely for public enjoyment, Strathcona Park.
During an expedition to assess Vancouver Island's lands in 1910, then-B.C. Minister of Lands Price Ellison decided to set Strathcona aside as a provincial park, and this week, his great-grandson, Squamish resident Murray Sovereign, is re-enacting the expedition.
"In 1910 my great-grandfather was B.C. Minister of Lands and organized an expedition across the central island in order to determine the area's suitability for logging, mining or some sort of preservation," said Sovereign.
"On his return to Victoria, he recommended to cabinet that the area be set aside as Strathcona Park, which marked the birth of the B.C. provincial park system."
To celebrate Strathcona Park's 100th anniversary, the Strathcona Park advisory committee and BC Parks are re-enacting the 1910 expedition and retracing the original route between July 22 and Aug. 9.
Sovereign is taking part in the second leg of the centennial trip, going from Campbell River to Port Alberni using the same modes of transport as 1910: canoeing and bushwacking.
The entire trip is more than two weeks, and Sovereign is standing in for his great-grandfather during the ascent of Crown Mountain on the 100th anniversary of the original summit day July 29.
"Our plan is to summit Crown Mountain on the 29th hopefully even close to the time of the original first ascent," he said.
"I'm looking forward to it, it's gonna be fun," he said. "I'm actually going to take my grandfather's, Price's son-in-law, boots and ice axe with me.
"The boots weigh five pounds each but I'd love to be able to do the summit of Crown Mountain in my grandfather's boots with his ice-axe."
Sovereign, who is currently reading the 150-page diary of the excursion, said he feels re-connected to his family ties going on this adventure.
"It brings back a lot of memories, particularly family ties," he said. "I don't know how I'll feel when I get up there."
Sovereign grew up listening to stories of his great-grandfather's trip, mainly through the former minister's daughter, Sovereign's great aunt Myra Ellison. Aunt Myra was a spry 20-year-old at the time and also took part in the expedition during a summer off from university.
"You can retrace the route of the expedition though central Vancouver Island by looking at all the things named after her - Mount Myra, Myra Falls, Myra Valley, Myra Creek, Myra this, Myra that," said Sovereign.
Sovereign said according to Ellison, central Vancouver Island area had several conflicts over logging and mineral rights stemming from conservation efforts. The premier decided to send an expedition through the area to decide firsthand what the values were in the area.
"My great grandfather was tossed with putting together a group," said Sovereign. "There was a mineralogist and a couple of timber cruisers and a couple conservationists and then a whole support team of porters and packers and human mules."
They left from Campbell River and headed inland with no specific route, only the eventual idea to end up in Port Alberni.
"The route wasn't determined in advance they really didn't know where they were going except through the central island," said Sovereign. "It was a total seat-of-the-pants, make-it-up-as-you-go-along kind of a trip."
A few days in they saw Crown Mountain and decided it would be a good viewpoint to survey the entire area. They summited the mountain on July 29, 1910, and that gave them a 360-degree view.
"It was apparently at that moment that he [Price Ellison] decided, 'Never mind mining and logging, let's set up a park.'"
The expedition website outlines the entire journey and has a day-by-day expedition calendar where you can track their progress at www.wildisle.ca/strathcona-park/expedition.
