his year's Heritage Week theme is Power
T- Looking at Energy in British Columbia, A Powerful Past, A Sustainable Future.
Last week at the New Westminster Historical Society evening, this aspect of the Royal City's story was brought to a full auditorium at the public library.
In that presentation, a number of items stood out with the audience, and we offer them here.
January of 1891 saw a new age of power come to this city: "For the first time, the electric light illuminated the streets of New Westminster."
A newspaper report seemed to excite the community: "after the Columbian had been delivered, making known the fact that the lower part of the city had been illuminated for the first time with the new electric light, people commenced to move down town to see it."
The Dominion Exhibition of 1905, held in Queen's Park, had a monumental first as one of its daily events.
On opening day and every day of the fair at 7: 30 p.m. was a formal lighting of the exhibition buildings.
On the exhibition listing of each evening's events was found, "Grand electrical illumination of buildings and grounds. This will be the greatest display ever seen in the west."
Another city feature was also lighted for the exhibition for safety as well as appearance.
A separate listing of events for the day noted not only the park, but also the bridge.
"Illumination, splendid electrical effects in Queen's Park and on Million Dollar bridge across the Fraser."
This bridge, today's rail bridge, was quite dark at night, and with the extra exhibition crossings, it was felt that lighting would be useful.
A grant of $100 from the provincial government helped pay for the enhancement.
Of all the stories told at the presentation by Archie Miller and Gavin Hainsworth about the local history of energy, including oil lamps, wood stoves, the gas works and the electrical plant, one seemed different from the others.
One month after the power was turned on, a person living on the south side of the river contacted the newspaper with his comments on the effect of the electric lights as seen from his vantage point.
"From the extreme east end of the city to the west, on the river frontage, the effect is beautiful when the long row of lamps on Front Street throw their light on the fast running Fraser, and the flickering of the lights and their glow on the water reminds one of a night scene on the Thames embankment.
Further up the hill the lights ascend higher and higher until they are lost in mingling with the bright lights of the heavens - (a) truly beautiful sight."
We take lighting for granted and automatically flip a switch.
But in 1891, when the system was first turned on, it was new, exciting and innovative for many local citizens.
