Blog & News

The Sidney Museum & Archives is excited to unveil a new travelling exhibit, Lost Liberties: The War Measures Act. 

During the 20th century, the War Measures Act was enacted three times by the Canadian Government. During World War I, World War II, and the 1970 October Crisis, the civil liberties of Canadians were suspended in the name of national security. Lost Liberties focuses on minority groups who were targeted during these times including the instances of internment of Canadians of European origin, the forced relocation of Japanese Canadians, and the arrest of people in Quebec. 

An additional display of local connections has also been created by Museum staff. Displacing Differences will present how these injustices happened right on the Saanich Peninsula by showcasing information on the D’Arcy Island lazaretto, the imprisonment of Doukhobors on Piers Island, Japanese Canadians who were forcibly uprooted from Sidney, and the forced displacement of W̱SÁNEĆ Peoples.

“Lost Liberties provides us with a unique opportunity to share historically under-represented narratives”, says Michael Goodchild, Executive Director of the Sidney Museum. “The impact of the War Measures Act over the 20th century is not widely known, and we are honoured to pair the exhibit’s national perspective along with examples closer to home.”

Lost Liberties: The War Measures Act is a travelling exhibition developed by the Canadian Museum of History and generously supported by a grant for the Endowment Council of the Canadian First World War Internment Recognition Fund. It runs from August 5-November 29, 2024 at the Sidney Museum. 

Learn more about the museum on their website.

The new BC Register of Historic Places (BCRHP) has been launched, with information on over 5000 registered sites across BC. The new site provides increased access to information about officially recognized or protected historic places in British Columbia, and showcases the diversity of historic sites across the province.

You can access the BCRHP here.

Former City councilor Marguerite Ford is interviewed about the importance of the Heather Pavilion that has served the health care needs of the people of Vancouver for over 115 years. Once thought lost in a series of additions, the Heather Pavilion still stands as a heritage designated building.

Video recorded and produced by Elwin Xie in 2023 for the Heather Heritage Society.

Watch the full video here.

The BCHF was saddened to hear that Ron Denman of Hope, BC, passed away on June 26, 2024. 

Ron was well known in BC's historical and museum community as a long time museum professional and community historian. He worked for the Museum of Northern BC in Prince Rupert for some time before becoming the Manager of the Chilliwack Museum and Historical Society for several years. 

Ron contributed to the historical record in Chilliwack, including editing a number of community history book project including: The Chilliwack Story, Memories of Sardis: The First 100 Years, 50 Years of Military Presence in the Fraser Valley: 1942 – 1991 Base Chilliwack, and Chilliwack's Great War: At Home and Oversees (Ferguson). Ron also led the development of many original exhibitions that explored local history in Chilliwack and the Fraser Valley including the award winning Brewer's Gold, an exhibit about hop farming. 

Image: Ron Denman accepts his Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee medal in 2012 surrounded by family, board members and staff of the Chilliwack Museum and Archives. 

Dorothy Grant celebrates 40 years in fashion, and her work's deeper meaning, in Haida Gwaii Museum showcase.

When Dorothy Grant entered the fashion world in 1988, she did not fit easily into any of the established categories.

She was one of the first Indigenous fashion designers in the industry, making her stand out from many others as she combined traditional Haida ceremonial dress with contemporary style. 

"Mainstream fashion didn't know what to do with me. The art world didn't know what to do with me," Grant said, adding that only the Haida people appreciated her work.

But when museums began to purchase her work in 1991, it signalled something significant to the Haida designer — a change in the industry's relationship with Indigenous artistry that has since grown.

Read the full article from CBC here.

Image: SFU archaeology researchers Laura Termes examines a specimen in her lab.

Mammoths, the massive pre-historic ice age cousins of the modern-day elephant, have always been understood to have inhabited parts of British Columbia, but the question of when has always been a bit woolly.

Now, a new study from Simon Fraser University has given scientists the clearest picture yet of when the giant mammals roamed Vancouver Island.

Read the full article on these pre-historic bests here.

Thousands gathered at Patricia Bay Park on Vancouver Island north of Victoria on Sunday to witness the final landing of the historic Hawaii Martin Mars, a legendary aircraft that fought wildfires in B.C. for more than 50 years.

The massive aircraft, with a capacity to carry more than 27,000 litres of water, departed from its longtime base at Sproat Lake in Port Alberni and landed in Saanich Inlet, before heading to its new home at the B.C. Aviation Museum.

Nine Canadian Forces Snowbirds jets accompanied the water bomber on its last journey, passing over a number of communities en route to its final destination. 

Read the full article from CBC here.

People with mobility issues will find it easier to enter Kelowna’s downtown museum after the end of September. 

Improvements are being made to the accessibility ramp at the front of the museum, located on Queensway next to the transit station. 

The existing staircase will be re-aligned to allow for the slope of the existing accessibility ramp to be decreased. Additionally, rest areas will be placed along the new accessibility ramp. 

A new sidewalk linking the museum entrance with the nearby parkade will also be installed, and the whole front entrance area will be beautified with new landscaping. 

The museum, which opened in 1967, has not seen changes to its entrance since then. The stairs have been deteriorating in recent years, prompting the renovation and improved accessibility. 

Work begins on Friday and will continue through the end of September, per a city release. During construction, the museum will remain open, but there will be no ramp access for people in wheelchairs or others with mobility issues during the work period. 

After tourists and residents alike were forced to flee the historic community of Barkerville in B.C.'s Interior 12 days ago, the town reopened Friday, August 2nd.

Officials ordered the evacuation of the area on July 21 as the Antler Creek wildfire drew near. The order included Bowron Lake, the community of Wells and the historic town of Barkerville — described on its website as the largest living history museum in western North America.

Before the evacuation order became official, Stewart Cawood said people in the town watched as plumes of smoke billowed above nearby Proserpine Mountain. 

"It definitely sunk all our hearts," Cawood told CBC's Daybreak North host Carolina de Ryk. 

"We started taking preemptive action and getting the fire crews in from nearby Wells to help us get the hoses deployed so that the buildings were protected."

3 years after a fire destroyed the town of Lytton, the Chinese History Museum is being reconstructed with plans to eventually reopen.

On August 2nd, the museum posted on their Facebook page that the blue fence was finally gone, and painting the building would be the next step.

Keep up with the museum's progress by following them on Facebook.