Adapted from the book Royal Oak Burial Park: A History and Guide, by Dave Obee.
A century ago, the four municipalities in Greater Victoria had acknowledged that they needed a new place to bury the dead, since the Ross Bay Cemetery was getting full. It took several years of discussion before an agreement was reached to allow the creation of Royal Oak Burial Park in Saanich.
The talking finally ended 91 years ago this month, when the cemetery was used for the first time. Today, more than 65,000 people, including four premiers, are buried there.
The need to find a new location had been known for years. Ross Bay was too small and too close to the water, which made erosion a serious problem. Victoria city council members discussed the need for a new cemetery from time to time, but did not make much progress.
In August 1918, the councils of Victoria, Esquimalt, Oak Bay and Saanich, along with the local militia, set up a joint committee to try to find a site for the new cemetery. The plan was for the city to buy the property, with all of the interested parties sharing the cost of the maintenance.
Not long after, Victoria council was ready to buy land in the Mount Tolmie area, but opposition killed the deal. That fall, council put the matter to voters as part of the January 1919 civic election. Despite being told that Ross Bay was running out of room, voters rejected the cemetery proposal, with 1,917 against it and only 389 in favour.
In 1920, local politicians spent a lot of time talking about a cemetery, but taking little real action toward establishing one.
In January 1920, Victoria Mayor Robert Porter said the need for a new cemetery was becoming more acute, and that the subject should go to voters again as soon as possible. The next month, council members from Victoria and Saanich met to discuss cemetery proposals, and remained convinced that municipal ownership was the only approach worth taking.
Hector Cowper, the municipal clerk in Saanich, recommended that a cemetery trust be established to borrow money for burial park development. Demand for plots would be so great, he said, that there would be no problem paying off the debt almost as soon as the cemetery opened. The Saanich and Victoria councillors liked what Cowper had to say, and decided to invite their counterparts from Oak Bay and Esquimalt to get in on the deal.
A week later, the Cowper proposal was formally endorsed by the inter-municipal committee, made up of members of the councils of the four municipalities in Greater Victoria. The committee asked the provincial government to pass a bill that would allow the creation of a cemetery board.
That bill was presented to the legislature in April by George Bell, the government member for Victoria. It would allow a municipality, or group of municipalities, to create a board to acquire land, to borrow money, and to operate a cemetery.
Almost immediately, Bell’s bill was “regretfully interred,” as the Victoria Daily Times reported on April 16. Premier John Oliver said the proposed bill was not properly drafted, and other members said it was incomplete.
Victoria Mayor Porter declared that his city would develop a cemetery on its own rather than working with the other municipalities. He said the matter would be put before the voters at the next election. In response, Saanich council renewed its commitment to a public cemetery that would be developed jointly with the other municipalities.
In August, Esquimalt councillors expressed frustration with the slow progress, and said their municipality might need to develop its own cemetery. One councillor suggested solving the problem by setting up a crematorium as soon as possible.
In February, a delegation from Victoria and Saanich again asked the provincial government for a bill that would allow the creation of a cemetery board serving more than one municipality. This time, the legislation passed the test. Championed by Liberal MLA Joseph Badenoch Clearihue, the bill — the Municipal Cemeteries Act — received wide support. Premier Oliver gave it his blessing after receiving assurances that the religious denomination of dead people would not affect their right to be buried.
Esquimalt council came on board, but with thin support for the idea of a joint cemetery. On May 19, the intermunicipal committee adopted a draft agreement that called for the involvement of all four municipalities in Greater Victoria.
Victoria council approved an agreement to set up an inter-municipal cemetery board, with two representatives from the city and one each from Saanich, Esquimalt and Oak Bay. Costs would be split between the municipalities based on population numbers. Some councillors expressed concern about signing a deal that would not give Victoria a majority on the board, but finally relented.
The deal lasted just two months, falling apart when both Oak Bay and Esquimalt pulled out. Oak Bay said the operation of the cemetery should be up to the city and the municipality where the cemetery would be located — and clearly, that would not be Oak Bay. Esquimalt cited problems getting information from Victoria and Saanich.
That left Victoria and Saanich councils to work out the terms of a new agreement. In September, a joint meeting resulted in a tentative deal to have a six-person cemetery board, with three members from each municipality. Saanich and Victoria would also share equally in the financial commitments. The committee was authorized to borrow up to $100,000, down $50,000 from the amount that had been proposed if all four municipalities had agreed to take part.
The two councils left open the door for Esquimalt and Oak Bay to join the project later. The terms of expansion were to be worked out if the matter ever came up. Victoria Mayor William Marchant urged a quick start to the work, noting once again that Ross Bay Cemetery was getting full. As a side benefit, he said, the project would provide jobs for the unemployed men of the region.
The cemetery proposal was put to voters in Saanich in January. It was approved, with 1,391 voters in favour and 417 opposed. Victoria council, which had gone to the voters and lost three years earlier, did not take the chance of another referendum failing. It simply gave its blessing to the plan without putting the idea to the voters.
With the tough decisions out of the way, the councils were ready to create the board that would run its much-needed new cemetery.
A second edition of the Royal Oak Burial Park history is nearing completion. Do you have early photographs of the cemetery? If so, please contact Dave Obee at [email protected].