Ross Bay Cemetery, where many historical figures are interred — from Sir James Douglas, first governor of the colony of B.C., to artist Emily Carr and judge Sir Matthew Baillie Begbie — is getting a memorial gate to mark its 150th anniversary.
The 11-hectare Fairfield cemetery next to Ross Bay has no formal entrance. A wooden gate once stood off Fairfield Road, but the new metal gate will mark the entrance on Stannard Street.
The gate project stems from a partnership between the city and the Old Cemeteries Society, a volunteer group that cleans and restores the site’s monuments, computerizes burial records and gives walking tours.
Gerry Buydens, president of the group, said the cost will be about $100,000. Work on the gate has begun and should be completed in January.
The gate will feature stone pillars and plaques outlining the history of the cemetery, which currently lacks formal signage.
“We’ve got all the approvals, we’ve got a permit from the city, we’ve gone through the heritage branch,” said Buydens.
About 30,000 people are buried in the cemetery, which is still in use. “There’s four or five burials a month that go in, mainly cremations,” Buydens said. “There are people that have owned plots there for years.”
The city-owned cemetery dates to March of 1873, the year after Robert Burnaby — for whom the municipality of Burnaby is named — sold about five hectares of land to the City of Victoria in the area, which was considered to be out of town at the time.
Parts of the Sir James Douglas and Isabella Ross estates were added later.
Ross, an Indigenous woman for whom Ross Bay was named and who is buried in the cemetery, was the first female registered landowner in B.C.
The cemetery is a noted heritage site and is on the Canadian Register of Historic Places. It is Victoria’s third cemetery, coming after one at the corner of what is now Douglas and Johnson streets and another at the Pioneer Square site on Quadra Street between Meares Street and Rockland Avenue.
“The who’s who of British Columbia are basically buried at Ross Bay,” Buydens said.
Funds are still being raised for the gate project.
Donations can be made through the Old Cemeteries Society website via GoFundMe at oldcem.bc.ca or through an electronic money transfer at [email protected].
