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CONFERENCE BULLETIN #7          SEPTEMBER 1998

Only five months until we meet in Vancouver, here is a brief history of the
place.

                             Vancouver:  By Land, Sea and Air We Prosper



The above motto on Vancouver's Coat-of-Arms tells in a few words the
reasons for the rapid growth of this comparatively young city on the
Pacific Coast of North America.  The city 's natural setting between sea
and mountains makes it ideal for what has become known as the west  coast
life style.

European settlement did not occur in the area until the middle of the 19th
century.  Spanish and English explorers arrived in 1791 and 1792 to
explore, map and claim the territory for their respective countries not to
colonize. Simon Fraser arrived at the coast in 1808 to open the land for
the fur trade.  The Hudson's Bay Company established their fort at Langley
on the Fraser River and the gold miners of 1858 used the river to gain
access to the Cariboo.  Burrard Inlet, where the future city was to
develop, was by-passed.  It was not until the early 1860's that permanent
settlement began when two sawmills, Stamps and Hastings, were established
on the banks of the Inlet.

Hastings was selected as the name for the area and a small school was
quickly started.  A few years later, Granville was chosen and the most
famous early settler "Gassy" Jack Dayton established his saloon.  Disaster
struck the small town, population 400, on June 13, 1886.  Fire destroyed
all but 8 buildings.  Many of the residents sought refuge on the Robert E.
Kerr, a ship in the harbour waiting for cargo. The next day the city
council met to plan for a bigger and better city,  The population grew to
13,000 within four years in anticipation of the coming of the railway. The
first train arrived from eastern Canada in May, 1886 with passenger service
beginning in 1887.

The Canadian Pacific Railway  decided that Vancouver was a more appropriate
name for their new terminus.  They had been granted almost all of the land
that the city occupies today.  The C.P.R, did much to develop the small
city. They constructed a large station and improved the port facilities.
They constructed the first Hotel Vancouver and assisted with the
development of an opera house and other necessary amenities.  By the
beginning of the twentieth century, Vancouver had two daily newspapers,
street cars, electricity and other improvements.  The first public library
opened in 1905 and in 1908 the University of British Columbia opened under
the auspices of McGill University.

Even from the beginning the population of the city was not entirely
European in origin.  There had been many Chinese who had come to the gold
fields and also to assist in building the railway.  East Indians arrived to
take part in the lumber industry and Japanese to develop the fisheries.
Confrontations often occurred especially at times of economic crises.
Today, with the influx of immigrants from Hong Kong, India and the Middle
East less than half of the residents of the metropolitan area speak English
at home.

The city continued to grow.  During World War I, shipbuilding developed
along with other wartime industries.  It was only during the depression of
the 1930's that any serious setbacks occurred.  At that time, buildings
that had been started were left unfinished for some years.  The present
Hotel Vancouver was one of these victims.  The outbreak of World War II in
1939 brought back prosperity once more and Vancouver has continued to
develop ever since.

The first major airport was opened in 1968 with constant expansion ever
since.  A second university, Simon Fraser was opened in Burnaby.  The
University of British Columbia has continued to expand with many new
buildings in the past ten years.

Expo 86 celebrated the centennial of the founding of the city.   Exhibitors
and visitors came from all over the world.  The first sky train was
constructed and has been extended to the surrounding areas.  The trade and
convention centre opened as Canada Place on a site very close to the site
of the first settlement.  Today it is necessary to construct a new
convention centre to meet the demands.  During the summer months, there are
over 20 cruise  ships using the harbour as they travel to and from Alaska.
Harbour facilities have been extended with grain elevators and large cranes
to load and unload cargoes.
The central core of the city has become a sea of glass, concrete and steel
towers where once there were wood and brick buildings.  It is very hard to
find many remnants of the original city of the 1880's.  The population of
400 has now increased to 521.000.

Melva Dwyer