The ‘World Famous’ Murals of Chemainus

Chemainus

Having got our hire car in Nanaimo, we could take a trip out to a couple of nearby towns, and the first of these was Chemainus. Like a number of towns in this area of British Colombia, Chemainus was built on the forestry industry, and from its beginnings in 1858, right up until the 1970s, this was fine. However, with such industries becoming increasingly fragile, the residents realised that their reliance on forestry alone was precarious, and decided to branch out.

Chemainus

The town already attracted some tourists, because it offers an old town style in a nice coastal setting, so they decided to encourage more visitors with an ‘open-air art gallery’ of murals depicting the town’s history. They had the first murals completed by the summer of 1982, and there are now forty-two, plus some extra artworks and they have created a new theatre festival too.

I’m not at all sure about the claim that these are ‘world famous’ murals – I certainly had never heard of them before – and they aren’t something that I’d travel great distances to see, but if you are in the neighbourhood then they ae probably worth a quick detour. You can pick up a leaflet at the visitors’ centre which has a map and description of each mural; it costs $3, but the money goes back in to the creation and maintenance of the murals.

Chemainus

Typically, we somehow missed one of the murals that I particularly wanted to mention, so I have used the picture from the leaflet. This is mural number 10, The Company Store, and I have included it because they claim that it shows one of the first-known credit card systems. The company in question was The Victoria Lumber & Manufacturing Company, and apparently the employees would make purchases from the store using coupons, the store would get the money directly from the Company, and they in turn would deduct the payment directly from the employee’s pay.

I’ve picked out a few more of my favourites to show you.

Mural number 35. First Chemainus Sawmill 1862 – I had to include this one, as this first, water-powered sawmill, built just four years after the first arrivals, represents how the town really got started.

Mural number 6. Arrival of The Reindeer in Horseshoe Bay – This is a simple painting of a First Nations woman calmly watching HMS Reindeer arrive on one of its visits. The description refers to her contemplating the arrival, but of course, knowing how badly the British Empire treated the First Nations people, one has to wonder whether her thoughts would really have been rather less friendly.

Mural number 1. Steam Donkey at Work – I liked this because it isn’t often that you see something like a steam donkey, which was used to haul in a log from the forest, over all sorts of rough terrain and natural obstacles.

Mural number 37. Star Novelty Works – This is an old town scene from around the end of the 19^th century, showing The Star Novelty Works bicycle shop.

Murals number 26. and 34. Chemainus, The War Years, Circa 1915 and Letters From the Front – These two both give us scenes from the First Word War, with the former showing soldiers of the 67^th Battalion waiting at Chemainus Station for the train that would begin their journey to a war from which many would never return.

The second, which is on the post office building, commemorates how letters would keep families in touch during the war years.

Mural number 30. The Lone Scout – This mural shows Edward Shige Yoshida, who in 1929, started the 2^nd Chemainus Boy Scouts Group, which was the first all Japanese group in Canada. Of course, this was only necessary because he had been barred from joining the existing group.

Mural number 29. The Winning Float – On 30 June 1939, The Victoria Lumber and Manufacturing Company celebrated its Golden Jubilee with a parade, and this was the winning float. It was chosen as a mural because, as well as referencing the anniversary of The Company, it also represents the strong Japanese influence on the town.

Mural number 39. Skating on Fuller Lake – Unlike some parts of Canada, the winters here on Vancouver Island are comparatively mild, but this shows a time when they were colder, and Fuller Lake froze over, allowing the locals to skate and play hockey.

Chemainus

Chemainus

Chemainus

Chemainus