History

The log cabin school

St. Ann's School, c.1860

t. Ann’s school was started in 1858, in a little two-roomed log cabin at the edge of what is now Beacon Hill Park. This became the home of the four pioneering sisters who arrived by boat to Victoria from Quebec to teach in the little school, which was also an orphanage. Until the building of St. Joseph’s Hospital, the Sisters also cared for the sick and the dying in their home. There was no light, heat or water. One former student described her memory of how different things were: “Travel was slow and extremely arduous, communication with home and friends a matter of months. Of equipment there was none, of comforts and amenities none”.

The cabin had previously been the home of the Morrell family. Bishop Demers purchased the structure from Leon Morrell, whose daughter Emily became the first orphan to be cared for by the sisters. Two days after the Sisters arrived, classes began. By the end of the first year, 56 pupils of diverse backgrounds were enrolled in the school

Activities: 1. Visit your local museum to learn more about how people lived during these days. Talk to your parents, or grandparents if they are still living, and find out what life was like when they were growing up. Ask if they have any old photos.

Fort Victoria

Interior of the old Hudson Bay Company's Fort Victoria, 1860

When the sisters arrived in Victoria, the Hudson's Bay fur trading company was operating in the area. In the spring, just before the sisters arrived, gold was found on the Fraser River, and Victoria grew by almost 20,000 people. Sir James Douglas (1803-1877), known as the “Father of BC”, was a key person in building the province of British Columbia from what started as a small fur trading post.

The 1858 gold rush saw thousands of miners, many of them American, surging into the Fraser River area and mainland. Victoria’s population began to grow rapidly. During this time, many lives and fortunes were lost. Under the guidance of Douglas, the Cariboo Road was built. As early as 1862, Douglas was one of the first politicians to advocate the building of the Trans-Canada Highway.

Douglas was a cold brave man…There was something grand and majestic about Douglas - in the first place he was broad and powerful and had a wooden hard face when necessary, which said very plainly ‘I am not afraid but noli me tangere.’ When in this state he had the shape of a horseshoe on his forehead unmistakable and we all knew then to be cautious, for there was something wrong, something to be put to rights, whether with the officers of others. John Helmcken (BCARS: ADD.MSS 505, v.12)

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This is the setting in which St. Ann’s Academy was growing, and from which many students of the school arrived. Some students were from local Native communities, some from abroad, while others were children of the Hudson's Bay Company employees. One former student (1867-1882) describes what life was like in school during this time:

Victoria Harbour, C. 1880 BC Archives #HP000368

“Beyond the convent walls lay the world unknown. Steamboats were the only means of communication that Victoria had with the outer world and to its harbour came the steamboats from San Francisco once every 8 or 10 days; while from Puget Sound and up the Fraser River and Nanaimo steamboats came and went about once or twice a week.”

This meant that students from a long distance had to spend their vacations at the convent…Kamloops and Alaska were such dangerous trips that they were out of the question”.

Activities: 1. Write a poem about what it means to be Canadian. Here are some examples of poems written about Canada: My country is my cathedral, The northern sky its dome. They all call it Canada, But I call it home. The mountains, the lakes, the valleys, Are friends I have known. They all call it Canada, But I call it home. - Author Unknown   CANADA FOREVER God bless our mighty forest land Of mountain, lake and river; Thy loyal sons from strand to strand Sing “Canada Forever”. - St. Ann’s Student 2. Create a poster display outlining your own cultural heritage.

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