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| St.
Ann's Timeline
The story of St. Ann's Academy, Victoria, British Columbia, is the story not merely of a building and an establishment which grew, flourished and ran its course. It is, far more, the story of those thousands of people, Sisters, lay teachers, parents, students, and friends, who through the years, have made St. Ann's alive. |
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•James Douglas, chief factor of the Hudson's Bay Company on the Pacific coast, establishes Fort Victoria •On March 19, Fr. J.B.Z. Bolduc celebrates first Mass at Victoria's Inner Harbour. More than 1,200 Aboriginal people from three nations attend |
•Roman Catholic Diocese of Victoria is established | •British government grants Vancouver Island to the Hudson's Bay Company for colonization | •Mother Mary Ann founds Congregation of the Sisters of St. Ann in Vaudreuil, Quebec | •James Douglas becomes governor of the new colony of Vancouver Island | •James Douglas and John Work sell Lot 358 | •Leon Moral sells Lot 358, with log cabin to Bishop Demers |
•Bishop Demers transfers Lot 358 to Sisters of St. Ann •Bishop demers travels to Quebec in the search of priests and sisters for his diocese •Gold is discovered along Fraser River; population swells |
•First four Sisters arrive in Victoria, open log cabin school (Pioneer Convent) •Brother J. Michaud C.S.V., builds first St. Andrew's Cathedral on Kanaka (Humboldt) Street |
•Two more Sisters arrive from Quebec | •St. Ann's expands to Broad Street school | •Sisters M. Providence is Provincial Superior | •St. Ann's moves to View St. Convent | •Public examinations held at St. Ann's | •Victoria is incorporated as a city | •Eight more Sisters arrive from Quebec | •First cemetery is established on grounds of log cabin convent | •Cemetery is moved to a area where staircase leads from ground to Heywood Avenue (now Academy Close). White Hawthorn tree marked the spot | •St. Ann's Academy becomes regional headquarters for the Sisters of St. Ann in the west |
•Centre section of St. Ann's is built on Humboldt Street; opens 1872 •First section of St. Ann's Academy, built by Charles Vereydhen to deigns by Joseph Michaud, C.S.V. •British Columbia joins Confederation |
•Fence is erected on Humboldt Street border; front entrance driveway is established | •Fruit trees are planted | •Well in garden facing the convent is dug up |
•Sisters of St. Ann accept ministry of St. Joseph's Hospital, which opens in 1876 •St. Ann's is lighted with gas |
•Brick water courses are built across the garden | •Entrance gate is enlarged to accommodate Royal Visit of Princess Louise and Marquis of Lorne |
•Plot in front grounds is reserved for cemetery; remains of eight Sisters buried near hawthorn tree are removed to new site •Last spike is driven on Canadian Pacific railway's main line at Craigellachie, B.C. |
•Holly hedge is planted •Miss Ettie Loat wins first Governor- General's Medal awarded at St. Ann's •Former Cathedral becomes St. Ann's Chapel; "east block" is added |
•Grounds bordering Heywood Avenue are fenced, with stone pillars used for support. Two rows of poplar trees are planted along entrance drive | •View Street Convent becomes St Ann's Kindergarten and Primary School | •Western Novitiate is established at St. Ann's | •St. Anns's Convent becomes an Academy; Commercial department opens | •Mother Mary Providence is Provincial Superior | •Sisters from St. Ann's teach at Songhees school | •Nine-foot brick wall is built along Humboldt St boundary | •Provincial legislative buildings are completed on Belleville Street | •New Kindergarten building is completed at corner of Blanshard and View Streets |
•Sister Mary Osithe paints Murillo's "Crib"; it is mounted in Chapel to surprise Sisters on Christmas Eve •Golden Jubilee of founding of Sisters of St. Ann by Mother Mary Ann |
•Basketball teams organized | •Three paintings for Chapel sanctuary arrive from Lachine | •Golden Jubilee of Mother Mary Providence | •Lawn tennis courts organized | •Aquinas Literary Circle organized "to inculcate an appreciation of good literature |
•Cemetery in grounds is closed. Future burials to take place in Ross Bay Cemetery •Golden Jubilee of Sisters of St. Ann in the west •Empress Hotel building is completed on Government Street |
•"West (or Hooper) wing" and auditorium are added to St. Ann's; Museum is established | •An estimated $6,000 worth of free fill is dumped in northwest area of the property; Father Vullinghs becomes "landscapist, overseer and workman" | •Father A. J. Vullinghs landscapes northwest formal garden of St. Ann's Academy |
•Improvements continue; croquet lawn and tennis court are established. Each avenue is lined with shade trees. "The low part where the sea came to our very grounds" is filled in and the "old rickety bridge" is torn down. •Statue of Our Lady is placed in burial area; two gazebos and bicycle shelter are built |
•New iron entrance gate on Humboldt St. and side gate on Blanshard St; concrete walks leading to main entrance are added; Mr. Quaglitti gives the Sisters a large greenhouse and contents in memory of his late wife; a former pupil; vegetable garden is established •Casavant argan is installed in Chapel |
•Gymnasium, designed by Sr. M. Osithe, is built near auditorium | •Sundial is placed in gardens in memory of pupil Marjorie Napier |
•Large summer house is built for the Novitiate •75th Anniversary of Founding of Sisters of St. Ann |
•Poplars lining front avenue are cut down; lawn and rhododendrons replace them | •Tennis courts laid out in front of 1871 section are improved | •Primary School moves to Heywood Avenue next to Pioneer Convent | •Tennis
courts are enlarged •75th Anniversary of arrival of first four Sisters |
•Cypress trees replace rhododendrons along entrance driveway | •Matching fence is built along western boundary |
•Shrine of St. Ann is placed outside main entrance •New wing, Centennial Annex, is added to Primary School |
•Vatican Council II sets motion many changes in Catholic Church | •New wing is added to Annex; becomes St. Ann's Secondary School | •Sisters donate Pioneer Convent to Provincial Museum | •St. Ann's closes its doors due to high costs and declining enrollment | •Graves
are removed to Ross Bay Cemetery; Sisters move from St. Ann's •Provincial government buys St. Ann's Academy and grounds for $1.2 million |
•Provincial Capital Commission becomes owner of St. Ann's | •With the Academy building; grounds of St. Ann's are declared a Provincial Heritage site | •Federal government recognizes architectural and historic significance of St. Ann's Academy | •Provincial government redesignates exterior facade and Chapel of St. Ann's Academy as Provincial Heritage Site | •Provincial Capital Commission rejects phased proposal for commercialization of St. Ann's Academy; building and site to remain in public domain | •Provincial government planning with a public participation process begins for the future of St. Ann's Academy | •Andrew Petter, Minister Responsible for the Provincial Capital Commission, announces $16.7 million self-financing redevelopment proposal for St. Ann's with connection to Beacon Hill Park | •Restoration work begins, led by British Columbia Buildings Corporation | •Friends of St. Ann's Society, Victoria, is established |
•St. Ann's Academy celebrate first two stages of restoration •St. Ann's Academy officially reopen July 12; first stage of restoration is complete |
•Grounds of St. Ann's Academy officially reopen as public green space |
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1843
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1846
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1849
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1850
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1851
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1853
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1855
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1857
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1858
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1859
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1859-1860
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1859-1881
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1860-1871
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1861-1887
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1862
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1863
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1864
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1869
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1870
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1871
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1872
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1873
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1874
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1875
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1876
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1882
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1885
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1886
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1887
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1888-1898
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1889
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1892
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1892-1893
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1895-1904
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1896
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1898
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1899
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1900
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1901
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1902
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1903
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1905
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1907
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1908
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1910
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1911
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1911-1913
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1912
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1913
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1921
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1922
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1925
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1927-1928
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1928-1929
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1929
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1933
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1936
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1956
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1958
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1962-1965
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1966
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1971
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1973
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1974
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1982
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1984
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1989
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1990
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1991
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1992
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1993
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1995
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1996
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1997
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1998
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