Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
History of Stanley Park
Top 10 Historical
Highlights
1 The Stanley Park
peninsula is inhabited by
the Squamish until 1888
2 Deadman's Island, an
Indian burial site, visited
by first white settler, 1862
3 City council petitions for
a permanent park, 1886
4 Governor General Stanley
dedicates the park, 1889
5 Nine O'Clock Gun
arrives, 1894
(see p9)
6 The Hollow Tree, a red
cedar 65 ft (20 m) in cir-
cumference, is the park's
most-photographed
attraction, early 1900s
7 Lumberman's Arch is
built as a tribute to BC's
logging industry, 1912
8 Construction of the sea-
wall begins, to prevent
erosion, 1917
9 Lost Lagoon is created
by construction of the
causeway, early 1920s
0 Guinness family builds
Lions Gate Bridge at the
park's north end, 1938
Coal Harbour peninsula was inhabited for
thousands of years by Musqueam, Tsleil-Waututh,
and Squamish Coast Salish nations in a village
known as Khwaykhway (pronounced Whoi-whoi).
In 1862, the peninsula became a military reserve
to protect the harbor from American invasion, but
the village and its dwellers were left undisturbed.
Stanley Park was established on the former military
reserve after the Great Fire of June 13, 1886,
destroyed the entire city. The park opened in 1888,
and was dedicated by Lord Stanley the following
year. By 1892, there was no sign of life left in
Khwaykhway - most of the Natives had died in a
smallpox epidemic between 1888 and 1892.
Entering Stanley Park
Stanley Park's original entrance was through an
arch and over a bridge spanning Coal Harbour.
Beluga Encounters
Join a trainer behind the
scenes in the Arctic Canada habitat
to learn how these giant mam-
mals communicate and to help
the trainers feed them fish. Or
book a sleepover with belugas.
BC Hydro Salmon Stream
This demonstration stream
teaches the public about the
importance of conserving salmon
habitats. Juvenile Coho salmon,
Chum, and pink salmon populate
this ideal salmon stream, which
meanders over gravel beds in
back eddies, shaded by overhang-
ing banks, trees, and log debris.
Shark Penthouse
Thrashing black-tipped reef
sharks are fed twice weekly in
front of visitors in the Shark
Penthouse in the Tropic Zone
Gallery. A naturalist dives with
the sharks daily.
A beluga whale
For more information about the aquarium's sleepover programs,
call 604 659 3504 or visit www.vanaqua.org/home
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