Hidden in a forested niche along Stanley Park Drive (behind the totem poles, across the road from the seawall, between the totem poles and Brockton Point lighthouse) is a tall, aged Celtic Cross. There is no plaque here. The stone cross appears quite old, at least 100 years, and carved into the base of the cross are the names of eight people who lost their lives in a boating accident that happened in the nearby waters back in 1906.
The cross is surrounded by a short fence.
I had to do some research to find out about this old, imposing cross. I wish there was a descriptive plaque explaining its meaning, as there are for all the other memorials in Stanley Park. The story behind this memorial is quite tragic. These eight people who perished were passengers/tourists who left from North Vancouver to go to some destination in northern BC on July 26, 1906 on the small wooden ship "The Chehalis", and a larger ship, the Princess Victoria, ran them over accidentally. The lighthouse keeper at nearby Brockton Point rescued seven passengers of The Chehalis but could not save these eight. What I found out online:
The Union S.S. Company of Vancouver steam ship Chehalis was hit by the Canadian Pacific Railway's Princess Victoria steam ship just in front of Stanley Park on July 21, 1906. 8 of the 15 people on the Chehalis were killed when the larger Princess Victoria ran over the smaller wooden Chehalis. The Brockton Point lighthouse keeper rescued the survivors of the shipwreck. The Chehalis monument is a monument to those who died in the collision. The 59.3 ft Chehalis was chartered to take 8 people to the north coast of British Columbia. The Chehalis left from North Vancouver that fateful day. The 300ft Princess Victoria was carrying 219 passengers and left from the CPR dock in Vancouver. The weather was fine with only a light breeze. Both ships were heading out of Burrard Inlet and passed Brockton Point. There was a small launch that was noticed by the Princess Victoria and they corrected course for this launch. They forgot about the Chehalis. The investigation that followed blamed the Princess Victoria for the collision. read more