Sometimes, the meat was rotten when it arrived, as it would sit on deck Flour, sugar and meat had to be ordered in advance. It would bring mail, food, and small supplies. A supply ship came in from Victoria (five miles up the coast) every 3 months.On snowy or foggy days, the glass around the light was to be kept clear, meaning the lighthouse keeper would need to go outside in hazardous conditions.The light was a lamp lit at dusk the wick needed to be trimmed every four hours.If there are any old photos, letters, diaries or family stories you are willing to share, we would love to see or hear them-and so would generations of Canadians yet to come! We are appealing to anyone who might have a connection with Fisgard (or with Race Rocks Lighthouse). Parks Canada thrives to celebrate the lives and share the stories of the people who tended the light. Unfortunately, official correspondence reveals very little of the other lighthouse keepers’ personal lives. This was much cheaper than paying a man to be the assistant keeper. In the early days, the government paid them just over $100.00 per year, though women likely did up to 50% of the work of maintaining the light.
#LIGHTHOUSE KEEPER DUTIES WINDOWS#
It became extremely drafty with windows and doors no longer fitting properly in their frames, and the siding on the house becoming more and more porous, so that during storms, it became as much of a chore to keep water and wind out, as it was to maintain the light.Ĭouples and families were encouraged to work at lighthouses, with wives taking on the chore of assistant to the lighthouse keeper. The house, once built, was not properly maintained, and suffered due to its windswept, very humid and salty location. He wrote numerous letters to the government, as the house became progressively more and more uncomfortable during his tenure. Lighthouse keeper number three, William Bevis, stayed for 18 years. The colourful cast iron spiral staircase in the tower was made in sections in San Francisco. He also brought along the Fresnel lens, lamp apparatus and glass-covered lantern room that would house the lamp and the lens. the cistern) was also covered by the government. He was hired for $650.00 per year, and the cost of housing (the dwelling attached to the tower), coal (for the fireplaces), and water (i.e. George Davies, the first lighthouse keeper, arrived from England with his wife, two children and an assistant in August 1860. This “gentleman” would also be able to train other lighthouse keepers. Bevis, 1861–1879 (Died on station, 1879)Ī stipulation of the agreement to build the lighthouse was that its first keeper should be brought out from England, and had experience in light keeping, maintenance and repair.
Putting this British lighthouse here underlined the fact that this was British territory and they were not going to permit it to be annexed to the United State of America.īetween 18, 12 people (including one woman) served as keepers at Fisgard Lighthouse: Given that as recently as 1844, American politicians were campaigning to extend their territorial control as far as parallel 54☄0′ north (past Prince Rupert!), this influx was alarming as it threatened to upset Britain’s dominance of the region’s. Only a couple of years before the lighthouse was built in 1860, there was a huge influx of American miners into both the Victoria area and the Fraser Valley for the Fraser Valley gold rush. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that Fisgard Lighthouse was a ‘life saver’ for the many local and foreign cargo and passenger ships that travelled the unforgiving seas of the Juan de Fuca Straight-especially on foggy or stormy nights! The lighthouse was also what allowed the Royal Navy to operate at nighttime safely from Esquimalt Harbour, getting their ships in and out without running up onto the rocks.Īdditionally, it was really an expression of British sovereignty.
0 kommentar(er)
