VA N C O U V E R

BOARD OF
PARKS AND
RECREATIO
Commemorative monument to the Komagata Maru Incident

The Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation has been approached by, and is
working with, the Khalsa Diwan Society on creating a permanent monument to
the Komagata Maru incident. This incident involved a group of over 300 ship
passengers of mainly East Indian descent who were denied entry into Canada at
Vancouver in 1914.

ƒ Link: Komagata Maru information at Vancouver Archives:

ƒ Link: Noted Vancouver historian, Chuck Davis’s website

Funding

The project is funded through the federal Community Historical Recognition

Program (CHRP). The program provides funding for community-based
commemorative and educational projects that recognize the experiences of
ethno-cultural communities affected by historical immigration policies applied in
the past across Canada.

ƒ Link: Community Historical Recognition Program

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BOARD OF
PARKS AND
RECREATIO
Site Selection
Early in the site section process the Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation (VBPR)
and the Khalsa Diwan Society established that a key principle in determining a proposed
monument site would be the visual relationship between the proposed site and the
Komagata Maru’s mooring location in Burrard Inlet.

In the book ‘The Voyage of the Komagata Maru – The Sikh Challenge to Canada’s
Colour Bar’ Hugh Johnston describes the ship’s location as:

“… about a kilometre out, in front of the immigration building at the foot of

Burrard Street”
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BOARD OF
PARKS AND
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In addition, the following criteria were established with the Khalsa Diwan Society and the
Park Board.

Site Selection Considerations

1. Ease of site Site option selection should be realistic in terms of the timeline for
approval approvals. (March 2011).

2. Prominence The site and monument should be prominently located so that they
can be easily viewed by the public.

3. Opportunity for Recent precedents for monuments sited in high profile locations
Park Amenity acknowledge the importance of enhancement for use by general
public.

4. Aesthetics Both the site and the monument concepts should be attractive and
synchronize with the adjacent and surrounding landscape.

5. Relevance / Sitting The site selection and monument concept should be directly relevant
to the Komagata Maru incident, reflecting the location of the Komagata
Maru in Burrard Inlet.

6. Meets funding The site selection should be consistent with the aims of the federal
requirements funding organization’s program. The project is funded through
Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) Community Historical
Recognition Program (CHRP) which aims to commemorate and
educate Canadians about incidents which, while legal at the time, are
no longer consistent with Canadian values.

7. Education The site should be educational; to serve as a lesson; telling the story
of the incident.

8. New monument The site selection site should be consistent with VBPR's policy of new
siting monument and art siting. It must respect existing permanent park
features and should not crowd or impede existing public artworks and
monuments.

9. Site constraints Site constraints should be considered to ensure project feasibility, i.e.:
existing trees, service / utility locations, geo-technical considerations
and traffic patterns (pedestrian, cyclist and vehicular) etc

10. Park Operations Operational issues such as access and maintenance for the
monument, its setting and surrounding features should be considered
in both site selection and monument concept design.

11. Health and safety Health and safety should be considered, the site should be easily
accessed and viewed and no element should present a risk.

12. Existing users The monument and site selection should respect the needs of existing
and future park users.

It should also be noted that the VBPR’s ‘Review Guidelines for the Donation of
Public Art or Memorials’ have also been reviewed and considered.
VA N C O U V E R
BOARD OF
PARKS AND
RECREATIO
Proposed Site A: Harbour Green Park

Harbour Green Park is a 2.6 hectare park facing Vancouver Harbour; it is located west of
the new convention centre and the east of the Coal Harbour Community Centre. The
park forms an integral part of the multi-purpose seawall. The park is divided into two
sections by a large central plaza with a water play feature and café. The west section of
the park features a series of grassed mounds and granite and concrete walls
representing the waves and tides of the ocean. The east part of the park has a simpler
design with extensive planting to the eastern edge. Both the park and seawall are
heavily lined by a row of deciduous trees; during summer months the trees screen the
majority of views out over the inlet.

Several sculptures are located within the park including ‘Shipwrecked’ a sinuous timber
tree trunk laid along a pathway which is a permanent installation; carved by the local
community. Located close by, ‘King and Queen’- a temporary exhibit which forms part of
the Vancouver Biennale. Adjacent to the park on the seawall is the permanent
installation ‘Lightshed’ a half scale wooden freight shed which sits atop 4 poles. In the
east part of the site ‘Pillows’ is also a temporary Biennale installation.
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Site A Description
The site under consideration within Harbour Green Park is at the east end of the park.
The west part of the park is deemed not to be appropriate due to the complex nature of
the landscape design and presence of two permanent sculptures. The location under
review is in the vicinity of the Biennale sculpture ‘Pillows’. The area is grassed with
retaining walls forming a backdrop as the park falls gently towards the seawall
VA N C O U V E R
BOARD OF
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Proposed Site B: Stanley Park
Stanley Park is one of Vancouver’s main attractions for both tourists and local residents
alike. The park is approximately 400 hectares in size and has many recreational
facilities, it is also famed for its natural attributes with much of the park remaining
forested with a mix of cedar, hemlock and fir trees.

The broad area within Stanley Park under consideration for this monument location
extends north from the Nine 0’clock Gun to Brockton Point. This location not only offers
South-eastern views towards the Komagata Maru mooring location but it also does not
affect the setting of the existing features, monuments or sculptures in the vicinity.
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PARKS AND
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Site B Description
The site under consideration within Stanley Park is the only clear grassed area between
the Nine O’clock Gun and Brockton Point. The area is a grassed bank and is bounded
by trees to the north and south. The area is approximately 15m wide x 25m in length and
is steeply sloping falling approximately 3m from Stanley Park Drive towards the Seawall.
The top of the site on Stanley Park Drive offers a key view east across Burrard Inlet, the
view is the only eastern sea view from Stanley Park Drive which is a major recreational
driving route around the park.