hi thanks for joining us today we're discovering ashcroft and exploring the history of this once
before the completion of the canadian pacific railway in 1885
british columbia was difficult to access from the other parts of canada
it was easier cheaper and faster to get to british columbia from hong kong than from halifax
creating a better transportation system and a transcontinental
railway was essential to connect the new federation
while european laborers began to build the east section of the railway
chinese railway workers were brought by ship from california and china to begin
building the difficult west coast portion of the railway the chinese laborers were paid
just a dollar a day and out of this dollar they had to pay for their own food and gear
the european workers were paid up to two dollars and fifty cents a day and didn't
have to pay for their own provisions as well as being paid less chinese workers were given the
most dangerous tasks such as handling explosive nitroglycerin used to break up the solid rock
at the end of a year the average amount saved by the chinese workers was just 43 dollars
and since many of them had borrowed money to gain passage to canada those savings were often
used to pay back the companies or agents that had lent them the money the chinese railway
workers lived in poor conditions often in camps sleeping in tents or box cars they did their own
cooking over open outdoor fires eating a diet of primarily rice dried salmon and tea because
most of them couldn't afford fresh fruit and vegetables many of the men suffered from scurvy
due to the harsh conditions they faced hundreds of chinese canadians working
on the railway died from accidents winter cold illnesses and malnutrition
the exact number of chinese men that died during the building of the railway is unknown as they
were often omitted from the accident reports not only did the families of those workers
killed not receive any compensation they weren't even notified of the deaths despite the difficult
working conditions and weather the chinese men earned a reputation for being excellent workers
although chinese canadian workers faced and overcame great obstacles to help build the
canadian pacific railway they were left out of the national celebration surrounding its completion
in the iconic photograph of director donald alexander smith driving the ceremonial last spike
all of the chinese canadian workers were cleared from view and not included in the photograph
this cemetery was constructed on lands owned by the cpr and as the final resting place of many
of the chinese workers who helped build canada's national railway it was established by the cpr
over 100 years ago and has 49 visible grave sites however only seven have their original headstones
the first internment here probably took place in around the late 1800s
and the original headstones that are still here are dated from the 1940s to the 1960s the
cemetery sat unknown and ignored for many decades until around 2005 when the rotary and lions club
of ashcroft and cash creek received permission from the cpr to access and revitalize the site
the clubs work together to honor the memories and accomplishments of the chinese railway workers
and their contribution to building the country of canada
in 2012 a stone marker was placed in the cemetery dedicated to the memory of chinese
workers who helped build the canadian pacific railway in british columbia this glass mosaic
of a dragon and bench with glass mosaic back was installed in 2016 and funded by the charles chao
family who had been coming to ashcroft for 40 years to visit their grandfather's grave site
the gravesite has also been revitalized through the installation of mosaic
headstones to help replace the original gravestones that were lost or destroyed
in 2017 an altar was unveiled which contains a plaque that acknowledges the apology made by the
bc government for the hardship and suffering that was imposed on the chinese community
but the efforts of the rotary club in cache creek and ashcroft have helped bring
increased visibility to the critical role that they played in the building of our nation
hope you enjoyed learning a little bit more about british columbia's history please remember