A Position of Honour

A Position of Honour. . , You are standing on thousands of years of history. The clearing around Lumbermen's Arch has been the perfect gathering spot for generations. , Place of the Mask , The local Coast Salish named this site Xwdyxway (pronounced whoi whoi), meaning "Place of the Mask." They believe a mask arrived here from the Spirit World, leaving its ceremony and song for the Coast Salish to honour its memory. This area, which once supported large village, had ready access to a wealth of food and materials. It also provided protection from prevailing winds and calm waters for landing canoes. People from surrounding villages gathered here by the thousands for potlatches to celebrate community events, In the 1880s, smallpox devastated the people of Xwayxway and the survivors relocated to villages around the region. , An Arch to Remember , In 1912, the BC Lumbermen and Shinglemen's Society honoured the Duke of Connaught, son of Queen Victoria, with an arch to mark his visit to Vancouver. A career soldier, the Duke was beloved by many Canadians for his role in strengthening Canadian military forces and promoting hometown charities. He also served as Canada’s Governor General from 1911 to 1916. The Duke's procession passed through the arch in Vancouver's downtown core. Following his visit, the arch was moved to this site. Due to decay, the wooden arch was replaced by the cedar archway you see today built in 1952 to honour BC's lumber industry., Massive Midden, A very old “garbage dump”, or shell midden lies beneath you feet. Shell middens are deposits of broken shells and debris from old First Nations villages. They contain a mixture of food scraps, used tools and iscarded household items. This site’s midden was once 2.6 hectares (4.3 acres) in size and 2.5 metres (8 feet) deep. In 1888, a construction crew hauled away half of it to pave 5 kilometres (3 miles) of park road. It now forms the long grassy mound behind Lumbermen’s Arch.