– by Valerie Green –
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to sit down and talk with some interesting characters from Greater Victoria’s past? If so, wonder no more. Although these conversations are merely creative figments of my imagination, they are all based on fact.
In March of 1906, as Justice of the Peace, Andrew Strachan swore in Saanich’s first council, a duty he continued to perform every year until his death in 1921. This imaginary interview was conducted shortly before he died.
Mr. Strachan, your accent tells me you were not born here.
You’re right. I was born in Kinrosshire, near Dundee, Scotland, in 1841.
Tell me about your early life there, and why you came to Canada.
I was born into farming. When I was 18 I wanted a new adventure so I set off for the New World. I went to New York first and eventually moved to Western Canada where I prospected for a few years just north of Lillooet.
When did you arrive in Victoria?
I came in 1881 when I was 40 years old. I ran a grocery store on Johnson Street and a few years later I started a broom manufacturing business in Victoria West. In 1893 I transferred that business to Gordon Head where I built a home on Saltair.
I believe it was in Gordon Head that you returned to your farming roots?
Yes, I was one of the first farmers there to grow strawberries, along with people like the Vantreights. By 1907 I had built another house for my family on Gordon Head Road. (This house still stands today at #4246). Sadly, my wife had died in 1903.
I understand you and your wife had four children. Is that correct?
Yes: Fannie, Annie, Robert and Kate. Fannie and Annie attended the original old Gordon Head Elementary School on Tyndall and Grandview as students, and Fannie later became a teacher there in 1901. She and her husband eventually moved to Penticton. Our daughter, Annie, married Thomas Mayne in 1915 and they have one son, Tommy. Our son Robert moved to the States and daughter Kate is married to a teacher and has nine children.
When did you become involved in civic affairs?
I was always very liberal in my politics and even though I retired in 1918, I remained very community-minded. I was one of the first trustees of the Gordon Head Mutual Improvement Society, formed in 1896. In 1898, we organized the building of a community hall on donated land at the top of Tyndall Hill. The hall is still used for concerts, meetings, bridge and dances. Back in the year 1900, I was appointed a Justice of the Peace so, as such, performed the very first swearing in of the Saanich Council on March 10th, 1906. I still perform that duty every year.
In 2006, just prior to Saanich Municipality’s Centennial, Andrew Strachan’s grandson, Tommy Mayne, then a retired gentleman of 87 who had also spent many years involved in community affairs, told me the story of his grandfather. He was looking forward to attending the Centennial Celebrations to honour his grandfather, the man who had sworn in that very first council: Reeve Thomas Brydon and councillors Quick, Deans, Grant, Dunn and Puckle, 100 years before.
Valerie Green is an author and historian and can be reached at valgee@shaw.ca.
