“He lies before the twin yew trees,
A simple stone for bended knees,
This Ross Bay Grave, will ever hold,
the man who found the Leechtown Gold”.
150th Leechtown Commemoration Tour.
A very special Tour was organized at Ross Bay Cemetery 150 years to the very day that the Vancouver Island Exploring Expedition (VIEE) headed up the Sooke River. It was July 13th 1864 when Peter Leech led his small group up the unexplored river system from the west coast.
To celebrate this historic event, The Lt. Governor of British Columbia, the Hon. Judith Guichon attended as our special guest. We also had two soldiers from the 39th Combat Engineers Regiment from Vancouver pay tribute to Peter Leech, who had been a member of the Royal Engineers, prior to his expedition on the Sooke River. Geoff Felker, his wife Charmaine and their young son Gage, direct descendants of Lt. Peter Leech, were also guests at our presentation.
Prior to the ceremony and tour, president Gerry Buydens greeted the Lt. Governor on her arrival at Ross Bay Villa. The interior of the Villa looked resplendent and a fine finger lunch and coffee was provided. The Lt. Governor was introduced to our guests and had a chance to talk to the two servicemen, Cpl. Steve Raymond and Cpl. Mathew Currey from the 39th Combat Engineers.
At 2.00 PM precisely the sound of the bagpipes were heard, indicating that the public gallery had reached the Peter Leech gravesite. With the aid of a Victoria Police Constable, the Lt. Governor and guests were escorted across the Fairfield Road to Ross Bay Cemetery. The Tour involved a presentation by Patrick Lydon that focused on Peter Leech, Mary MacDonald his wife, and the actual VIEE itself. The Lt. Governor then addressed the public and talked of the importance of historical phenomena and the need to recognize the figures from the past. The Lt. Governor talked about her own family’s quest for gold before becoming ranchers. She quoted from Robert Service, “The Spell of the Yukon” and her speech was very well received by the spectators. The Lt. Governor, aided by her Aide de Camp, Lt. Commander Simon Brown, and by President Gerry Buydens, laid a beautiful wreath of flowers on the grave of Lt. Peter Leech. Pipe Major Steve Kelly then played the old Irish lament “The Minstrel Boy”.
The Gallery then moved to the grave of Emily Carr where two letters to Fanny Leech, the daughter of Peter Leech were read. Finally, we moved to the grave of Billy Barker, where Yvonne Van Ruskenveld gave a very spirited account of the greatest gold-miner of them all. The Lt. Governor graciously remained for photos with many of our guests before being escorted back to her limousine by Gerry Buydens. It was a beautiful day and the Lt. Governor appeared to enjoy the occasion. We hope that in 50 years time, on the 200th anniversary of the finding of Gold on the Sooke and Leech Rivers, the presence and the remarks of the Lt. Governor will be remembered at Ross Bay Cemetery.
Patrick Lydon.
Old Cemeteries Society of Victoria 