List Detail
A Message from the Head of School
My wife Kathini and I recently bought a house on a bend in the Chemainus River and have found ourselves eager to learn the local history – from the first occupants in the late 19th century to a local landmark on the old highway, the Westholme Tree/“The Old Guardsman” (a giant Douglas fir that crashed down in a storm in 1913).
The garden at our new house neighbours All Saints Cemetery, and, when exploring on Remembrance Day, the Lamonts discovered that Cedric J G Lonsdale is buried there – a former teacher at Shawnigan and the nephew of our Founder.
Shawnigan Lake School was carved out of the Canadian wilderness in 1916 by CW Lonsdale, and modelled on his alma mater, Westminster School in London, England. It has gone from one class of eight students to 550 students and is now perhaps Canada’s pre-eminent boarding school.
Character & Courage, a visual history of Shawnigan, was published in 2016 to mark the School’s centenary, and we are hugely fortunate to have the most wonderful museum on campus which captures the journey of the School.
In October 2023, we designed a permanent exhibition of the history of Shawnigan through sport, which now lives in the main atrium of the Sportsplex.
We have decided to launch Shawnigan in 110 Objects in January 2024 to mark our next landmark anniversary in 2026. There are many objects across campus which speak of important episodes in Shawnigan’s history.
Neil McGregor’s brilliant History of the World in a Hundred Objects, chosen from the British Museum’s collection, has inspired other institutions to look at their heritage. I thoroughly enjoyed reading Jane Urquhart’s 150th birthday gift to Canada: A Number of Things: Stories of Canada Told Through Fifty Objects.
With these two books as inspiration, we have commissioned former archivist Lynn Rolston (1995–2017) and current member of staff Cari Bell (1999–present) to curate and publish weekly an object with accompanying photograph and description. With a combined service of over 50 years, they hope to produce insights into the School’s rich and varied past.
One of our core values at the School is curiosity and we believe this initiative will spark curiosity amongst our Shawnigan community.
We trust that it is of interest to our alumni and also serves to educate the current generation of students and staff on campus. Do students, drawn irresistibly to rub for good luck the nose of a bust in the Main Building, know that it represents Percy Lake, former Chair of the Board of Governors? Do alumni remember signing their names, before Grad, in the Main Building bell tower and do current staff and students know where the switch is these days to ring the bell? Do former staff remember that schoolmaster Graham Anderson secretly used to store the School’s rifles in the organ pipes in Chapel?
At least one of our objects will speak to the COVID-19 pandemic and the School’s response.
A History of Shawnigan in a 110 Objects collection will live on our website, and objects and their stories will be added over the coming months and years. The intention is to publish the 110th object and story on April 27th, 2026, when we mark the 110th anniversary of CW Lonsdale signing the first official register of Shawnigan Lake School – and then produce a published hard back book of the collection in time for the 2026 Founder’s Day.
It is important that we appreciate what we have and treasure what has been left to us.
There may well be places and items associated with Shawnigan which have not yet been appreciated and any thoughts would be welcome. Please do contact the team at archives@shawnigan.ca
Richard “Larry” Lamont
Head of Shawnigan Lake School (2018–present)
We acknowledge with respect the Coast Salish Peoples on whose traditional lands and waterways we live, learn and play. We are grateful for the opportunity to share in this beautiful region, and we aspire to healthy and respectful relationships with those who have lived on and cared for these lands for millennia.
Shawnigan Lake School is an independent co-educational boarding school for ages 13 –18 on Canada’s beautiful West Coast. Our diverse, interdisciplinary and innovative programming helps shape the next generation of global leaders.
