News Archive

Shawnigan has welcomed students from outside Canada nearly from the beginning. As early as 1918 records show that there were a few students from the United States, Hong Kong, and Chile. It appears that the boys from Hong Kong and Chile were Canadians whose parents worked abroad. 

The School first formed an ice hockey team in 1974, using the ice rink at Kerry Park Community Centre. Practice time was quite limited and did not always fit well into a Shawnigan schedule, which limited the team’s development. Eventually, the building of an arena on campus was inspired by, and made possible through, a leadership donation from Andrew Purdey, as well as other generous donors, and is named to honor Andrew’s brother, Charlie Purdey.

On March 17, 2020, while Shawnigan Lake School students were enjoying their Spring Break, British Columbia’s Public Health Minister, Bonnie Henry, announced the province’s first COVID-19 death, prompting the closure of schools. Immediately, Shawnigan assembled the COVID-19 Response Team to manage logistics and ensure the safety of staff and students.

The first mention of a School cricket team is in the 1924 Shawnigan Lake School Magazine. The School teams played other schools, such as Brentwood College School and other independent schools in Victoria and Saanich. They also played community cricket clubs, such as Cowichan, Chemainus, and Victoria. When playing these clubs, the School team was often supplemented with two or three adult players, including the Headmaster, CW Lonsdale, Myles Ellissen, E.D.W. Levien, & J.Y. Copeman. Overall, interest in playing cricket was high, with the School fielding a 1st XI, 2nd XI, and, occasionally, a 3rd XI, plus a Colts XI. 

When the entire School campus was lost to fire in 1926, we don’t know what – if any – dinnerware they were able to save, but likely this event led to purchasing the custom-made china pictured here, which we know was in use by the 1930s. In 1998, a senior alumnus sheepishly returned an egg cup from the set, which he had taken as a memento when he graduated in 1932. We are grateful for this donation, as we have only a few pieces of this china in the archives and museum.

When the School began in 1916, the boys slept in large dormitories with approximately 10 beds in each. After fire levelled the School and a new School (the Main Building) was built, the large dormitory format continued. Initially, boys did prep in the dining room; later they did prep in their house common rooms, and later still in the Classroom Block. 

The Quiz Master asks the trivia contestants: Name a country that starts with the letter ‘Q.’ One overly-eager contestant slams his hand on the answer buzzer too soon and spits out Cuba! This was the scene at a recent round of “Reach for the Top.” Instantly realizing the folly of his answer, the respondent’s face grimaced in embarrassment and regret for pressing the answer buzzer too soon. He knew better, but the excitement of the competition got the better of him.

February 1928 was a major turning point for the School. Since its founding in 1916, the School had been a private enterprise, owned by the Founder and first Headmaster, C. W. Lonsdale. After a fire destroyed the campus in 1926, he raised an astonishing $150,000 to rebuild, and the new facilities were finished by September 1927.

The above 1927 photo depicts the Founder, C.W. Lonsdale, sitting at his desk in the headmaster's office in the newly built school building, occupying the south end of the east wing. This office has remained in the same location over the years, the seat of eleven Heads since Lonsdale. It is remarkable to realize that Headmasters (now called Heads) have shared the same view out of these office windows for nearly 100 years.

Many early student stories include memories of the salt water gargle – a strong association with ANY visit to the School nurse, whether it was for a sore throat, tummy ache, stitches, or broken arm. Everyone was given this treatment as long as they were within arm’s reach of the “surgery” (health clinic), “just in case.”

The Sportsplex consists of two gymnasiums and bleachers, three weight rooms and six squash courts. The original gym (1927), along with the lockers and changing rooms, located on the ground floor of the west wing of the Main Building, was replaced in 1966 by a new gym built near the old Classroom Block, which has since been removed and replaced elsewhere on campus. In 2009 a second gym was added to the existing gym structure, along with additional squash and tennis courts and a weight room to make up today’s Sportsplex. 

The above photo depicts the Grant of Arms made to Shawnigan Lake School in 1981 by the College of Arms in London. Key parts of the armorial bearings are described below, paraphrased from the words of Graham Anderson as cited from the 1982 Yearbook.

The “coat of arms” refers to the shield and all that is displayed on it. The overall design follows very closely the one which C.W. Lonsdale adopted and used for many years for the School. The maple leaves are a reference to Canada, and the wavy diagonal “bend” is a nod to Shawnigan Lake. The shield’s quadrants and the mantling (the ribbon-like forms to the sides) are in the School colours, black and gold.