14

Postcard showing original wood Point Atkinson lighthouse tower, with boat in foreground.
1910
Point Atkinson, West Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada


15

Woodwards and Wellwoods (1875-1880)
Edwin and Ann Woodward were the first light keepers. They stayed for five years, during which time they added a third child to their family. However, the isolation of the location was too much for the young family. The closest communities were the sawmill at the foot of Hastings Street and the First Nations village at Kitsilano, both across the Burrard Inlet. When the Woodwards left in 1880, they were replaced by the Weldwoods, but they too did not stay long.

16

Page from 1878 survey of area that became West Vancouver, showing the buildings at Point Atkinson.
1878
Point Atkinson, West Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada


17

Erwins (1880-1910)
Walter and Rhoda Erwin replaced the Weldwoods and during their time at Point Atkinson, they saw a lot of changes. The department of Marine added a foghorn to the lighthouse in 1889 at the request of the Canadian Pacific Steamships, which ran a number of steamers in and out of Vancouver's port. The horn more than doubled the work at the lighthouse.

Erwin had a number of work-related health problems in his last years as keeper, and he battled with the Ministry of Marine over compensation for injuries sustained on the job (comprehensive universal health care coverage became federal policy in 1968 and a workers' compensation program was introduced in British Columbia in 1917). When he retired, his pension was a meagre thirty-three dollars per month. Later, his wife, Rhoda, applied for a widows' pension, but was denied. When Walter Erwin reluctantly resigned from his position as light keeper, the Mayor of Vancouver celebrated his years of dedicated, vigilant work in a ceremony at City Hall. The Mayor observed that Erwin had seen " a great wave of progress…..transforming what once was a tract of virgin forest land into a thriving city." The Mayor went on to describe how Erwin had "performed a great and useful service in safeguarding vessels from shipwreck…no matter how the elements may rage on the storm-beaten coast." Erwin was then presented with the Imperial Service Medal on behalf of King George V, at the request of the Minister of Marine and Fisheries. (Don Graham, Keepers of the Light, 1985, p.70).

The manual, Rules and Instructions for Lightkeepers, was introduced in 1904, during Erwin's tenure at Point Atkinson, and provided detailed instructions on completing the requirements of lightkeeping work.

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A copy of the rules and instructions for light keepers
1904
Canada
TEXT ATTACHMENT


19

Pg 7 of the Rules and Instructions for Light Keepers told lightkeepers how to take care of the light
1904
Canada
TEXT ATTACHMENT


20

Page 16 of the light keeper's manual
1904
Canada
TEXT ATTACHMENT


21

Thomas David Grafton.
1920



Credits:
Courtesy of Dave Grafton.

22

Graftons (1910-1935)
Thomas Grafton, Erwin's long time assistant, took over the post on Erwin's recommendation when Erwin retired. While the Graftons saw many changes during their time at Point Atkinson, some things did not change. The location was still relatively remote, it remained difficult to find adequate money to hire an assistant, and light keeping continued to be a hazardous job.

23

Invitation to ceremony designating the Point Atkinson Lighthouse a National Historic Site.
1994
Point Atkinson, West Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada


24

"The year [Grafton] took over the entire station was transformed. The old dwelling and tower were torn down. … The steam engines were thrown piece by piece into the chuck and a new fog alarm building was constructed to house internal combustion engines, air compressors, and diaphones." New construction at Point Atkinson included a duplex intended to hold both the keeper's and an assistant's families."
- From Don Graham, Keepers of the Light, 1985, pp. 71-72.

25

Fog horn building.
1930
Point Atkinson, West Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada


Credits:
Courtesy of the Vancouver Maritime Museum.

26

The pilot's station (foreground) and the Point Atkinson lighthouse and keeper's duplex (background).
1940
Point Atkinson, West Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada


27

Close up of prism of 3rd order Fresnel lens installed in 1912 at Point Atkinson.
1920
Point Atkinson, West Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada