14
On September 18th, 1994, a ceremony was held to designate the Point Atkinson Lighthouse a National Historic Site. The ceremony included presentations by:· Dr. Charles Humphries, BC Member of the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada,
· Mark Sager, Mayor of West Vancouver,
· Don Graham, Assistant Light Keeper at Point Atkinson,
· Bill Dancer, Director General of the Western Region of the Coast Guard,
· Bob Robertson, Director, BC District, Pacific and Yukon Region, Canadian Heritage, and,
· Anna Terrana, Member of Parliament for East Vancouver.
15
AutomationDesignation as a National Historic Site did not spare Point Atkinson Lighthouse and its light keepers from automation. Despite protests of the light keepers, petitions from supporters and local residents, and reports from district government, the Federal Ministry of Transportation implemented cost-saving measures to automate British Columbia lighthouses in 1996. The last light keepers at Point Atkinson, Garry Watson and Don Graham, worked their final day on May 31, 1996.
Note the new, smaller light in the tower in the automated lighthouse.
16
Point Atkinson LighthouseSeptember, 2004
Point Atkinson, West Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
17
Don Graham on steps to Lighthouse.2000
Point Atkinson, West Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Credits:Courtesy of Elaine Graham.
18
This exhibition is dedicated to Don Graham who passed away in 2003. He devoted much of his life to lighthouses and was an enthusiastic historian of the lights of the British Columbia Coast. He was an ardent advocate of light keepers and their livelihoods.19
Don Graham with two books he wrote about Britrish Columbia's lighthousesJuly, 2004
Point Atkinson, West Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
20
Don Graham at the top of the Lighthouse.2000
Point Atkinson, West Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Credits:Courtesy of Elaine Graham.
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