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Every city has its defining moments that give its character and affects its history. Port Moody has had three defining moments and is undergoing its fourth.
Port Moody began its recorded history as virgin forests inhabited by First Nations who used it as a summer meeting area.
England dispatched the Royal Engineers under the command of Col. Richard Clement Moody to create the new Colony of British Columbia in 1858. The gold rush in the Fraser River had caused the need for law and order. As well, the Engineers or Sappers as they were called, surveyed, built roads and created a capital city - New Westminster.

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Colonel Richard Clement Moody, Royal Engineer
1813-1878
England


Credits:
Gordon Photos, Vancouver
Bert Flinn

3

Port Moody had its first defining moment in 1859 or 1860. Captain George Richards, Royal Engineer, while surveying Burrard Inlet,, named the eastern end of the Inlet,' Port Moody' for his commanding officer. So before there was any development, Port Moody had its name. Whether the name was for the spot that North Road from New Westminster met Burrard Inlet (Aliceville) or for the south shore as we know Port Moody today, is unclear. At any rate, Port Moody remained undeveloped for 20 years..
Transportation, namely railways, makes up the rest of Port Moody's defining moments.