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New Westminster, British Columbia

Blase Delgado

New Westminster

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New Westminster

From the New Westminster BC, from the city web site: http://www.city.new-westminster.bc.ca/coat_of_arms.html

The City's flag is modelled on the national flag, with blue bars at either side and the shield of the City's arms in the centre. A Short History of New Westminster The first incorporated municipality in Western Canada, New Westminster was founded by the Royal Engineers in 1859 and served as the first capital of the united colony of British Columbia. When Victoria became the provincial capital in 1868, New Westminster emerged as an institutional centre and supply point for the construction of the transcontinental railway. Its growing importance as a business centre serving the farming communities of the Fraser Valley continued into the twentieth century and, by 1913, New Westminster had become the fourth most important concentration of manufacturing in Western Canada. Over the years, New Westminster has changed in role and importance, but the imprints of those early years have left a sense of pride and honour among the 48,000 people who reside and work in New Westminster.

researched by: Phil Nelson 11 June 2000

It should be noted that the image on this page (and possibly the flags in use) is not like the Canadian national flag, with 1:2:1 stripes, but something like 5:7:5 or 2:3:2
António Martins, 12 June 2000

The image a flag with proportions somewhere between an equal tribar and a Canadian pale. I got some pictures (only slightly blurry) last week while surveying a property across the street from a New West firehall (I also have examined a desk-sized flag at City Hall). The flag is a Canadian Pale (The Kyrgyz looking flag in the background is a generic Fire Department flag).

I have found info on local place names at: http://www.discovervancouver.com/GVB/place_names.asp , quoting: " Fort Langley on the south bank of Fraser River being too vulnerable to American attack, Colonel Richard Moody [Royal Engineers] advised Governor Douglas [Governor of both BC and Vancouver Island] that the capital of the new colony of British Columbia should be moved to where New Westminster now stands. Moody favoured the name "Queenborough", but Douglas wanted "Queensborough". A request was then sent to London that the Queen herself choose the name for the new capital. Her Majesty chose "New Westminster". Aware of Queen Victoria's role, the people of New Westminster take pride in its unofficial name, "The Royal City". "

The name Queensborough lives on as an area in New West, on the Eastern tip of Lulu Island. The easternmost neighbourhood in New West is known as Sapperton, after the "Sappers" of the Royal Engineers.

The Hyack Anvil Battery referred to in the description of arms is a group which has fired a "21 gun salute" to Queen Victoria on her birthday since the 1870s. Since no cannon was available, gunpowder is placed between two large anvils and set alight. The top anvil is fired upward by the blast (a few cm, I think), and then the gunpowder and anvils are "reloaded" for the next "shot".

New West has land borders with Burnaby and Coquitlam; and with Richmond on Lulu Island.

New West has a proud sports history, hosting the Canada Summer Games (jointly with Burnaby) in 1973. The city's lacrosse teams, called the Salmonbellies after the local fishing industry (or after their red sweaters according to local legend) have won numerous championships in the country's /other/ official sport. The New West Bruins (now long gone) won several championships in Junior Hockey in the rough tough 1970s.

Located in New West is the main campus of Douglas College. There are also campuses in Coquitlam and Maple Ridge. Letterhead on White Bedsheet flag. See also ca_kwant.html for information on Kwantlen College (formerly part of Douglas)
Dean McGee, 16 January 2003