The Gur Sikh Temple whose construction began in 1908, and was completed in 1912. Photo taken in 1967. Image Courtesy of The Reach Gallery Museum. P17369.

Since the Trethewey brothers purchased the Abbotsford Lumber Company in the early 1900s, the mill experienced booms and busts. Throughout it all, the company continued to employ Chinese, Japanese, and Sikh workers, and for this continuous employment, the company has been remembered in Abbotsford as a strong supporter of the multicultural community. Recent writings about the relationship between the Indo-Canadian community and the mill consider the building of the gurdwara, and the lumber donation from the Abbotsford Lumber Company a symbol of “cultural harmony.”1 This is indeed a strong example of a positive and constructive action taken on the part of the lumber company, but it is important not to over-simplify the context of the situation. The Chinese and Japanese communities were not granted the same level of documentation as the Indo-Canadian community, with harsh immigration restrictions and Japanese internment during World War Two preventing these two groups from staying in Abbotsford. The city has subsequently largely been deprived of this important perspective on the mill. As explored on the previous pages of this website, there were examples of the Abbotsford Lumber

Workers at the Abbotsford Lumber Company in 1906. Photo courtesy of The Reach Gallery Museum. P1184.

Company being an actively supportive employer, like hiring cooks, building cottages for the Japanese families, and donating the lumber for the construction of the gurdwara. But there is also strong evidence that the white settler community in Abbotsford was not always the most approving of this relationship, with organizations like the Native Sons of Canada and the Klu Klux Klan operating in the city. Depending on the cultural perspective, the Abbotsford Lumber Company can be seen as a hero or a villan, but neither is precisely correct. No matter how they are perceived, the Abbotsford Lumber Company’s mill truly was the first major site of cross-cultural relationships in Abbotsford and serves as an interesting case study of a multicultural pioneer community.

SOURCES

NOTES

1. Rishma Johal, “Sikh Roots in the Fraser Valley: 100 Years and Counting,” British Columbia History 48, no. 2 (2015), 31. UBC Open Collections. DOI: 10.14288/1.0380632.