Prince Arthur William Patrick Albert, the Duke of Connaught, was the seventh child of Queen Victoria. Appointed Governor-General of Canada from 1911 to 1916, he and his wife Princess Patricia visited Vernon for the first time in October of 1912, and again in 1916.
Vernon was booming in 1912. The Court House, the Post Office and a new Hudson's Bay store were all completed, manifesting the rapid growth of the town.
For weeks prior to the vice-regal visit, Vernon's citizens bustled with preparations.
Two roads were built through Polson Park. A temporary decorative arch would welcome him on Barnard Avenue. The Connaught Gate, an elaborate structure of concrete pillars and wrought iron arch and gates (which would be adorned with apples), was built at the entrance to Polson Park as a permanent memorial to the Duke.
Work crews were hired by the C.P.R. to clear weeds and spread three carloads of washed gravel on the right-of-way, decorate the station, according to The Vernon News, "in a manner worthy of the city", and lay carpet on the platform leading from the Duke's rail coach to his horse-drawn carriage.
Friday, Oct. 4 1912 dawned clear. A rainstorm the previous day had propitiously laid the dust on the streets for the Duke's procession, which moved through cheering crowds lining Barnard Avenue and along Seventh (32nd) Street, to Polson Park.
After an effusive welcome by His Worship, Mayor O'Brien, the Duke spoke, commenting on the "fine national and imperial spirit" of Canadians, and admonishing newcomers to the fruit growing industry not to "embark on this highly scientific branch of agriculture without a sufficient knowledge of its requirements, or else without enough capital to carry the work through."
The speeches were followed with an inspection by the Duke of the assembled veterans, cadets and Boy Scouts. In the grandstand, 400 school children, dressed in patriotic colours of red, white and blue, sang The Maple Leaf Forever. After God Save the King was played by the band, the Duke left the park, bound for the Coldstream Ranch.
Later, at Okanagan Landing, the party boarded the S.S. Okanagan ~ resplendent in new paint and with all flags flying ~ for their tour of points south. They arrived in Penticton the same evening, sleeping aboard that night, and returned to Vernon by Saturday evening, leaving with the train Sunday morning.
Born in Vernon, Terry Hurst has had a life-long passion for Vernon’s history. She is author of Vernon and District Pioneer Routes, the stories behind the area’s street names, published by the Vernon Branch of the Okanagan Historical Society in 1996. Watch for future columns recounting the origins of road and street names in the BX, Coldstream and Okanagan Landing.
