Pirate Bold Kirkconnell
The Whonnock Buccaneer
“I was first introduced to this story by Shea Henry, Executive Director of Maple Ridge Museum & Archives, who had learned the story through the Whonnock Community Association's newsletter. It's editor, the late Fred Braches, preserved much of the area's history through his “Whonnock Notes” editions.” - Bruce Coughlan
A Brief History
(courtesy of Whonnock Community Association)
First Nations people lived in this area for thousands of years.
The first permanent white settler and landowner in Whonnock was the Shetlander Robert Robertson who settled in Whonnock in 1861 with his Indigenous wife. Few followed Robertson's example until the early 1880s, when the railroad built a station in Whonnock.
Robertson and the early settlers named the settlement Whonnock after the adjacent First Nation village. The name was used in a variety of contested spellings. Aside from a railway station - first called Wharnock - the community boasted a school, a general store and a number of churches.
Buccaneer: noun. someone who robs at sea or plunders the land from the sea without having a commission from any sovereign nation. synonyms: pirate, sea robber, sea rover.
(image courtesy of Maple Ridge Museum & Archives)
Province Newspaper, September 18th 1932, from an interview with G.A. Smith.
Province Newspaper, September 18th 1932, from an interview with G.A. Smith.
Whonnock’s general store built around 1885. It burned down in 1916 and was never rebuilt. The site is now under Lougheed Highway. (image courtesy of Whonnock Community Association)
New York Times, July 30th, 1909
New York Times, July 30th, 1909
New York Times, July 30th, 1909