The Raven Soaring and Eagle on the Decayed Pole - Oak Bay, British Columbia, Canada - Outside Wooden Display Carvings on Waymarking.com

These totem poles are replica carvings of older poles from northwestern British Columbia. The Raven Soaring (left) is 55 feet tall and Eagle on the Decayed Pole (right) is 50 feet tall. They were carved in 1963 by First Nations artist Henry Hunt and his son Tony Hunt as part of a carving program at Thunderbird Park at the Royal British Columbia Museum in nearby downtown Victoria. The carving program brought damaged and deteriorating totem poles from abandoned villages throughout British Columbia to master carver Chief Mungo Martin, and later to Chief Martin's son-in-law Henry Hunt, to be copied and so preserve their carving style and heritage.

Originally commissioned by the British Columbia Provincial Government, these two totem poles were offered to the University of Victoria on indefinite loan in 1963. They were originally erected in June 1965 in the courtyard of the Cornett Building, but because The Raven Soaring was taller than the building, the top was weathering prematurely and both poles were moved to the current location. They now have their own maintenance program and are refurbished approximately every 15 years. In 2009, after a vandal climbed Eagle on the Decayed Pole and removed the two eagles from the top, Tony Hunt returned to carve replacement eagles and repainted the rest of the pole.

Type of wood carving: Totem pole Artist's Name: Henry Hunt and Tony Hunt Approximate size/height: 55 and 50 feet Type of wood: Western red cedar Other type: Not listed

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