Dufferin Coach — New Westminster, BC - Carriages and Coaches on Permanent Display on Waymarking.com

The year was 1876, just five years after the Colony of British Columbia joined the Canadian confederation. This young nation with relatively small population was collection of six former British colonies that stretched from the Atlantic to the Pacific oceans. Yet there was no means of transportation linking them together other than a six-month journey by canoe.

British Columbia had joined Canada with an important promise - the building of trans-continental railway. However that project was subject to funding and political scandal in Ottawa. Scandals that brought down governments. And the Canadian government assured those British Columbians that the railway would be completed in 10 years after joining into their nation. At this this point it wasn't looking possible.

What to do?

To help inspire confidence in British Columbians and avoid the province leaving confederation to either become its own nation or, worse, join the United States it was decided to send the Queen's representative to the Pacific Coast province. But how would the province be prepared to show His Excellency and his wife that British Columbia was not some isolated backwater.

Lord and Lady Dufferin

Part of the answer was to build a carriage that would carry Governor General Lord Dufferin and Lady Dufferin around the province.

Lord and Lady Dufferin's 1876 tour of British Columbia

The tour visited the provincial capitol of Victoria, a voyage up the Inside Passage to Fort Simpson, and a tour of the Mainland. This is where the Dufferin Carriage was used the most. Landing at the main city on the Mainland, New Westminster, the tour followed the Fraser Valley up to Hope. Then went up the arduous Cariboo Road to Ashcroft. With a finally journey to the community of Kamloops. And then Governor General Lord Dufferin and Lady Dufferin left the province.

The Dufferin Carriage almost disappeared into history until it was found in a farmer's field near Quesnel. At this point the City of New Westminster bought and restored it. Being British Columbia's Royal City they continued to use it for dignitaries for decades until it came to be housed in the New Westminster Museum.

This appeared to be the last journeys of this famous carriage. Until 2012 when the New Westminster Museum moved to the Anvil Centre. While the distance was short it took three days to move the carriage. Today visitors can admire a handsome carriage and think about the travels it made for its dignitaries on rough mountainous roads.

The Dufferin Coach

The Dufferin Coach was built in 1876 by M.H. Black & Co. in San Francisco for the BC Express Company at a cost of $1200. The coach carried Lord and Lady Dufferin on their tour of British Columbia. Lord Dufferin was the Governor General of Canada and the first one to visit the province.

After the visit, the express company continued to use the coach on its routes. By 1924, it was abandoned by Bill Livingstone in a field near Cottonwood House between the towns of Quesnel and Barkerville.

The coach has been part of New Westminster celebrations since 1929 when it was displayed at the exhibition in Queen's Park. It was saved from the fire there and then conveyed the May Queen and other dignitaries to May Day celebrations until it was presented to the museum at Irving House in 1951. Four years later, Dave Pound, a 76-year-old veteran of the carriage business, restored the coach.

The coach, made of oak with iron tires, weighs approximately 1134 kg and is about 2.6 tall. The springe are made of 16-ply leather.
[NWMA IH1951.142.1]

Admission Fee: None On-line Documentation: [Web Link] Type and Quantity: Not listed Opening Hours: Not listed

Visit Instructions:

To post a visit log for waymarks in this category, you must have personally visited the waymark location. When logging your visit, please provide a note describing your visit experience, along with any additional information about the waymark or the surrounding area that you think others may find interesting.

We especially encourage you to include any pictures that you took during your visit to the waymark. You do not have to be in the picture, neither does your GPSr.

Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log   05/25/2023 The A-Team visited it