THE CEMETERY:
Truly one of the most unique "former" cemeteries in BC, this
site comes with stories of misery, mystery, and even alligations of
murders. A paupers graveyard, Woodlands Memorial Gardens is the
resting place of over 3,300 former residents of Woodlands (formerly
known as the Provincial Insane Asylum). This site continues to a
political hot potato and an embarrassment for the BC
Government.
Woodlands has been the subject of several reports and inquires,
and a major lawsuit continues to progress seeking compensation for
thousands of alleged victims of abuse – including some that are
buried here. For more details and the plaintiffs perspective see
the BC Association for Community Living website and other online
resources.
In 1996 the government closed Woodlands, the last and largest of
B.C.'s institutions for people with developmental disabilities. The
attached cemetery had long since fallen into serious disrepair.
During the construction of Queen's Park Hospital in 1977
adjacent to the former cemetery, the cemetery was closed and
re-designated as a park - a designation that remains today. At that
time an estimated 1,800 grave markers were removed and all but a
few hundred were "recycled" or disposed of. Some were used to
construct a barbeque patio on the Woodlands site for the use of
staff. Some markers went off site for use at construction sites,
and others were used to build retaining walls for the creek flowing
through the Woodlands property. Markers are rumored to have been
used as paving stones elsewhere in the city.
The grave locations are now unknown for the most part, resulting in
the creative placement of the returned tombstones you see today.
The Woodlands site is being redeveloped for condos, and the
remaining buildings have become a popular film set. The government
is now spending hundreds of thousands to create what you see around
the cache. It is all the response to significant political
pressure.
THE CACHE:
Navigate to the bronze plaque near the posted coordinates, but
outside the former cemetery area. You might recognize one of the
people named on the plaque as a controversial former (future at the
time the plaque was made) Premier.
With limited places to hide a cache in what was partly a
construction site when we placed the cache, we had to place a small
cache with room for coins and very small trade items.
INTERESTING TOMBSTONES/PERSONS:
You are unlikely to find any political figures, city founders,
or captains of industry here. Rather, you will see tombstones of
the forgotten, abandoned and mistreated.
Perhaps the most striking thing about the returned tombstones is
that they are almost all exactly the same – plain concrete with an
initial and last name plus date of death. A stark example of
institutional efficiency. Compare this to the personality and
variety in the tombstones less than 1 km away at Fraser
Cemetery.
The government installed plaque sums up Woodlands Memorial
Gardens very well by quoting Psalm 9:18:
For the needy shall not always be forgotten;
the expectation of the poor shall not perish forever.
Here society is again remembering the forgotten poor and needy,
and thankfully it is not to late.
THE RULES:
1. Be sensitive that there are human beings buried here,
sometimes with families. Please don’t make offensive comments in
the logs. This is not an active burial site anymore so no funerals
to worry about.
2. Leave the park better than you found it. CITO.
3. Don’t post written or photo spoilers
4. Help create a good reputation for Geocaching so that we can
continue to use these interesting locations.
THE SERIES:
Please do not use the BC Spirit Quest name without our consent.
Never hide a cache in any cemetery without specific permission.
Credit for the idea to SixDogTeam, Half-Canadian and the other
Spirit Quest series hiders. Thank-you and enjoy the history.