Accession Number

2014.014.012a-b

Description

(a) A hinged maple case lined with teal velvet, the hinge at the top of the case (by the handle of the walking stick) has been broken; (b) a walking stick made of ebonized yew wood, a meticulously tooled gold handle at its top, and a gold collar and steel tip at its bottom, a gold collar on the shaft beneath the handle inscribed: “Presented to John Bryden Esq. on his retirement from active management of the Wellington Collieries by the employees Wellington BC June 29th 1894”.

Narrative

John Cowper Bryden (1848-1915) was married to Robert and Joan Dunsmuir’s first child, Elizabeth Hamilton Dunsmuir (1848-1901). Mr. Bryden had extensive management experience in the Nanaimo coal fields before accepting Robert Dunsmuir’s offer to manage the Wellington Collieries in about 1880.

Bryden's hiring followed a period of significant labour unrest in the Dunsmuir mine. That he continued to be the Manager of the Wellington Colliery for five years following the 1889 death of his father-in-law Robert Dunsmuir is a testament to the degree of trust placed in him by Joan Dunsmuir and her sons, James and Alex Dunsmuir.

The July 4, 1894 edition of the Victoria Daily Colonist ran a story describing the June 29th farewell evening at Wellington’s Masonic hall: “Mr. Reid then presented the address prepared by a committee of the employees, engraved and illuminated in the Colonist office, and encased in a beautiful native oak frame, also an elegant (native) gold mounted walking cane made from native ebonized yew wood`and a gold mounted umbrella (made of similar material to the cane) to Mrs. Bryden”.  This walking stick symbolizes the genesis of the Dunsmuir fortune – the Wellington Colliery north of Nanaimo.

History of Use

This walking stick was used by John Cowper Bryden while he lived in the Bryden's Esquimalt residence named Dalzellowlie. Some years after the death of his wife Elizabeth, Mr. Bryden moved into his sister-in-law's Esqimalt house named Mt. Adelaide and used the walking stick there. It was passed down through his decendants until acquired from by The Castle Society in 2014.

Date

June 29 1894

Material

Wood, maple; Wood, yew; Metal, gold; Fabric, silk, velvet

Technique

Engraved; Turned

Inscription

engraved on a gold sleeve mounted to the stick's shaft: Presented to John Bryden Esq. on his retirement from active management of the Wellington Collieries by the employees Wellington BC June 29th 1894

Country of Origin

Canada