For our project we chose St. John the Baptist church and Pioneer cemetery in Colwood. The site had over 150 monuments so we narrowed them down by only recording vertical gravestones that reached over a foot in height. As we circulated the church –mapping the locations of each grave, jotting down names and dates, stretching measuring tape across stones – I quickly became very connected with the space. Sounding out names of the dead I couldn’t help but wonder about the life each one had lived, and longed to know the intimate stories of each. If given more time I would have liked to research the individuals and couples buried there and learn about the lives they had once lived.
Richard and Mary Yerburgh
I recall a few of the stones detailing the birth place of the deceased, always either Scotland or England, and thinking about how disconnected our culture is from our family’s ancestors. Personal heritage is often considered to be such a defining trait but how many of us actually know about the lives of our great grandparents? This project made me crave a stronger sense of connection, both to my ancestors, and to Vancouver Island. European history on the island only goes back so far and I would be interested to learn more about the burials of different indigenous groups, and the politics and ethics surrounding land-use for these practices. I know were all sick of hearing about Emily Carr, but she has a painting of a church which not only resembles the one from our site, but conveys that sense of alienation I felt in thinking about these two conflicting worlds.
Indian Church by Emily Carr, 1929
St. John the Baptist Heritage Church
As we finished collecting our data the weather vane on the church roof told us most of the grave stones, excluding a few by the front fence, faced northeast towards the church. It was late in the afternoon, only hours until the orange sun would set; each grave was a sundial measuring the shadows as they thickened and towered over the yard. In studying burials of the dead, it is inevitable to find more questions than answers and for me the questions that arise continuously point back to life – to its meaning and significance -and the ultimate importance of our relationships with one another and our environment.
