Unveiling of Maple Tree monument, 1925

This is a 1925 photograph by Stuart Thomson (q.v.), of sculptor Charles Marega at the unveiling of the monument to the old maple tree that was at this location in early Vancouver. On the plaque there is an image of the maple tree, with people sitting around its base, and the following text: "Here stood the old maple tree under whose branches the pioneers met in 1885 and chose the name "Vancouver" for this city." The plaque is indistinctly signed by Marega lower left, and at the lower right there is text from a Joyce Kilmer poem "Trees" ... "Only God can make a tree." The fountain has a little jet of water coming out of its top, presumably it ran continuously. The photograph is public domain, courtesy of the Vancouver City Archives At some point the fountain was removed, but the bronze plaque was moved and mounted on the base of the nearby statue of "Gassy" Jack Deighton, a local businessman and hotel owner. The statue was by Vern Simpson (q.v.). On February 14 2022 a mob of angry indians toppled and destroyed the statue, covering the smashed remains in red paint. The photo below was taken February 18, by which time the last remaining shreds of the statue and the brass plaque for the Marega memorial were gone, as was all the red paint. The plaque was mounted on mortar in the centre of the side of the upstand. Hopefully the city work crew didn't just break it off and sell it for scrap metal. Photo by Gary Sim.

"only indians destroyed this"

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