Skip to content
Join our Newsletter

These 17 photos capture the vibe at the PNE 75 years ago

The PNE was on pause during World War 2, but came back in 1947

The Pacific National Exhibition (PNE) has been a staple in Vancouver's end-of-summer events calendar for over 110 years.

Over that time there have been millions of visits by locals and tourists alike, checking out everything from the amusement park (with its world-famous roller coaster) to dog shows and musical acts.

It hasn't always been known as the PNE, that name was created in 1946. And Playland, the attached amusement park which has been open longer than the traditional exhibition, was originally Happy Land.

It's also been the place where technological advancements were often shown off for the first time in B.C. including rotary phones and types of aircraft.

These photos capture what it all looked like in 1947, 75 years ago this year. Canada was still in its post-WW2 phase and discussions had started around the country gaining a new province: Newfoundland.

In B.C. the cost of candy was sending kids onto picket lines (no, really) and the PNE was back, after being put on hiatus due to the war.

As part of its return, Allan Jones was brought in; a Hollywood star, he'd been the leading man in a couple of Marx Brothers films and was known as the singer of "The Donkey Serenade."

Among the other notable parts of that year's PNE were demonstrations of helicopters, a booth for the Native Voice (a new newspaper dedicated to Indigenous people in B.C.) and horse races. A note, the roller coaster in the background isn't the one we all know today, it's a precursor as the current coaster is from 1958.