Richmond’s Sea Island Heritage Society is hosting a reunion for all past and present residents of Sea Island on May 28.
The reunion aims to connect residents of the Sea Island community to its heritage and history, according to Eunice Robinson, president of the Sea Island Heritage Society.
Prior to the organization forming, she added, “on and off reunions” for local residents in the Cora Brown and Tap Road area were held every couple of years for the past 40 years.
The society’s first large-scale reunion is something Robinson and the society is looking forward to.
“I think it might be interesting if we can find more former Sea Islanders and even current Sea Islanders who may not have contacted us before,” said Robinson.
“This is going to be one special reunion.”
Robinson told the Richmond News that the last reunion was held for the Cora Brown and Tap Road residents in 2018 before the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It will be great to finally see people again and meet people who we have never met before,” she said.
“It is also a way to share the history of Sea Island and how it became the community it is now.”
The society, which was established in 2001, focuses on researching, gathering and indexing information as well as collecting memorabilia and artefacts about the island’s past, said Robison.
Displays featuring images of the Sea Island Heritage Society, binders with stories and an “extensive number of family trees,” old school photos and memorabilia are some of what will be on view at the reunion, but the main goal is for people to “talk with each other,” Robinson added.
The Coast Salish people were the first to arrive on the island. They came to fish, hunt and collect berries, according to the society’s website.
They eventually established summer camps and year-long homes on the northwest corner of the island, which were moved to different locations along the coast as years passed.
Sea Island was a farming and fishery area with neighbourhoods like Eburne, the Cora Brown subdivision and Burkeville.
However, many residents were expropriated from their homes and neighbourhoods on Sea Island to make room for the Vancouver International Airport expansion in the 1970s.
Now, Burkeville is the only remaining residential area on the island.
Sea Island Heritage Society is seeking out any residents including Japanese-Canadians who used to live within the Sea Island community to reach out and join them on May 28.
The Sea Island reunion will be held at the South Arm United Church, at 11051 No. 3 Rd, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Admission is $10 at the door and RSVP is required at seaislandbc@gmail.com
