110 Objects Archive

In the spring of 2016, Shawnigan cut the ribbon on the final phase of the Centennial Capital Project – one of the most significant developments in the School’s history. At its heart stands the Jim ’77 (Lonsdale’s) and Kathryn Shaw Library, named in honour of the donors’ generosity. The building is a striking fir timber-frame space with soaring ceilings, warmed by matching fir bookcases, tables, and window seats. A second-floor mezzanine wraps around the interior and is furnished with inviting seating.

In 2004, the addition of Entrepreneurship 11 and 12 sparked a search for meaningful, hands-on learning. Instructor Georg Stroebel found it in an unlikely place: a former school kitchen left vacant after the opening of Marion Hall. A café, he realized, could turn theory into practice. Thanks to his experience as a restaurant owner, the risks were manageable, and approval soon followed. With no start-up funding available, Stroebel personally financed the initial supplies. The early operation was modest – just a few frying pans and a single fryer – but it was enough to launch service of hamburgers and fries. The response on opening night was immediate and enthusiastic, forcing the café to expand almost at once. Second-hand equipment soon followed, including another fryer, a flat grill, blenders, panini presses, and a two-level pizza oven. The loan was quickly repaid, and the program continues to flourish today, more than a decade after its founder’s retirement.

After the devastating tsunami in Thailand in December 2004, the School sought a tangible way to help. A team of students and two staff members travelled to Thailand the following March to assist with rebuilding, joined by a Grade 12 student from Thailand whose support proved invaluable. To raise funds in early 2005, the team designed and sold t-shirts featuring the word “Relieve” on the front and its definition on the back.

The idea for the Museum grew out of Lance Bean’s deep affection for the School’s history. Lance worked at Shawnigan from 1974 to 1981 as a French and art teacher, band instructor, and housemaster. When he prepared to return in 2002, he shared with Headmaster and longtime friend David Robertson his vision: a museum that would show what life as a boarder once felt like – not only through photographs and stories, but through objects, spaces, and lived experience. The Head agreed, and allocated a portion of the basement in Marion Hall – which was being built at the time – to house the Museum.

Sir Percy Henry Noel Lake was born in Tenby, Wales, in 1855, to a British father and a Canadian mother. Commissioned into the British Army in 1873, he pursued a distinguished military career spanning continents and decades. Rising through the ranks, he served as a senior commander in the British and Indian Armies and the Canadian Militia, with postings in Afghanistan, Sudan, India, Britain, Iraq, and Canada, where he was Inspector General of the Canadian Militia. After leaving Canada in 1910, he served in India as Chief of the General Staff, was appointed Colonel of the East Lancashire Regiment, and later became commander-in-chief of the Mesopotamian Force. He returned to England in 1916 and, after retiring in 1919, settled in Victoria, B.C. In civilian life, he continued his service as the first president of the Canadian Legion. Since 1943, the South Vancouver Island Zone of the Canadian Legion has awarded the annual Sir Percy Lake Memorial Scholarship in his honour.

On April Fool’s Day in 1953, teacher Frank Duxbury was surprised to find his bicycle hanging from the flagpole (pictured above) – an early sign that Shawnigan has always taken its mischief seriously.

Back in the 1920s, boys were responsible for lighting the classroom woodstove. Two enterprising students discovered that adding coal dust to kindling caused a small, delayed boom! To discourage a teacher from monopolizing the stove’s warmth, they prepared a “special” fire. When it exploded, everyone jumped – except the boys who laughed. Case closed. The teacher never sat there again.